I have recently been on a Durufle kick, listening to a budget Naxos release of Durufle’s Mass cum Jubilo and the Prelude, Fugue, and choral variations on Veni Creator, and have been enjoying these pieces mightily.
As I tend to do, I was researching Durufle’s works to see if perhaps any of his unpublished music has been released, and I found out that there was a piece called “Meditations,” which I had never heard of. Excited, I jumped to iTunes, and checked for it. Not only were there 3 recordings of it, but there was also a recording of another posthumously released piece, “Chant Donne – Hommage a Jean Gallone.” I purchased these pieces for $.99 each without hesitation.
Upon listening to meditations, a very, very familiar melody seemed to strike me at the beginning of the piece, and then later in the A’ section. I quickly checked the Agnus Dei from the Mass cum Jubilo, and indeed, it is the very same motif! How exciting!
The second piece, the “Chant Donne” is so warm and breathing, especially with the typical Durufle harmonies and big swells of the string ranks. Totally worth the buy! I found that most recordings of Durufle’s complete organ works never contained these pieces as they were published in 2002! My trusty Delos release of Todd Wilson never contained these gems.