MusicaSacra Forum

For those of you who play the organ and love Chant, the name Charles Tournemire should be in your midst. However, for many of us who play in the Roman rite, he is either known for a few pieces that were really improvisations and not much more. Sadly, he left a corpus of work that is still in its infancy with regard to awareness or popularity. That work is l'Orgue Mystique or The Mystical Organ.

Tournemire lived from 1870 to 1939. He was a professor of harmony at the Paris Conservatory and the organist at St. Clotilde (Cesar Franck's church). Tournemire was a student of Franck and went on to teach Langlais, Messiaen and Durufle (names familiar to those in the organ world). He was a rather interesting individual, known for his moodiness and intense personality. He was a deeply mystical Catholic and was attached to the writing of Ernest Hello. Tournemire was also close to the monks of Solesmes and there in lies the connection.

Tournemire considered a project of compositions based on the proper chants of the Sunday as far back as 1922, when he wrote of his conversations and visits to the Abbey at Solesmes. If your French history is in play, you will remember that the French had just allowed the religious and monks to return to France,after having been thrown out for some years. A new religiosity had been made and the monks at Solesmes were in its midst. Tournemire visited there many times and made much of their singing.

Somewhere between 1922 and 1927, Tournemire prepared a plan for composition of l'Orgue Mystique. He made notes of the proper chants of the day and also of chants there functioned at the divine office. A look at the plan shows that sometimes he made mistakes and chose chants not always proper to the day. He also used two sources for his chants, that of the 1908 Graduale and the old Roman (1871) book. Also, there is a chant that glues the whole thing together and appears a number of times throughout the suites.

There are 52 suites in the set. However, one should note that the use of the organ in France at that time governed Tournemire's choice of the days. The organ only played at Immaculate Conception and the Third Sunday in Advent, only Laetare Sunday in Lent. Therefore, the suites do not correspond to the whole year per se.

The suites were not composed in order of the year, but in a liturgical precedence. Tournemire was an avid reader of Mocquereau's l'Annee LIturgique (the Liturgical Year) and worked from many of his thoughts. Therefore, the Third Sunday in Advent is the first to be seen in the cycle, but Easter was the first to be composed. Tournemire composed the work between 1927 and 1932. Incidently, the last piece of the last suite is based on the Te Deum.

Now, for the pieces themselves. They are; Prelude a l'Introit, Offertoire, Elevation ,Communion and Piece Terminale.
How did Tournemire envision them to be used? Again, liturgical practice in his part of France governed their usage.
The prelude was used between the Asperges and the Introit. The Offertoire was used as a prelude to the actual chant for the day sung at the Offering. The elevation is most interesting because the organ actually played in France during that moment. Communion is quite clear from it name. Piece terminale was for Tournemire an extended time of meditation on the day itself and often involved chants from the office and his own choice of chants for the piece. They are long pieces that are rather involved and do not always end loudly. Tournemire once was improvising on just a lone stop and his assistant said to him, "But it is a sortie" Tournemire shot back" Well then, sortez!"

Why Tournemire here at this place? Because, for me, his use of the chant is powerful and still useful. As we encourage chant, we should also encourage music based on chant to be used. It is true that Tournemire's music cannot be separated from the liturgy, which is why we here need his music. It is deeply connected to the liturgy and closely connected to the spirit of the liturgy. It is impressionistic and yet grounded in the chant forms and modes. Langlais once said that it was never to be used as setting pitch for the chants, but as garland for the liturgy. Messiaen proclaimed that one day, the world would discover Tournemire.

I am happy to provide more information about Tournemire if you are interested. I hope this whets your palette a little and encourages you to hear and play his music. The first four pieces of each suite range from very easy to challenging.
The last pieces are often difficult but well worth the time. I love them all, but then I am biased.

I will end with a quote from Tournemire. "The organ without chant is like a body without a soul."

Paix,
Kevin in Atlanta