LAUSR

ABSTRACT Maurice Duruflé’s music and writings on Vatican II from between 1970 and 1983 reveal his growing resignation to the popularization of church music. An article of 1978 illustrates the softening of Duruflé’s position, a reflection of the composer’s increasing acceptance of socio-religious contexts that resulted in the gradual disappearance of Gregorian chant. The musical correlate to Duruflé’s shift in tone can be found in his harmony for the brief motet Notre Père, his last composition and the only one he composed that was suitable for congregational singing. His last essay of 1983 bitterly closes the door on Vatican II, as he realized that Gregorian chant would not return in his lifetime.