Maurice Duruflé - SICILIENNE (from Suite, op. 5)

Maurice Duruflés impressionistic musical miracle. Yup! Nothing less! I'm very happy to present to you one of the top top top organ music pieces I know of. The Sicilienne from the Suite (opus 5) played on my Hauptwerk organ on the sample set of Caen, St. Etienne by Sonus Paradisi. But if I had a true Cavaillé-Coll organ at my disposal I would love to have made a recording on that as well.

It's no secret that Maurice Duruflé is my second favorite composer right after Bach. If I had to pick just 2 composer that I could play for the rest of my life it would be those two. Duruflé was an extreme critic of his own work and thus very few pieces made it out to the public. Those pieces which did made the cut are of very very high quality. And the Sicilienne encapsulates that. To me it is an unearthly impressionistic garden of color, vibrance and magic. By using double pedal and different metric accentuations Duruflé creates a delicate and hauntingly beautiful intricatries!
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All the best,
PHILIP

[burmesecolourneedles]

Exquisite execution, gorgeous tempo! And this organ/sample set is so perfectly suited in the balance between the registers and their liquid beauty. My favourite performance yet (and I have to say I'm extremely critical, Duruflé is my favourite composer and I've listened to dozens of renditions).
I heartily agree with your comments Philip, and I'm glad you say " impressionistic" as opposed to "impressionist" - as I understand it, his writing in technical terms is highly rigorous and not impressionist as such, but has an extremely strong impressionistic effect. Doubly miraculous!

[johnweddel]

Thank you for sharing this lovely piece. I have always been fond of most anything Durufle and you played it beautifully!

[lyderstefanmindejany]

Fantastic composition and performance! Thanks for sharing.

[mariaemilia]

Super ! Bravo Maestro ! Thanks you Philip Aggesen ! 💜🌹🙏😘👍

[lindafinch]

Hi Philip, I don’t know this piece but really enjoyed it. The wonderful blend of sound and tone together with your masterful playing was perfect. Thank you for sharing this. Lynn.

[lenaNkQ]

Thank you Philip for this beautiful piece that you play with such a wonderful organ sound- absolutely magical🍃

[charlottegrieff]

It's the sort of music one associates with fairy tales. Bravo Philip 🥰

[PipeDreamerJacques]

So beautifully written, and equally well-played!

[DarrenHogg]

Amazing, superbly played and the colours are too good to be true. When I get my Hauptwerk (sometime this month), this piece is a definite for me to learn. Thanks for sharing.

[geriatricyclist]

This piece new to me too but i have loved it first hearing and you have perfumer it so well thank you

[MarcusReeves]

Exquisite music, exquisitely played. Bravo! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[pipergj]

Our tastes in music seem to be so similar. I love this piece (and most of Duruflé). Beautiful playing as always!

[TheOpusChristi]

So interesting and unpredictable music. Very enjoyable performance. Thank you, Philip.

[grahamtwist]

Beautifully registered and played on my favourite sample set: bravo, Philip! Quite haunting!

[beautyinsound]

Beautifully played Philip, as always. Do you play the whole Suite? I confess to only playing the Prélude, though I really need to learn the rest. Sounds great on Caen!

[nils-olekrafft]

I think your interpretation strikes the right balance in everything, and I don't find that easy with Duruflé.

I've always practised the suite and then never pursued it further because it's unfortunately very difficult for my small hands 😢. Perhaps it will become a long-term project again.

[janterjeedmundsson]

Du er fantastisk, Philip ! Og Duruflé er også en jeg holder meget af at spille. P.S. Jeg har købt et Content Cambiare 335, og glæder mig så meget til at modtage det engang i Januar. Du skal være velkommen forbi, hvis du engang rejser op til Færøerne 😊

[francoisballif]

Thanks ! But honestly I think you played it way too slow, and I would have added more phrasing