A new, deeply researched biography of the great French organist, who composed some of the best-loved works in the organ repertory -- and the masterful Requiem.Maurice Duruflé: The Man and His Music is a new biography of the great French organist and composer (1902-86), and the most comprehensive in any language. James E. Frazier traces Duruflé's musical training, his studies withTournemire and Vierne, and his career as an organist, church musician, composer, recitalist, Conservatoire professor, and orchestral musician. Frazier also examines the career and contributions of Duruflé's wife, the formidable organist Marie-Madeleine Duruflé-Chevalier. Duruflé brought the church's unique language of plainsong into a compelling liaison with the secular harmonies of the modern French school (as typified by Debussy, Ravel, and Dukas)in works for his own instrument and in his widely loved masterpiece, the Requiem Op. 9 for soloists, chorus, organ, and orchestra. Drawing on the accounts of those who knew Duruflé personally as well as on Frazier's own detailed research, Maurice Duruflé offers a broad sketch of this modest and elusive man, widely recognized today for having created some of the greatest works in the organ repertory -- and the masterful Requiem. James E. Frazier holds advanced degrees in philosophy, organ, theology, and sacred music from St. Alphonsus College, Mt. St. Alphonsus Seminary, Hartt School of Music, the Yale University Divinity School, and the Yale Institute of Sacred Music. He served Episcopal churches in Hartford, Connecticut, and St. Paul, Minnesota, as organist and director of music. For ten years he was director of music for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Duruflé's Childhood and Early EducationLife at the Cathedral Choir SchoolLessons with Charles TournemireLessons with Louis VierneThe Conservatoire StudentDuruflé's DistinctionsThe Contested Successions at Notre-Dame and Sainte ClotildeDuruflé's Peforming CareerThe Orchestral MusicianThe Poulenc Organ ConcertoProfessor of Harmony at the Paris ConservatoireMarie-Madeleine ChevalierOverview of Duruflé's CompositionsDuruflé's Compositions: Their Genesis and First PerformanceDuruflé's Role in the Plainsong RevivalThe Vichy CommissionsThe RequiemThe Musical History of Saint Étienne-du-MontThe Organs at Saint Étienne-du-MontDuruflé as Organist and TeacherDuruflé and Organ DesignThe Church in TransitionThe North American ToursThe Man Duruflé