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The Requiem, op. 9, by Maurice Duruflé was commissioned in 1947 by the French music publisher Durand. The work is for mixed choir with mezzo-soprano and baritone soloists. It exists in three orchestrations: one for organ alone, one for organ with string orchestra, and one for organ and full orchestra.

At the time the commission arrived, Duruflé was working on an organ suite using themes from Gregorian chant. Duruflé incorporated his sketches for that work into the Requiem, which uses many themes from the gregorian Mass for the Dead. Nearly all of the thematic material in the work comes from chant.

The work is set in 9 movements. Interestingly, it does not set the Dies irae text, perhaps the most famous portion of the requiem mass. Instead, Duruflé chose the calmer and more meditative texts from the requiem.

The mezzo-soprano soloist sings the fifth movement, Pie Jesu. The baritone soloist sings in both the third movement, Domine Jesu Christe, and the eighth movement, Libera me. Duruflé said that he himself preferred that the solos be sung by an entire section of the choir and the work is often performed that way.

Text

The Latin (or, in the case of the Kyrie, Greek) text of each of the nine movements is as follows:

I. Introït

Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Te decet hymnus Deus in Sion, et tibi reddetur votum in Jerusalem. Exaudi orationem meam, ad te omnis caro veniet. Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.

II. Kyrie

Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison.

III. Domine Jesu Christe

Domine Jesu Christe, Rex gloriae, libera animas omnium fidelium defunctorum de poenis inferni, et de profundo lacu. Libera eas de ore leonis, ne absorbeat eas tartarus, ne cadant in obscurum. Sed signifer sanctus Michael repaesentet eas in lucem sanctam, quam olim Abrahae promisisti, et semini ejus. Hostias et preces tibi, Domine, laudis offerimus. Tu suscipe pro animabus illis, quarum hodie memoriam facimu; fac eas, Domine, de morte transire ad vitam, quam olim Abrahae promisisti, et semini ejus.

IV. Sanctus

Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus Dominus Deus Sabaoth. Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua. Osanna in excelsis. Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. Osanna in excelsis.

V. Pie Jesu

Pie Jesu Domine, dona eis requiem sempiternam.

VI. Agnus Dei

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona eis requiem sempiternam.

VII. Lux aeterna

Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine, cum sanctis tuis in aeternum, quia pius es. Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.

VIII. Libera me

Libera me, Domine, de morte aeterna, in die illa tremenda, quando coeli movendo sunt et terra, dum veneris judicare saeculum per ignem. Tremens factus sum ego, et timeo, dum discussio venerit, atque ventura ira. Dies illa, dies irae, calamitatis et miseriae, dies magna et amara valde. Dum veneris judicare saeculum per ignem. Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.

IX. In Paradisum

In Paradisum deducant Angeli, in tuo adventu suscipiant te martyres, et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Jerusalem. Chorus Angelorum te suscipiat, et cum Lazaro quondam paupere aeternam habeas requiem.

• Requiems