With sincere respect for the mostly critical or skeptical statements and judgments of Tournemire' s music in this thread, I nevertheless would like to underline the fact, that there are on the other hand some real Tournemire enthusiasts out there like our dutch friend here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9U2NKWPNL8A
It might be easy to find this kind of enthusiasm a little bit weird and funny. But for me personally I must admit that my admiration of this composer and his music has grown over the years continuously. His most significant music for organ seems to me widely acknowledged and accepted -so there is no need of propagation here.
But the 8 Symphonies seem to me an unsung catalogue of works which is quite unique in French music ( and maybe in European music of that time). What do we have here (in my ears)?
No 1-3: late romantic gems in the tradition of C. Franck; colourfull, vigorous, enjoyable and full of tunes.
No 4 and 5: on the way to a more abstract and modern view of nature and romanticism and to a personal style which is clearly distinctive at the first bars.
No 6-8: for me masterpieces of modern religious music - and in my opinion, although not a religious person, breathtaking and deeply touching. There is a cantata dealing withe the horrors of war and the utopia of redemption (No 6), the evolution of a (christian) civilization as a kind of ballet (No 7) and a profound, eloquent and - optimistic - requiem without words in a distinct modern musical language.
In my present state of musical understanding I would prefer any symphony by Tournemire to any symphony by Mahler or Shostakovich.
And: ,,La Legende de Tristan" is in my ears stylistically very near to the symphony No 7. Inspired, gripping, dramatic - and in the end visionary.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9U2NKWPNL8A
It might be easy to find this kind of enthusiasm a little bit weird and funny. But for me personally I must admit that my admiration of this composer and his music has grown over the years continuously. His most significant music for organ seems to me widely acknowledged and accepted -so there is no need of propagation here.
But the 8 Symphonies seem to me an unsung catalogue of works which is quite unique in French music ( and maybe in European music of that time). What do we have here (in my ears)?
No 1-3: late romantic gems in the tradition of C. Franck; colourfull, vigorous, enjoyable and full of tunes.
No 4 and 5: on the way to a more abstract and modern view of nature and romanticism and to a personal style which is clearly distinctive at the first bars.
No 6-8: for me masterpieces of modern religious music - and in my opinion, although not a religious person, breathtaking and deeply touching. There is a cantata dealing withe the horrors of war and the utopia of redemption (No 6), the evolution of a (christian) civilization as a kind of ballet (No 7) and a profound, eloquent and - optimistic - requiem without words in a distinct modern musical language.
In my present state of musical understanding I would prefer any symphony by Tournemire to any symphony by Mahler or Shostakovich.
And: ,,La Legende de Tristan" is in my ears stylistically very near to the symphony No 7. Inspired, gripping, dramatic - and in the end visionary.