Recently I participated in a masterclass in Tour France, at the invitation of Catherine Michel. The whole class was about the music of Marcel Tournier. It was live streamed, and is now up on Youtube. If you would like to hear the pieces played, start by typing in: Classe d’excellence avec Catherine Michel à l’Instrumentarium.
The class is over three hours long. But the highlights are listed below, with the time where they appear. Enjoy!
Interview (in French) with Huguet Geliot, who studied with Tournier from 1939 to 1942: 10:17
First Sonatine, third movement, with violin and cello parts that Tournier added years after he wrote the original piece: 1:19:35
Féerie, with string quartet: 1:46:33
Three movements from Au Hasard des Ondes, played by a 16 year old boy from China. En Chine: 2:35:41. En Japon: 2:41:00. Visions de mer: 2:45:45
Short talk by me, Carl Swanson, about Tournier and the crisis with much of his chamber music: In French: 2:54:05. In English: 3:04:25
I had never heard the Sonatine with the string parts, and had never hear any of the movements from Au Hasard des Ondes, except for Eternal Dreamer. I was astonished at the beauty of these pieces. It’s time for a total re-evaluation of Tournier’s music.
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