Carolyn Shuster Fournier news

A French-American organist and musicologist, Carolyn Shuster Fournier, born in Columbia, Missouri, studied the piano and the violin before specializing in the organ at the age of thirteen under the direction of Dr. Gary Zwicky in Charleston, Illinois. After obtaining her Bachelor of Music at Wheaton College, Illinois, with honors (studying organ with Gladys Christensen) and her Master’s degree from New England Conservatory, Boston (under the guidance of Yuko Hayashi), she continued her studies in Paris with Marie-Claire Alain, André Isoir and Michel Chapuis. Her doctoral thesis on Aristide Cavaillé-Coll’s secular organs received Olivier Messiaen’s congratulations.

Formerly organist at the American Cathedral in Paris, in 1989 she was then named titular of the 1867 Aristide Cavaillé-Coll choir organ at the Trinité Church where she founded their weekly Thursday noontime concert series. Recognized for her clear, precise musical playing, she has performed on historic organs in prestigious festivals, such as in Methuen, Bruxelles, Sion, at the Venerables in Sevilla, at the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, in Marmoutier, at the Festival Musica in Strasburg, on the Fromentelli Dom Bedos organ in Rieti, at the Jacobi Kirche in Hambourg). She has inaugurated organs and premiered numerous contemporary works.

Her recordings – notably Alexis Chauvet at the Versailles Cathedral (Socadisc), In Memoriam Marcel Dupré with the violoncellist Julius Berger (Schott) and An American in Paris at La Madeleine Church in Paris and In Memoriam Nadia Boulanger on the Cavaillé-Coll/Merklin organ at the Saint-Antoine-des-Quinze-Vingts Church in Paris (Ligia Digital, distribution Harmonia Mundi) – have been acclaimed by critics.

In 2007, Carolyn Shuster Fournier was awarded the prestigious distinction of Chevalier de l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the French Ministry of Culture and Communications.

www.shusterfournier.com

A juxtaposition of great sound and great scenery

Aldo J. Baggia is the retired chairman of the department of modern languages and instructor in French, Spanish, German and Italian at Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Iona College and the MA from Middlebury College, and has completed graduate work at Laval and Duke universities. He has studied and traveled extensively in Europe, and has written numerous opera reviews for various publications as well as articles for The Diapason.

France is divided into “départements” that represent the political subdivisions of the country. Much work has been done in the last decade by governmental agencies to have a ready inventory of organs by departments, and although the work has not yet been completed in the entire country, it has progressed very well in the area of the Rhône valley. Quite a bit of information is available, and the inventory of the organs of the department of l’Isère, which encompasses the dioceses of Grenoble and Vienne, is available in book form. The last edition was published in 1996, and it is easy to check out the various instruments and to see what the stylistic trends have been over the years.
L’Isère is one of the most scenic areas in all of France because of the magnificent mountain ranges that come together to form part of the Alps, including the impressive Mont Blanc. And in this area there are some great organs that demonstrate the development that has taken place over the last two centuries. At one point there were practically no organs of any significance in this area, but that is not the case now.

Government ownership

In France, organ maintenance, including rebuilds and restorations, as well as the building of new instruments, oftentimes comes under the aegis of some governmental agency, thereby relieving the pressure on an individual church to provide the total financing for the work. Often it is the municipality that owns the organ of a church, and this applies throughout the country, including Paris, where the city owns a good number of the organs of the various churches. In the book, Les Orgues de Paris, Jacques Chirac, mayor in 1992, notes in the preface that 130 of the 250 organs at that time were owned by the city, making Paris one of the major proprietors of organs in the world.1

This situation has prevailed in France since 1905, the year of rendering final the separation of church and state. In the interest of fairness, a system of ownership that depended on the year of construction of the organ was established. If it preceded 1905, the organ became the property of the municipality; this was also the case if it had been rebuilt after 1906 but included parts of an older organ. In theory everything new after 1906 was to be the property of the parish or some other organization. An older organ could become the property of the parish if it had been bought back at the time of the application of the law of separation of church and state.

The government of the French Republic owns the organs of cathedrals that are considered “immeubles par destination” (buildings by their nature of being cathedrals).2 This explains why the organ of Notre-Dame de Paris is owned by the French state and not the city of Paris. This clearly indicates the desire of the country to document the cultural heritage that is represented by the master organbuilders over the centuries. In effect a great organ is a significant aspect of French culture and worthy of public support. On the other hand, government financing of work is not automatic. A request is made to the commission that oversees such things, and a positive or negative judgment is rendered, depending on the circumstances.

