| Summary: | This study focuses on a body of literature heretofore uninvestigated and little-known. During the last seven years of his life, Charles Tournemire composed a half-dozen symphonic organ works: Trois Poemes, Sei Fioretti, Fantaisie Symphonique, Symphonie-Choral, Symphonie Sacree, and Deux Fresques Symphoniques Sacrees. These works seem important because they represent a digression from the practices of other symphonic-organ composers and because they represent a corpus of works in the same style and genre which may be presumed to demonstrate Tournemire's unique symphonic style as applied to the organ. This study concentrates on two goals: a style analysis of this literature and an analysis of the individual works. === As a background to the study, a professional biography has been compiled and certain influences are discussed, including the very particular French Organ School-training under Franck and Widor, the development of the "symphonic" organ by Aristide Cavaille-Coll, and the restored use of plainsong in the Roman Catholic church in France. Two chapters are devoted specifically to symphonic techniques: one dealing with form and the thematic process, emphasizing Tournemire's handling of the Beethoven variation techniques; the other with his pioneering concept of "orchestration" for the organ, which involves tessitura and texture as well as registration. A chapter on harmony dispels some of the myths as well as pointing up certain idiosyncrasies, such as the use of a specific chord-family at climactic cadences, regardless of the tonal surroundings. A chapter on rhythm investigates the elements of its free character and its role in formal design. The concluding chapters provide an analytical outline of each work accompanied by a discussion of particular points of interest and a summary of style characteristics. A list of errata discovered in the published editions of these works is compiled in an appendix. === Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 46-01, Section: A, page: 0017. === Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1984.
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