www.finchleychoral.org.uk

Music Director: Grace Rossiter

Registered Charity No. 265563

Press Release: 8 February 2010

A celebration of French choral favourites

Finchley Choral Society’s Spring concert will feature an all French programme. Duruflé’s Requiem and Poulenc’s Litanies á la Vierge Noire will form the central part of the concert.

Undoubtedly the more performed of the French composer’s choral works, Maurice Duruflé composed his Requiem in 1947. Known mainly as a composer of organ music, Duruflé was writing an organ piece at the time based on Gregorian chants. He incorporated many of the same elements into the Requiem. The use of plainchant provides the music with a meditative spirituality, making it stand out as a work of sublime beauty and peace.