Marcel Lucien Tournier (January 5, 1879 – May 8, 1951) was a French harpist, composer, and teacher who composed important solo repertory for the harp that expanded the technical and harmonic possibilities of the instrument. His works are regularly performed in concert and recorded by professional harpists, and they are often test pieces for harp-performance competitions. A student of

Alphonse Hasselmans Alphonse Hasselmans (5 March 1845 – 19 May 1912) was a Belgium-born French harpist, composer, and pedagogue. Biography Hasselmans was born in Liège, Belgium. He studied initially at the Conservatory in Strasbourg, which was led since 185 ...

at the Paris Conservatory, Tournier won the Second Grand Prize of the

Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

in 1909. He also won the

Rossini Prize The Prix Rossini for composition was a prize for young librettist and composers which was granted by the French Académie des Beaux-Arts. The prize was funded by a provision in composer Gioachino Rossini's will which took effect in 1878 after the ...

for ''Laura et Petrarch''. Tournier succeeded his teacher as professor of harp in 1912, holding that position until 1948, training two generations of harpists from France, the United States, other European countries, and Japan. Tournier composed several dozen solos for harp, a number of chamber works that feature the harp prominently, and a few works for piano and for orchestra. Notable students include American harpist and educator

Eileen Malone Eileen Malone (August 16, 1906 – 1999) was an American harpist and music educator. Life and career Malone was born in Victor, New York, and studied harp at Eastman School of Music, graduating in 1928. She continued her studies at the Paris Cons ...

Family life

Born to a family of five brothers and two sisters, Tournier grew up around music. His father, Joseph Alexis Tournier (1842–1920), was a string instrument maker and required all of his sons to play an instrument. Tournier started young and soon became very proficient and entered the Paris Conservatoire at age 16. His wife, Renée Lénars-Tournier (1889–1971), was professor of chromatic harp at the Paris Conservatory from 1912 to 1933. They were married in 1922.

Works

Harp solo *''Quatre Suites'' (1897) *''Quatre Préludes'', Op. 16 (1903) *''Féerie: Prélude et danse'' (1912) *''Air à danser''. Petite pièce brève et facile (1913) *''Berceuse''. Petite pièce brève et facile (1913) *''Au Matin''. Étude de Concert (1913) *''Quatre Préludes'' (1917) *''Vers la source dans le bois'' (1921) *''Trois Images'', suite 1, op. 29 (1925) *''Sonatine'', Op. 30 (1924) *''Six Noëls'', Op. 32 (1926) *''Jazz-band'', Op. 33 (1926) *''Trois Images'', suite 2, Op. 35 (1930) *''Berceuse russe'' (1932) *''Scherzo romantique'', Op. 38 (1932) *''Pièces nègres'', Op. 41 (1935) *''Encore une boîte à musique'', Op. 43 (1935) *''Pastels du vieux Japon'', Op. 47 (1948) *''Au hasard des ondes'', Op. 50 (1953) Piano solo *''Cortège'' (1912) *''Deux Esquisses'' (1914) *''Du côté de la mer'', Op. 26 (c.1925) *''Deuxième valse'', Op. 27 (c.1925) Violin and piano (or harp) *''Chanson folle'', Op. 18 (1903) *''Deux Préludes romantiques'', Op. 17 (1909) *''Sérénade'' (1911) *''Promenade à l'automne'' (1912) (also designated for cello and harp) Chamber music *''Suite'' (1929) for flute, violin, viola, cello, harp or piano

References

External links

Scores by Marcel Tournier
on archive.org from the

International Harp Archives The International Harp Archives (IHA) is a collection of archives from the World Harp Congress, American Harp Society, and individual harpists. It is located at the Harold B. Lee Library in Brigham Young University (BYU). The archives began as a c ...

*
Short biography, work list, and CD reviewsPerformance of Tournier's Sonatine for harp
by Emmanuel Ceysson from the

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts, which houses significant examples of European, Asian, and American art. Its collection includes paintings, sculpture, tapestries, and decorative arts. It was foun ...

MP3 MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany, with support from other digital scientists in the United States and elsewhere. Orig ...

format 1879 births 1951 deaths French classical composers French male classical composers French classical harpists Composers for harp Prix de Rome for composition Conservatoire de Paris alumni Conservatoire de Paris faculty Musicians from Paris Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur {{France-composer-stub