Maurice Duruflé - Méditation - Ben Bloor

[@mspg2]

this is so moving.

[@grahamtwist]

This 'Méditation' from 1964 by Maurice Duruflé has such an ethereal, spiritual feel to it and the piece sounds wonderful in the large acoustic of the Oratory on the wonderful Downes/Walker Organ. As ever, Ben, your sensitive and artistic performance ensures the audience can connect with this beautiful music in a truly profound way: bravo! It is such a tragedy that Duruflé suffered so terribly in that 1975 car crash, leaving him largely confined to his apartment for the last eleven years of his life. I've read that he was a perfectionist, being highly critical of his own works, which resulted in only a handful of his compositions being published in his life time (with him often continuing to edit and change pieces even after publication). When he moved to Paris aged 17, he had private organ lessons with Charles Tournemire (whom he assisted at Basilique Ste-Clotilde until 1927) - so one can only imagine what an impact that will have had on his compositional style. And when Duruflé entered the Conservatoire de Paris in 1920, he encountered another amazing batch of teachers: Eugène Gigout , Jean Gallon, Georges Caussade, César Abel Estyle and Paul Dukas. As a result, that he could create music like this 'Méditation', almost seems a given!