L’Eglise Saint-Louis en l’île Saint-Louis

From the information provided on the website of l’Eglise Saint-Louis en l’île Saint-Louis, one can see a good example of how an organ project develops. In spring 2005, the installation of the new organ (III/51) by the organbuilder Bernard Aubertin took place. L’île Saint-Louis represents a very scenic location inasmuch as it is directly behind l’île de la Cité where Notre-Dame de Paris stands. As far back as 1977 the titulaire, Georges Guillard, expressed an interest in the idea of a new organ for the church because the Mutin organ (III/33) at that time was in an unplayable state. In 1983 the city of Paris became interested in this project, which was supported by L’Association des grandes orgues de Saint-Louis-en-l’île, because the new organ was to be a special instrument suitable for baroque music of North Germany and that of Bach in particular. In 1993 the commission approved the project in principle, but it was only in 1999 that Bernard Aubertin was chosen from eleven organ builders to realize the work. The case is absolutely stunning and makes a statement in its own way. It has a baroque grandeur that is difficult to equal. The construction of this instrument took place over the span of six years at a cost of one million euros. About a dozen members of the Aubertin team dedicated more than 20,000 hours of work to the project. [For a detailed report on this organ, see “A New Aubertin Organ in the German Baroque Style,” by Carolyn Shuster Fournier, The Diapason, March 2006, pp. 22–25.]

Saint-Antoine l’Abbaye

Aubertin did the restoration work on the organ of Saint-Antoine l’Abbaye, which was completed for the most part in 1992. This organ is easily the most famous instrument in the department of l’Isère. Numerous recordings have been made there; it is generally considered to be one of the finest examples of a French classic organ. The restoration was completed in 2001 when Michel Gaillard, an associate of Bernard Aubertin, added the final four stops to bring the total specifications to IV/44.

As of 1996 there were 72 organs in the department of l’Isère, and their ownership was divided between municipalities and parishes, with the emphasis on the municipalities. More than half of the organs extant in the department have been built since 1960. The organ of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Grenoble belongs to the state, but that of the Cathedral of Saint-Maurice in Vienne belongs to the municipality. The church of Saint-Louis in Grenoble has the largest and one of the better-known organs in the department (III/60). This was built by Bartolomeo Formentelli in 1982 and belongs to the municipality. The choir organ (I/6) was built in 1981 by a local builder, Michel Giroud, and its main purpose was for use in the liturgical services while the installation of the large organ was taking place. It is owned by the parish. The acquisition of the Formentelli organ by the church of Saint-Louis is interesting because it is related to the intriguing story of the instrument at Saint-Antoine l’Abbaye, which is within an hour’s drive of Grenoble.

An organ at the Abbey Church goes back to 1491, and the elegant walnut case of five turrets for the Grand-Orgue and Pedal divisions dates from around 1634, but there is no information on the designer or the builder.3 The case for the Positif de dos matches that of the rest of the organ and has three turrets. Bernard Aubertin, who did the restoration work in 1992, believes that the Positif case from 1639 was replaced in 1748 when the Swiss builder, Samson Scherrer, did the work for the new organ.4 The current organ loft was built in 1678, and further work on the instrument was done through 1700. But 1748 was the year that the organ achieved its current character with 40 stops on four manuals and pedal. Scherrer, originally from Saint-Gallen, had established himself in Geneva and had chosen to do much of his work in France between the years of 1746 and 1755. He constructed an organ for the church of Saint-Louis in Grenoble in 1746, and in 1750 built organs for both the Collegiate Church of Saint-André in Grenoble and the Cathedral of Embrun, which is in the nearby department of Hautes-Alpes.

The success of the organ at Saint-Antoine resulted from the stoplist, the mechanical action, the materials used, the positioning of the instrument, and the excellent acoustics of the church. People at the church stated that they had an organ “de huit pieds, sonnant seize, à quatre claviers et deux octaves de pédales, avec un positif en saillie sur la tribune du grand portail” (of eight feet, sounding like sixteen, with four manuals and two octaves in the pedal division, and with a positif that projected from the organ loft of the main portal).5 This was a perfect organ for the works of Couperin, de Grigny, Charpentier, Boyvin, Muffat, Böhm, Lebegue, Titelouze and Sweelinck as well as for the music of the liturgy. It is interesting that the Dom Bedos organ that was restored in 1997 and is currently in the Abbey Church of Sainte-Croix in Bordeaux was built in the same year of 1748.

Not much seemed to happen at Saint-Antoine between 1750 and 1805, and the organ was primarily used for accompaniment during services. The French Revolution did not bring damage to the instrument, but in 1805, by a bizarre set of circumstances, the organ was removed and placed in the church of Saint-Louis in Grenoble. In March 1805 the municipality decided to sell the organ because funds were badly needed to repair the bridges of the gates of Lyon and Romans, which were in danger of collapsing. The town had no money, and therefore it was proposed to sell the organ to the municipality of Vienne, which had expressed an interest in it. But either Saint-Antoine wanted too much or Vienne was offering too little, and the transaction fell through. A number of other communities were interested in the organ for which the municipality of Saint-Antoine l’Abbaye was expressing little need. The church of Saint-Louis in Grenoble had enough influence with the authorities that the Minister of Finance decreed that the organ should be sent to Grenoble posthaste. On November 22, 1805, the people of the town were not permitted access to the church by the army so that workers could complete their dismantling of the organ for its removal to Saint-Louis. The people of Saint-Antoine used the term “enlèvement” to describe the affair, and the word can be translated by “removal,” “abduction,” or “kidnapping.” Ultimately the coup de grâce was that Saint-Antoine received absolutely nothing for the organ.6

