Salle Polyvalente EPFL
Tuesday, March 11, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
During a musical lunch break, the Lausanne University Choir will interpret Missa Brevis by Kodály and the Requiem by Duruflé, under the direction of Fruzsina Szuromi.
- Missa Brevis (“in tempore belli”), by Zoltan Kodály (1882 – 1967):
Marked by nationalism and great commitment, Kodály’s fifth choral opus, Missa Brevis, was first conceived as a gift to his wife to celebrate the couple’s 35th wedding anniversary. The subtitle, “in times of war,” suggests an alternative interpretation. Budapest, at the time under German occupation, was completely surrounded by the Russians. During the merciless siege, the city was tried by hunger, cold, and disease. Kodaly and his wife sought refuge in the basement of the Opera House. Missa Brevis was written during this forced retreat, in February 1945.
- Requiem, by Maurice Duruflé (1902 – 1986):
Duruflé’s Requiem, completed in 1947, is entirely composed using themes from ancient Gregorian chants written for funeral services. At times, the original lyrics are entirely preserved, with the orchestra entering only to provide support or to comment. At other moments, they served as inspiration, or were abandoned altogether. The Requiem is Duruflé’s masterpiece.
The Lausanne University Choir
Inspired by Chaplain Eduard Mauris, choirmaster Carlo Hemmerling formed the Lausanne University Choir in 1947. Since then, it has brought together members of the University of Lausanne (UNIL) and the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). Every season, the ensemble takes on a major work or a series of particularly interesting opuses from the 17th to the 21st Centuries, with immense drive and passion under the direction of renowned conductors such as Charles Dutoit and Michel Corboz, and from 1980 to 2012, of Jean-Christophe Aubert.