Duruflé’s name is a symbol of the revival of sacred music in France in the first half of the twentieth century. He published few of his vocal and organ works because of his strong self-criticism. “I work slowly and discard a lot,” he noted. The Requiem for Soloists, Chorus, Orchestra and Organ, Op. 9 is his best-known work. In 1947, when he was working on a suite of pieces for organ based on Gregorian chants for the funeral Mass, his publisher Durand commissioned him to write a larger work. He omitted from the canonical Latin text the Dies irae (Day of Wrath), the dramatic day of Judgement so artfully embodied in the requiems of Mozart, Berlioz and Verdi. Scholars link this decision to his conception of a more peaceful, uplifting work. Duruflé explains, “My Requiem is entirely based on ancient singing in the Roman Catholic Church – on the culture of Gregorian chants in memory of the dead. They inspired me. So listeners could discover for themselves the original beauty of the Gregorian canon, representing peace, faith and hope. This is not an ethereal work that is detached from worldly concerns. It reflects in the unchanging form of Christian prayer the anguish of man facing the mystery of his final end.” The familiarity with Gregorian chants goes back to Duruflé’s childhood, when he was a choirmaster at Rouen Cathedral, and to the Paris Conservatoire harmonising them was part of the organists’ training.

Duruflé dedicates the Requiem to the memory of his father. He made two more versions of it – for soloists, chorus and organ (1948); for soloists, chorus, small orchestra and organ (1961). The work was first heard by rebroadcast on French radio from the Gaveau Hall in Paris on November 2^nd,  1947, the Day of Remembrance of All the Dead, and its concert performance was at the Palais de Chaillot on December 28^th,  of the same year.