This brings us to 1981 when the organ was finally returned to Saint-Antoine. For many years the inhabitants of Saint-Antoine had clamored for the return of the instrument and in 1968, thanks to the efforts of Father Jouffre, a priest at Saint-Antoine, and others in the area, some progress was made. On January 14, 1971, the High Commission for historical monuments (organ section) gave a favorable opinion to the question of returning the case and the older pipes to Saint-Antoine; the transfer of the organ was to be done as soon as the new organ for Grenoble was ready for installation. The old pipework was classified as historic by a decree of April 10, 1974. It was stated that “the Minister of Cultural Affairs and the Environment has classified as Historical Monuments: Isère. Grenoble. Eglise Saint-Louis. The organ coming from the Abbey Church of Saint-Antoine. The old pipework of the instrument: 530 pipes from Joli, XVII century, and Scherrer, XVIII century. Around 300 pipes from Zeiger (1850).”7

The organ was dismantled at Grenoble in January 1981 and arrived at Saint-Antoine on February 7; it had taken 175 years for this to take place. Monsieur Damien, the cabinetmaker at Saint-Antoine, needed seven coats of paint for the restoration of the case. The case was placed in the west gallery at the beginning of 1984, and the façade pipes were cleaned and re-installed in June 1984 by Promonet and Steinman, organbuilders from Rives. Next came the question of giving it back its voice, and that is what was done by Bernard Aubertin.

Organbuilding in the 1990s

The inventory of organs that was published in 1996 traces the work that was done through that year, and one finds that there was only one new instrument built in the 1990s, at l’Eglise Saint-Nicolas in Autrans, a small village in the mountains near Grenoble. There were rebuilds and modifications of organs at a number of churches, and some small instruments were installed in the 1980s in some of the picturesque villages of the department.

There had not been a history of great interest in the organ in this region during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. In the area near Grenoble there is the monastery of La Grande Chartreuse that played a great role in the economic development of the department, but the monks never expressed much interest in the organ as part of the liturgy; that is one of the reasons why there were so few organs in the region until the eighteenth century.9 The Chartreux made generous donations to a number of churches in the department, but that involved funds for stained-glass windows, choir stalls or the construction of nineteenth-century grandiose churches such as those at Voiron and Bourgoin-Jallieu. But they never gave funds for organs. Their factory for the production of the famous green and yellow liqueurs is in the city of Voiron, which is very close to Grenoble and which has one of the best-known organs in the department.

Both the organs of Saint-Bruno at Voiron and Saint-Jean-Baptiste at Bourgoin-Jallieu were mentioned in the inventory as major instruments in need of work, and it was regretted that nothing had been done with them up to that time. It was good to find in the fall of 2004 that both of those organs had recently been completely restored. In the case of Saint-Jean-Baptiste, major work had also been done to the interior of the church, and the sound of the instrument at the present time is absolutely magnificent.

Saint-Bruno in Voiron

Let us begin with the instrument at Saint-Bruno in Voiron. The financing of the work that was done from 1999–2002 involved the State, the region of Rhône-Alpes, the Department of l’Isère, and the City of Voiron. This clearly showed how important the organ was in the life of the community from an historical point of view. This organ (IV/41) was originally built for the church of Saint-François de Sales in Lyon in 1838 by the Callinet brothers. In 1864 Cavaillé-Coll replaced the two small manuals (Récit and Echo) with a récit expressif of ten stops as well as adding four new stops and a new console. Through the intercession of François Widor and his famous son, Charles-Marie, the parish acquired a new organ from Cavaillé-Coll in 1879 and put the modified Callinet up for sale. A neo-gothic case that harmonized with the style of the interior of Saint-Bruno, which was constructed in 1864, was built in 1881 when the transfer to the church was made. The actual inauguration took place in 1883, and modifications took place during the following years; in 1973 it was classified as an historic monument. Twenty-nine stops by Callinet and four by Cavaillé-Coll had been retained, but it was evident by that date that the instrument was in a pitiful state, and therefore talk of restoration surfaced. By 1992 a decision was made in favor of work but it was not until 1999 that the contract was given to Daniel Kern of Strasbourg. The crowning point of the work was the return of the organ to the west front gallery in 2002. It was indicated in a church brochure that Kern kept most of the Callinet stops and some stops of Cavaillé-Coll from the Récit expressif.10 Saint-Bruno is of cathedral size and has magnificent acoustics. The sound of the organ is rich, airy, and majestic with no sense of harshness. This is a first-class instrument that is surely worth seeing and hearing.

