Duruflé Requiem

The Royal Choral Society returned to Holy Trinity Sloane St with an uplifting programme of 19^th and 20^th century music by Romantic composers. The main work of the evening was Duruflé’s Requiem, a favourite for choirs and audiences, which blends Gregorian chant with rich harmonies, drama and power, but is overall reflective in spirit, and closer to Fauré than Verdi.

Brahms’ lyrical Liebesleider Waltzes performed by an alternating combination of soloists and choir was also on the programme. Accompanied by piano duet, Brahms’ own pianistic style exquisitely characterises with great perception each of the short movements. 

Equally full of Romantic expression were Schubert’s vocal quartet Gebet (‘Prayer’) and the Swedish composer Wilhelm Stenhammar’s Vårnatt (‘Spring night’), the latter a favourite of Swedish choirs with its effervescent ending and climax. A gem for both choirs and audiences. 

Interspersed between these works was the Romance and Tarantella from Rachmaninoff’s Suite for Two Pianos. They represent the finest of the great pianist’s composing style, both packed with his characteristically lush harmony and keyboard virtuosity. One of the most famous performances of this piece was at a party in Los Angeles where Rachmaninoff performed it together with Vladimir Horowitz!

The concert also included Brahms’ piano duet arrangement of his much-loved ‘Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen, the fourth movement of his German Requiem, which quotes from Psalm 84 ‘How lovely is thy dwelling place’.