Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

As one of the cruel realities of competition, the winners switch from glory to complete oblivion after a few ephemerous mediatic sparks. When Marie-Nicole Lemieux won the Queen Elisabeth Singing Competition in 1998, nobody knew she would become the contralto of her generation, and nobody knew - even if many guessed at it - that she would become one of the most versatile singers imaginable as well as a first-class tragedian. In August 2000 the producers of Cypres were the first to offer her a recital with the pianist Daniel Blumenthal. Programmed was nothing less than Les Nuits d'été, the Wesendonck and the Rückert-lieder - three cycles of lieder counted among the most intense of the repertory. The calm trembling of the contralto in Berlioz, its poignant dignity in Mahler and its heightened expression in Wagner made this record into an undeniable commercial and artistic success. More than ten years have passed since; Marie-Nicole Lemieux today appears on the biggest stages in the world, and this "historic" record reminds us that even at the beginning of her career, the singer from Quebec was already the genius performer we know today.

A history of the Requiem' takes the music-lover on a journey through the very varied history of the requiem. Presenting one work per century seemed to be just right for illustrating the evolution of this, one of the most significant musical forms in the history of music. The first part of the series, devoted to Ockeghem and Lassus, was awarded a '5' by the prestigious magazine Goldberg, and the second part, presenting the requiems of André Campra and Michael Haydn, recorded on period instruments got a 'four stars' from Le Monde de La Musique. Begun towards the end of 1848, Anton Bruckner's Requiem was completed on 11 March 1849. It was performed for the first time on 13 September 1849 at Sankt Florian. Dissatisfied with it, Bruckner reworked it in 1854 and again in 1894, then according it a 'This is not bad!?, despite his acute sense of autocriticism. Almost nothing hints at the extraordinary symphonist to come, but he makes great strides towards the choral writing of later masterpieces such as the Te Deum and the masses. Maurice Duruflé's Requiem was the response to a commission from the publisher Durand and was written by Duruflé in memory of his father. The piece poses an interesting problem: written in 1947, it is a near contemporary of works as radical as Le Soleil des eaux (1948) of Boulez or the Quatre Études de rythmes pour piano (1949) of Messiaen. In appearance, the Requiem shares hardly any of the preoccupations prevalent in France at this time. Yet, success was immediate, and was even greater subsequently in the United Kingdom and in the USA, where it has never flagged: there, the work continues to enjoy an exceptional reputation. Lying fairly clearly within the tradition of Fauré, Duruflé's Requiem resembles the older work in its overall character of calm and meditation.


Composers:
Anton BRUCKNER
Maurice DURUFLE

Performers:
LAUDANTES CONSORT
Guy JANSSENS (Conductor)
Benoît MERNIER (Organ)
Elke Janssens (Soprano)
Penelope Turner (Mezzo)
Roel Williams (Tenor)
Arnout Malfliet (Bass)


Track Listing:
Anton Bruckner Requiem
1. Requiem
2. Dies irae
3. Domine
4. Hostias
5. Quam olim
6. Sanctus
7. Benedictus
8. Agnus Dei
9. Requiem
10. Cum sanctus

Maurice Durufle Requiem
11. Introit
12. Kyrie
13. Domine jesu criste
14. Sanctus
15. Pie jesu
16. Agnus dei
17. Lux aeterna
18. Libera Me
19. In paradisum

Total timing: 72.59