Saint-Jean-Baptiste at Bourgoin-Jallieu

The organ at Bourgoin-Jallieu is an impressive instrument of some 40 stops on three manuals from the workshop of Joseph Merklin of Lyon in 1880. The church is situated at the Place Carnot in the heart of Bourgoin-Jallieu, which is near Lyon but still in the department of l’Isère. It is a vast structure of cathedral proportions and has been refinished in white in the interior, which gives it an impressive allure. Previously the interior was dark and gloomy. One interesting characteristic of the organ is the borrowing of stops in both the Grand-Orgue and the Positif. This technique of borrowed stops with mechanical action considerably augments the resources and variety of the instrument.11 This organ was made for the French romantic repertoire and makes a most favorable impression, given the excellent acoustics of the church. The restoration work was done by the Manufacture provençale in Carcès (Var), which is directed by the organbuilder Yves Cabourdin, who did the restoration work on the Isnard organ (IV/41) of the famous royal basilica of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine of Saint-Maximin-La-Sainte-Baume in Provence. The latter is considered to be an excellent example of the French classic organ and ranks with that of Saint-Antoine l’Abbaye and the Dom Bedos instrument at Sainte-Croix in Bordeaux as a marvelous venue for baroque repertoire.

Cathedral of Grenoble

The first mention of an organ at the Cathedral of Grenoble goes back to 1426. In the nineteenth century Cavaillé-Coll installed an organ of eight stops there. The instrument was enlarged by different builders over the years, but has not been used since 1990 because of all the construction work being done. There are no services at the cathedral because the entire nave is a building site. Work on the organ will be done eventually, but it is not clear when that will take place.

A Cavaillé-Coll organ of 11 stops was installed in l’Eglise Saint-Marcel in the town of Allevard in 1874. Work by Tschanun and Schwenkedel was done in 1922 and 1965, but the organ now (II/23) has had the benefit of major additions and restorations over the past 30 years at the hands of Xavier Silbermann, who is still listed as the curator of the instrument.12 Silbermann comes from the Strasbourg wing of the family and had his workshop in the Rhône Valley area until his recent retirement. Even so, he has continued to work in tandem with the titulaire, Dr. Henri Perrin, to upgrade the instrument. Monsieur Perrin is a virtuoso organist and pianist and presently dedicates most of his time to composition. Even though this is not a large instrument, the sound is very impressive as it speaks into the nave of the church. It can be used to good effect in the music of Vierne and Widor as well as the music of Bach. Monsieur Perrin demonstrated the organ in a piece of his own, Lamento e Trionfo.

Notre-Dame-des-Neiges, Alpe d’Huez

Very close to Grenoble is the town of Alpe d’Huez, which is known by anyone who follows the Tour de France because of the 21 hairpin curves one must negotiate in leaving the highway at Le Bourg d’Oisans to go to the top of the mountain. The stage to Alpe d’Huez was not used two years ago in the tour, but one could still read the names of different riders on the road in November 2004 as well as noticing the placards in honor of riders at each curve. Most of the names are from the distant past, but there are two curves in honor of Marco Pantani.

Alpe d’Huez is very much a resort town, which means that it is virtually deserted out of season. In 1968 a remarkable church, Notre-Dame-des-Neiges, was built, the tower of which looks like a lighthouse. The architect, Jean Marol, worked with the German organbuilder, Detlef Kleuker, to give the organ (II/24) the form of a hand, “La Main de Dieu.” The celebrated organist and musicologist, Jean Guillou, was instrumental in the design of the organ. In his book, L’Orgue Souvenir et Avenir, Guillou points out that the organ is in the choir of the church, which is in the middle of this church in the round, immediately behind the altar. The pipes of the 16¢ Flûte make up the four fingers, and the thumb contains the case of the Grand-Orgue. The swell box of the Récit is in the palm of the hand. The entire case is made of American beech wood.13

Guillou notes that it was necessary to decide which stops would provide the most sound from the instrument, given that the budget was limited to 24 stops. The specifications of the Grand-Orgue and the Récit give a brilliance, clarity and presence to the ensemble. The Pedal division gives a solid foundation to the ensemble. From Guillou’s point of view, this small organ is ideal. The proof of its quality can be seen in the quantity of concerts, masterclasses and recordings that have been made since its construction. He further mentioned that there have been few works from the baroque era to modern times that have not been played on this organ to the complete satisfaction of musicians.14

