Charles Tournemire

Charles Tournemire, 1910

Charles Arnaud Tournemire (born January 22, 1870 in Bordeaux , † November 4, 1939 in Arcachon ) was a French organist and composer .

Life

Charles Tournemire completed his musical studies in Paris with César Franck (organ and counterpoint), Charles-Marie Widor (organ), Vincent d'Indy (composition) and A. Toudou (theory of harmony). From 1898 he was organist at the Paris church of Ste-Clotilde ; his predecessors in office there were the well-known organists César Franck and Gabriel Pierné . In 1919 Tournemire became professor of chamber music at the Conservatoire de Paris .

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During his lifetime, Tournemire's reputation was based primarily on his qualities as an excellent organ player and organ improviser. Today he is remembered above all for his eight orchestral symphonies, as well as his mighty work L'Orgue Mystique (op. 55–57). This is a composition cycle that contains five pieces linked to the Catholic liturgy for every Sunday in the annual cycle, which are inspired by the corresponding Gregorian melody curves and must be interpreted with flexible agogic . Due to their close connection to the liturgy, they are rarely played in concerts. Particularly noteworthy is the symphony chorale op. 69 for organ, which is monothematic and has a very complex, partly polytonal tonal language. This work and the symphony sacrée bear witness to the deeply felt, mystical Catholicism of Tournemire.

The composer owned a small house on the lonely, storm-lashed French west coast island of Ouessant , where he liked to stay. There, under the impression of the raging elements, he was inspired to create his visionary organ works. Tournemire liked to stay in the Abbey of Solesmes and the Cathedral of Amiens . He was described by his contemporaries as spirited and unpredictable. All music that was not composed to glorify God seemed pointless to him. Tournemire was also a famous improviser with extraordinary inventiveness, inspiration and visionary expression. The improvisation on Victimae paschali laudes , recorded on vinyl, gives testimony to his skills. To this day, Tournemire's organ works are hardly ever heard, at least in Germany.

In addition to his organ works, the Douze Prélude-Poèmes for piano, designed as meditations on the stages of human life, should also be mentioned. In this cyclical work, Tournemire skilfully explores the resonances of a large concert grand. Tournemire also wrote operas and other orchestral works.

Well-known students of Tournemire were Maurice Duruflé and Jean Langlais . Olivier Messiaen , whose style already appears in the beginning in Tournemire's orchestral symphonies, called him “the master of the arabesque ”.

Works (selection)

Stage works

• Nittetis , tragédie lyrique in three acts, Op. 30; Libretto after Pietro Metastasio ; 1905-1907; two versions for soloists, choir and orchestra or for piano and a reduced number of singers
• Les Dieux sont morts , drame antique in two acts, Op. 42; Libretto: Eugène Berteaux ; 1910-1912
• La Légende de Tristan , in three acts, Op. 53; Libretto: Albert Pauphilet ; 1925-1926
• Il poverello di Assisi , 5 episodes lyriques, Op. 73; Libretto: Joseph Péladan ; 1937-1939

Orchestral works

• Symphony No. 1, Op. 18 "Romantique"
• Symphony No. 2, Op. 36 "Ouessant"
• Symphony No. 3, Op. 43 “Moscou”, 1912–1913
• Symphony No. 4, Op. 44 "Pages symphoniques"
• Symphony No. 5, Op. 47
• Symphony No. 6, Op. 48 for tenor, choir, organ and orchestra
• Symphony No. 7, Op. 49 "Les danses de la vie"
• Symphony No. 8, Op. 51 "Le triomphe de la mort"

Organ works

• L'orgue mystique :
  • Le Cycle de Noël , Op. 55
  • Le Cycle de Pâques , Op 56
  • Le Cycle après la Pentecôte , Op. 57
• Sortie , Op. 3
• Pièce symphonique , Op. 16
• Triple Choral , Op. 41
• Choral-Poèmes pour les sept Paroles du Christ , Op. 67
• Symphonie sacrée , Op. 71
• Deux Fresques symphoniques sacrées , Op. 75/76
• Cinq Improvisations, reconstituées par Maurice Duruflé

Harmonium works

• Petites fleures musicales , Op. 66

Piano works

• Cloches de Châteauneuf-du-Faou , Op. 62

Discography (selection)

Orchestral works

Symphonies 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8

• Moscow Symphony Orchestra - Antonio de Almeida (1994–1995)

Symphony No. 6

• Orchester Philharmonique de Liège, Chœur Symphonique de Namur, Chœur Polyphonia de Bruxelles - Pierre Bartholomée

Symphonies No. 3 and No. 7

• Orchester Philharmonique de Liège et de la Communauté Francaise Conductor: Pierre Bartholomée 2CD AUVIDIS V 4794

Organ works

L'orgue mystique

• Georges Delvallée - complete
• Sandro R. Müller - complete ( Cybele )
• Harald Feller - No. 3, 7, 17, 23 with Gregorian chants (Ars Musici)
• Harald Feller - No. 25, with Messiaen and Durufle

literature

• Peter Ewers : Charles Tournemire: Aspects of life and work . Verlag Peter Ewers , Paderborn 2003, ISBN 3-928243-17-9 .

Web links

• List of stage works by Charles Tournemire based on the MGG at Operone
• List of works on pseudo-poseidonios.net , accessed on November 27, 2014.

predecessor	Office	successor
Gabriel Pierné	Titular organist of the Church of Sainte-Clotilde et Sainte Valère 1898–1939	Flor Peeters