Charles Tournemire
(1870 - 1939 )

Tournemire (pronounced tour-ne-mear) was born in Bordeaux, France. He was an organist and composer, a pupil of Cesar Franck. For many years his works for organ held respect in the organ community, and it has only been in the past ten years that his fine orchestral compositions have been performed and recorded. 

He followed Franck (after an eight-year stint by Pierné) in the position of organist at the great Cavaillé-Coll organ at the Cathedrale Sainte-Clotilde in Paris and remained there until his death. His early works contain compositions of great beauty in the romantic tradition; however, he later adopted the ways of twentieth-century music, and his later works are dark and contain elements of negativity.

Web Sites

Charles Tournemire Website

The Dovesong MP3 Library

-> French Organ Music

Selected Orchestral Compositions on CD

Symphonies 2

Symphony No. 3