Church of Saint-Nicolas, Autrans

In the town of Autrans, a small village in the mountains very near Grenoble, there is the one new organ built in the 1990s in l’Isère. The Church of Saint-Nicolas has an austere stone tower that dates to the twelfth century, and the organ case of oak stands tall against the right wall of the choir. This organ (II/13), built by Dominique Promonet of Rives, owes its existence to the generosity and dedication of the parish priest, Father André Chabrier, who died on February 27, 1995, just a month before the instrument was installed. It is something that he thought about for a long time, and it was his way of saying thanks to the people of the Vercors for all they had given him over the span of 50 years. On the left side of the case there is an inscription which reads “En lui le Souffle de la Vie”—P. A. Chabrier, donateur. (“In it there is the breath of life”—P. A. Chabrier, donor.) And on the right side it is added “Je me tiens debout pour que mon chant / monte au-dessus des paroles.” (I stand erect so that my song will rise above the words.) When asked about why he did not use his funds in a different manner, he said that the organ would be there for everyone and would last for centuries. The all-enclosed case stands impressively against the right wall of the church, and the instrument with its 16¢ Soubasse in the Pedal division produces a resonant and weighty sound to accompany the liturgy.

Saint-Pierre et Saint-Paul in Crolles

Saint-Philibert in Saint-Ismier

Two organs by local builders are worthy of mention; they are fairly typical of what one would see in the small villages in the area. The organ at Saint-Pierre et Saint-Paul in Crolles was built by Promonet & Steinmann in 1982. The two symmetrical cases in the gallery give the impression that the organ (II/15) is much larger than it really is. It is used for the liturgy and concerts, and the sound is quite impressive because of the good acoustics.16 At l’Eglise Saint-Philibert in Saint-Ismier there is an interesting instrument from the workshop of Michel Giroud, who did the original installation in 1981 and further work in 1993. This organ (II/17) serves the church very well in the liturgy and has the resources that are necessary for concerts. Olivier Vernet was featured in a concert of baroque music in October 2004.
One can easily see that the organ scene in France is a very interesting one and that there are treasures to be found in any of the departments.17

The centenary of the birth of Olivier Messiaen (1908–1992) afforded the occasion at the University of Michigan’s 48th Annual Conference on Organ Music last October to gather performers, scholars and friends of Messiaen for a consideration of one of the twentieth century’s most original composers and to hear performed nearly all of his repertoire for organ. At the remove of nearly a quarter century from the premiere in 1986 of his last major work, Le Livre du Saint Sacrement, his legacy continues to influence today’s composers, performers and improvisers.
The Messiaen content of the conference included a lecture called “Visions of Glory,” by Professor Andrew Mead, reminiscences and a masterclass by Almut Rössler, a discography presented by Michael Barone, and performances including L’Ascension (Carolyn Shuster Fournier), Méditations sur la Sainte Trinité (Almut Rössler), La Nativité (students of James Kibbie), Quatuor pour la fin du Temps (University of Michigan students), and Le livre du Saint Sacrement (Jörg Abbing). In addition, various Messiaen compositions were included in a lecture-recital by Wayne Wyrembelski, and in recitals by students of Professors Mead and Mason, and by Naji Hakim.

Four great dramas in Messiaen’s musical life
Almut Rössler, daughter of a German Protestant pastor, knew and worked with the Roman Catholic mystic Olivier Messiaen for 50 years. Marijim Thoene reviewed two of Rössler’s presentations:

Almut Rössler lecture on performing Messiaen’s music
It was a distinct privilege to hear one of the greatest interpreters of Messiaen’s organ music, Almut Rössler, lecture on “Performing Messiaen’s Music.” This was her seventh visit from Düsseldorf, Germany to the University of Michigan to perform works of Messiaen and share her insights on the performance of Messiaen’s music, which is filled with the outpouring of his intense and profound faith in a musical language that is rhythmically complex and drenched in the colors of all creation. Professor Rössler worked closely with Messiaen for many years, playing his music on all types of organs. Her official studies began with him in 1951. She played four recitals of his works at La Trinité in Paris, where he was organist for 60 years. She organized the first Düsseldorf Messiaen Festival in honor of his 60th birthday in 1968 and participated in many other conferences focusing on his music throughout Europe. She was not only his student, but also his friend and confidante. She is the one Messiaen chose first to look at his last organ work, Livre du Saint Sacrement (Book of the Blessed Sacrament), which she premiered in Detroit for the 1986 AGO convention.
Professor Rössler based her lecture on Messiaen’s own description of four dramas in his life as a composer, as written in a parish letter for La Trinité. His description is especially poignant because each drama offers invaluable biographical information as well as insights into how he wished his music to be performed. These four dramas included (1) the religious musician (bringing faith to the atheist), (2) the ornithologist, (3) the synaethesiac, and (4) the rhythmicist. For brevity’s sake I will offer just a glimpse of Messiaen the composer as described by Almut Rössler, which is pertinent to the performance of his organ works.
(1) To play the music of Messiaen, whose devotion to the Roman Catholic Church permeated every fiber of his being, one must have a knowledge of prayer, understand the symbolism of sound, e.g., the Incarnation; one must have a personal faith and a reverence for holy things.
(2) The underlying source of Messiaen’s passion for notating birdsong is expressed by Messiaen himself in his preface to his Quartet for the End of Time: “The abyss is Time, with its sadnesses and weariness. The birds are the opposite of Time; they are our desire for light, for stars, for rainbows, and for jubilant song.” His complicated rhythms are notated precisely, and one must subdivide major beats into 32nd notes and 16th notes, and be able to maintain the pulse of the larger beat and to switch fluently between larger and smaller note values.
(3) Messiaen was a “synaethesiac.” He saw colors when he heard certain sounds. He explains this phenomenon as “an inner vision, a case of the mind’s eye. The colours are wonderful, inexpressible, extraordinarily varied. As the sounds stir, change, move about, these colours move with them through perpetual changes.” (Contributions to the Spiritual World of Olivier Messiaen, by Almut Rössler, Duisburg: Gilles and Francke, 1986, p. 43.) In playing Messiaen’s works, one must always consider the sound that he specifies; the instrument must contain the colors and intensity of power that is required; dynamic power is of utmost importance.
(4) Messiaen’s business cards were printed with his name followed by “composer” plus the term “rhythmicist.” For Messiaen, rhythm is not strict like a marching band, but is the rush of wind and the shape of the seas. He used added time values to break up the regularity of notes. Rössler advised learning his music on the piano, and when all of the nuances are worked out and when it sounds beautiful, then play it on the organ and transfer the subtle treatment of time to the organ. Messiaen does not have metronome markings in his scores because every organ and room is different. There should be a dialogue between the room and the player. In a slow tempo one should not play more slowly in a resonant room. The performer has to produce resonance within himself.

