# Charles Tournemire



## Portamento (Dec 8, 2016)

A precocious child, *Charles Tournemire* (1870-1939) was appointed organist of the church of St. Pierre in Bordeaux at the age of 11. He studied at the _Conservatoire de Paris_ with César Franck and Charles-Marie Widor, winning in 1891 the first prize for organ; he also studied with Vincent d'Indy at the _Schola Cantorum_. In 1898, Tournemire succeeded Gabriel Pierné as organist in St. Clotilde, a post he held for the rest of his life. As organist, Tournemire toured Germany, Holland, and Russia before the Great War. Between 1900 and 1914 he composed his first five symphonies, all of which were performed at the time. In 1904, Tournemire's cantata _Le sang de la sirène_ won the _concours musicale de las ville de Paris_.

The Franck-inspired idiom that had sustained Tournemire to that time began to give way to a more complex harmonic texture that incorporated some degree of impressionistic harmony. This style began to deepen in 1908 after Tournemire married the sister of the wife of Josephin "Sâr" Péladan, a French mystic who was the founder of the _Ordre de Rose-Croix_ in Paris. Tournemire also began to read the works of Joris-Karl Huysmans, and through Péladan, took an interest in Madame Blavatsky. Tournemire's music reflected these discoveries through his arrival at a distinct "mystical" organ style, which had a decisive impact on the French organ school exemplified by such figures as Messaien, Jehan Alain, Duruflé, and Jean Langlais. As he got older, Tournemire became more inflexible in his views about spiritual matters and later found reason to repudiate every one of his colleagues who expressed admiration for him or depended on his counsel.

The First World War caused a break in Tournemire's creative life. He was mobilized and, although he had projected a Sixth Symphony in 1915, he could only start to work on it in 1917. This symphony, in addition to two more that followed it, were never performed in his lifetime. In 1919, he was appointed a professor at the Paris Conservatoire, but the Great War had brought about a cultural and musical change of ambience; Tournemire found himself out of step with the times of Les Six and Stravinsky.

From 1921 he devoted his best compositional efforts to the church. His great oratorios came after the last of his symphonies: _La Quête du Saint-Graal_ (1926-1927), _l'Apocalypse de Saint-Jean_ (1932-1936), and _La douloureuse Passion du Christ_ (1936-1937). Between 1927 and 1932 he worked on the colossal _L'orgue mystique_. This work comprises 51 Offices, sets of five pieces for the Holy Mass, for every Sunday of the year. The complete work would last about 15 hours of music, longer than the complete organ works of J.S. Bach. Tournemire was highly valued as an improviser on the organ, and in 1930 recorded five improvisations at St. Clotilde on phonograph records that were later painstakingly transcribed by Maurice Duruflé; these pieces are among Tournemire's best known works. Tournemire's last composition was the opera _Il poverello di Assisi_ (1937-1938), based on a text by Sar Péladan.

―AllMusic​
_A few more notes about Tournemire:_

Apart from being a collosal figure in French organ culture, the composer was also quite a symphonist. Tournemire composed eight symphonies, almost all of which are uploaded on YouTube by _UnsungMasterworks_. He seems to have a certain exotism to his music, similar to that of Pierné.

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_ (personal favorite Tournemire symphony)

I am yet to dig into the masterpiece that is _L'orgue mystique_, which I am sure I will also enjoy!

Thanks,
Portamento


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

I'm more impressed by some music from _L'Orgue mystique_ than by some of the symphonies I've heard (which is, I admit, not many). Messiaen was impressed too.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Never heard of the man, but something learned today, so thank you.


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## Krummhorn (Feb 18, 2007)

I've played some works of Tournemire at church services over the years. Some of it works ... some of it doesn't, that is, too modern for some congregations.


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## Portamento (Dec 8, 2016)

Krummhorn said:


> I've played some works of Tournemire at church services over the years. Some of it works ... some of it doesn't, that is, too modern for some congregations.


Yes, I can definitely imagine that...


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