Duruflé’s Requiem is regarded as one of the finest 20th century religious works and has come to be associated with the call for world peace. Composed in 1947 against the dark backdrop of the Second World War, the Requiem offers optimism and hope. It has a serene, contemplative, and peaceful atmosphere, with a focus on reassurance and hope rather than fear. Duruflé himself described it as expressing a “happy deliverance” from death, rather than a sorrowful passing.