Almut Rössler masterclass on La Nativité
Students of Professor James Kibbie, including Thomas Kean, John Woolsey, Laura Kempa, John Beresford, Andrew Herbruck, Richard Newman, and Diana Saum, played La Nativité du Seigneur, and afterwards Professor Rössler offered comments and suggestions. She congratulated Prof. Kibbie and his students, saying, “the performance was eloquent to the spirit of the work.”
These selected comments reflect Rössler’s keen insights and power to communicate very complex ideas in simple terms: “Don’t play squarely! Remember, if there are no staccato marks, the passage is to be played legato. The performer must have his own vision of eternity. Know the meaning of every word on the page. If staccato chords occur in a slow movement, you must feel like a sculptor who forms things when you release the chords.” In Méditation VII, Jesus accepte la souffrance, she was especially graphic in her comments: “I would like to see your claws. You have to feel like a tiger. The attitude toward the piece must be felt in your body, you must play it with all your force. The cross must sound like a suffering instrument, not a nice cross around your neck.”
Thank you, Almut Rössler, for bringing us the glorious music of Messiaen and sharing with us his vision of the universe.
—Marijim Thoene, DMA

The mystic striving to be
understood
Rössler suggested that, perhaps because his musical language was unconventional and because he wanted to be understood, Messiaen provided many references to biblical, liturgical and theological texts, and he published many explanations. She noted his preoccupation with rhythm. Her advice to students included the paradox that one must observe the durations of notes extremely precisely, yet in a stream of many notes of equal value one must create accents by the subtle management of time. In his music, she learned, birdcalls alone stand outside the strict requirements for durations. This is consistent with his notion that time is an abyss and the sounds of birds are beyond the limits of time.
Alan Knight corroborated Messiaen’s desire to be understood in his review of Rössler’s performance of Le Banquet Céleste and Méditations sur le Mystère de la Sainte Trinité:
In her words of introduction, Marilyn Mason recalled Rössler’s six previous visits to Ann Arbor. Before she played, Rössler commented on the experience of first encountering the piece in Messiaen’s presence. The then “new” composition turned out to be, in her words, “a beautiful piece!”
She described its theological and musical outline as follows. The odd-numbered movements—1, 3, 5, 7 and 9—take up the Trinitarian texts from Thomas Aquinas’s Summa Theologica, (as, the Essence of God–mvt. 3, the Attributes of God–mvt. 5, etc.), while the even-numbered movements—2, 4, 6 and 8—musically and theologically amplify and expand upon the preceding odd-numbered movements. The developmental process here, she explained, is comparable to that of Beethoven. The texts for the even-numbered movements were selected from the liturgy and the Scriptures. Movement 8, for instance, deals with both the three Persons and the Oneness of God. Romans is quoted: “O the depths of the richness of the wisdom and the knowledge of God!” God is simple is Messiaen’s primary meditation in this movement, with the chant taken from the Alleluia of All Saints Day. Intermittently, three chords are repeated in varying rhythms to signify that the triune God is eternally One.
With this short explanation and a page of notes on the themes, Rössler’s performance was easy to take in. She played Le Banquet Céleste as a prelude to the cycle. (This was not applauded, creating an ambiance for meditation—a good idea.) From the quiet opening to the end of the recital, one had the pleasing conviction that Messiaen had heard all of this and had commented on it in detail. Ms. Rössler played with marvelous ease, movement, freedom, and sureness.
—Alan Knight, DMA

