Duruflé’s Requiem

24 May 2024

Classical Music

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs virtuosic Chamber Singers present inspiring music by Renaissance composer Orlando di Lasso together with French composer Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem – a work that blends Gregorian plainchant with the sensual melodies of a Modern. 

Please note: this event is not held at the Sydney Opera House.

Useful information:

Duruflé’s Requiem

Take a moment to step inside the neo-gothic sandstone church near Wynyard station – St Philip’s on York Street – and be transported to another world. 

Three short Renaissance religious works by Flemish composer Orlando di Lasso are the perfect entrée for Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem. This work from 1947 is grounded in achingly beautiful chants to which he adds his modern French musical voice, steeped in mysticism and sensual harmonic lines, played this time on the St Philip’s organ by the brilliant David Drury. Duruflé did not write a lot – but what we have has been crafted into exquisite perfection.

The intimacy and kaleidoscopic stained glass of St Philip’s on York Street makes an utterly beautiful setting for this short Friday night concert.

Program

Orlando di LASSO
Adoramus te
Ave verum corpus
Timor et tremor 

Maurice DURUFLÉ
Requiem 

Artists

Sam Allchurch Conductor
Chamber Singers
David Drury Organ

Presented by Sydney Philharmonia Choirs

Plan your visit

You may also like

Simone Young conducts Siegfried

13 & 16 Nov 2025

Wagner’s Ring Cycle is one of the great achievements in Western art. At its beating heart – packed with passion, violence, rage, betrayal and tragedy – sits the sprawling legend of Siegfried. Starring a world-class cast of singers, including internationally acclaimed Simon O’Neill in the title role, this third instalment in the Sydney Symphony Orchestra's Ring Cycle in concert is a once-in a-generation event.

  • Classical Music
  • Sydney Symphony Orchestra
graphic showing a firey circle with a sharp dagger pointing towards a stone superimposed over gloomy clouds

The Tallis Scholars

12 Oct 2025

Award-winning British vocal ensemble, The Tallis Scholars return to the Sydney Opera House for the first time in over two decades with an unmissable program inspired by the timeless beauty of Gregorian chant. The Tallis Scholars are renowned for their stunning cappella performances and exquisite recordings of sacred vocal music. The choir first sang at the Sydney Opera House in 1985, 40 years ago, and has returned five times since.

  • Classical Music

A Musical Awakening

21 Sep 2025

Music is visceral and vital. In A Musical Awakening, we invite you to take a breath and lean into this program designed to nourish your soul. Directed by ACO Principal Cello Timo-Veikko Valve, the Orchestra will be joined by friend and recorder virtuoso Genevieve Lacey, whose mastery of this most elemental of instruments is unsurpassed.

  • Classical Music
  • Australian Chamber Orchestra
The surface of a dark body of water with light reflected of gentle waves and wind creating soft spray of whitewater.

Checking availability