Claude Debussy's "Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune" is a masterpiece of Impressionism. Inspired by a poem by the symbolist Stéphane Mallarmé, the music paints the picture of a dreaming faun on a warm afternoon. With floating flute sounds and gentle harmonies, Debussy transports us to a world between dream and reality - a sensory intoxication in sound.
Not many works of the 20th century are as commonplace on concert programs today as the music of Maurice Duruflé, who died in 1986. His sacred vocal music in particular enjoys enduring popularity, no doubt also because of its catchy tonal language. Duruflé had little interest in breaking with tradition; in his Requiem of 1947, he explored the model of Gabriel Fauré, two generations his senior, and gave free rein to his enthusiasm for Gregorian chant. Nevertheless, the work is not backward-looking: in contrast to the operatic settings of the requiem mass in the 19th century, Duruflé focused less on the agony of the Last Judgement and more on redemption in the afterlife. Chief conductor Sir Donald Runnicles and the MDR Radio Choir lend this work a special intensity with their sensitivity and beauty of sound.
Claude Debussy
"Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune"
"La damoiselle élue" Poème lyrique for soprano, alto, female choir and orchestra
Maurice Duruflé
Requiem for mezzo-soprano, baritone, mixed choir, orchestra and organ
Sir Donald Runnicles | Conductor
Heidi Stober | Soprano
Karis Tucker | mezzo-soprano
Markus Eiche | Baritone
Thomas Ospital | Organ
MDR Radio Choir
Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra
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