In other Messiaen presentations, Michael Barone, a frequent presenter at the U-M conferences, played selected recordings from a discography that he compiled of Messiaen’s recorded organ works up to 1955. The earliest commercial Messiaen recording anywhere was made by the late University of Michigan Professor Robert Noehren, playing La Nativité at Grace Episcopal Church, Sandusky, Ohio, on a historic Johnson organ rebuilt by Schlicker and Noehren. The two earliest recordings of L’Apparition de l’Église éternelle were by Jean Langlais and by the American Richard Ellsasser playing at the Hammond Museum in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Barone played portions of Leopold Stokowski’s recording of Messiaen’s original version of L’Ascension, which Messiaen scored for orchestra. Barone’s summary comment was, “Our experience of Messiaen continues. He helps us look at things in ways we had not imagined.”
Besides bringing a brilliant reading of L’Ascension, Carolyn Shuster Fournier presented Ubi caritas by Jacques Charpentier, written for organ and unison women’s and children’s voices.
The culminating recital, Le Livre du Saint Sacrement, was played by German organist Jörg Abbing, who had studied it with Rössler. Fierce concentration allowed him to play the two-hour program with only two hours of preparation time on the organ. His playing projected conviction, accuracy and stamina. A day earlier he played an entire Bach program on the Wilhelm organ at the Congregational Church, filling in at the last minute, and a day or two later he played a “post-conference” program of Italian music at the Methodist Church—clearly a young performer with depth and energy.
There were excellent presentations that did not feature Messiaen or his music exclusively. Craig Scott Symons, with Sonia Lee, violin, and Elizabeth Wright, soprano, spoke about and put a spotlight on lesser known but deserving works of Sigfrid Karg-Elert. The Ann Arbor AGO chapter sponsored a youth choir festival organized and directed by Dr. Thomas Strode and AGO Dean James Wagner, which attracted an audience of 250 to the opening event of the conference. Accompanist Scott Elsholz delighted his audience with a demonstration of the Hill Auditorium pipe organ using Star Wars themes. Faculty member Michele Johns premiered a new work for organ by Geoffrey Stanton.
Naji Hakim, full of vitality and virtuosity, dedicated the rebuilt organ at Ann Arbor’s Church of St. Thomas the Apostle. In addition to Bach’s E-minor Prelude and Fugue and Franck’s Prière he played Le Vent de l’Esprit from Messiaen’s Pentecost Mass, but he surpassed everything else on the program with the performance of his own compositions, Glenalmond Suite and the Sakskøbing Præludier. Himself a pupil of Langlais, Hakim’s comments earlier to students on improvisation covered an astonishing range of ideas beyond those that simply describe techniques, and they included some thoughts on time. An improvisation exists in real time; therefore it can express what the performer feels instinctively at that moment. A composition, on the other hand, may have been written over the course of three weeks and performed in three minutes. Reasoning plays a larger role in this process. Memory, and by extension time, is an essential ingredient of love, he asserted, because you can’t love something or someone that you don’t recognize or remember. Therefore, to improvise on a theme can be an act of love. When all is said and done, an improvisation should sound like a composed work, and a performance of a composed work should sound improvised. Contrast Hakim’s preference for improvisation, by his own description a spontaneous reaction in the moment, albeit one that has required years of mental and technical preparation, to Messiaen’s preference for written composition, a more enduring construction that relies on the mental processes of reason and reflection, albeit in the service of expressing what is immeasurable.
The University of Michigan Historic Organ Tour, now in its 30th year, is another Marilyn Mason innovation that has fruitfully endured over time. Four organists from the most recent trip to Budapest, Vienna, Salzburg, and Prague performed music from their recitals in Prague and Vienna. They were Joanne Vollendorf Clark, Stephen Hoffman, Janice Fehér, Charles Raines and Gale Kramer. In memory of the late Robert Glasgow, Clark and Raines played from A Triptych of Fugues by Gerald Near, which the composer had dedicated to Prof. Glasgow in 1965. Adding a visual component to the organ conference, photographic artist Béla Fehér presented a slide show documenting the sumptuous organs and churches visited on the tour.
“The Triumph of Time” is the subtitle of a forgotten novel that Shakespeare recast as The Winter’s Tale. Considering the special significance of time, both mensural and emotional, in Messiaen’s works, as well as the perspective of time brought by the 48th annual occurrence of the event, the subtext of this conference may aptly have been The Triumph of Time.
Time, the ever-rolling stream, had recently borne away Robert Glasgow, whose performing career and 44 years on the University of Michigan faculty from 1962 to 2006 were remembered by Marilyn Mason. Her own creations have endured through time. Performer, networker, fundraiser, teacher, she presides over the annual Organ Conference, the summer Organ Institute, and the Historic Organ Tour, which continue to educate us and enrich our lives.
Rössler commented that Messiaen lived in his own interior world, and that he was a very calm person. Listening to so much of his music in a few days I realized that it has a few fast outbursts (Transports de joie, Dieu parmi nous) surrounded by long stretches of tempos marked, extremely slow, or very slow or slowly and tenderly. This week of recitals included, probably inevitably, three performances of Le banquet céleste and three of L’Apparition de l’Eglise éternelle. At first I began to anticipate yet another very slow performance, secretly wishing that someone had excised the repetitions in the programs. But by the end I had accepted Messiaen’s perspective on time and I began to appreciate what goes on in the duration of a sound, not just where it is going next.
—Gale Kramer, DMA

Summing up
For the past 47 years, the University of Michigan has presented a conference on organ music of outstanding quality under the able leadership of Marilyn Mason, chairman of the department.
The emphasis of the 48th conference, which began October 5 and continued for three days, was on the music of Olivier Messiaen. Numerous recitals and lectures explored the many complex aspects of his musical language. Headliners Naji Hakim and Carolyn Shuster Fournier from Paris and Almut Rössler from Düsseldorf all knew Messiaen and could interpret his music with enormous insight. Additional lecturers were Michael Barone of Pipedreams fame and Andrew Mead, Professor of Theory at the University of Michigan.
Germany was also given admirable attention. Craig Scott Symons presented a lecture recital on Karg-Elert, and Jörg Abbing of Saarbrücken played an all-Bach program that included chorale settings, three counterpoints from the Art of Fugue, and the Passacaglia and Fugue. It was a stellar performance in technical prowess and aesthetic understanding. The very next evening he played an all-Messiaen program, the Livre du Saint Sacrement!
The organ conference is always a “total immersion” experience, in which participants listen and think about the music being studied with intensity and dedication; several organists remarked that they cherish these days in October each year, since it is an opportunity to come to Ann Arbor and learn from the “best of the best.”
—Linda Pound Coyne

Event: Carolyn Shuster Fournier, with trumpet

Date: August 5, 2012

Host: Eglise Sainte-Vierge-de-la-Nativite

Location: Cintegabelle, France

Time: 5 pm

An international concert artist and musicologist, Carolyn Shuster Fournier is titular of the Aristide Cavaillé-Coll choir organ at La Trinité Church in Paris, France (cf. www.shusterfournier.com). Dr. Shuster Fournier was recently awarded the distinction of Chevalier in the Order of Arts and Letters. This is her fourth article to appear in The Diapason.

On June 15, Tournemire played the final “Alleluia” movement in a concert at Sainte-Clotilde that was broadcast live on Paris Radio.
In 1931, the Institut de France had awarded Bonnal the Charles Berthault Prize with 500 francs. Bonnal, however, was looking for other financial awards for his compositions. On March 29, 1932, he admitted in a letter to Tournemire that the private music lessons he gave did not at all cover his expenses:

. . . et vous n’êtes pas là pour m’encourager . . . Je desespère parfois! . . . Alors, je m’endette terriblement . . . et je ne sais ce que je vais devenir.

[ . . . and you are not there to encourage me . . . I sometimes become desperate! . . . Then, I am deeply falling into debt . . . and I don’t know what will happen to me.]

He even began to apply for other posts as a conservatory director in Belfort and in Aix (where he was refused). On February 3, 1932, Bonnal wrote to Tournemire to express his gratitude and ongoing support:

sans doute ma destinée est-elle de mourir à Bayonne. Je m’en réjouirais au reste si ma situation y était en rapport avec mes charges familiales. Je vous remercie de tout Coeur de l’aide précieuse qu’une fois encore (après tant d’autres!) vous m’avez généreusement et cordialement consentie.

[without doubt my destiny is to die in Bayonne. I would really be thrilled if my position was in keeping with my family expenses. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the precious aid (after so many others) which you have so generously and cordially granted.]

On April 25, Bonnal admitted to Tournemire that he was behind schedule and that he hoped to send something to the next competition of the Amis de l’Orgue. In May, 1932, Bonnal composed at Amentcha his most monumental work: his Symphonie d’après “Media vita,” Répons du temps de la Septuagésime in C-sharp minor. Maurice Duruflé played it during the second “Amis de l’Orgue” composition competition, which took place at Saint-François Xavier Church in Paris on June 20, 1932. This time, Bonnal won First Prize and received 4,000 francs. The members of the jury were Gabriel Pierné (president), Alexandre Cellier, Maurice Emmanuel, Arthur Honegger, Paul Le Flem, Henri Mulet, Henri Nibelle, Achille Philip, Gustave Samazeuilh, Florent Schmitt, and Canon François-Xavier Mathias. An honorable mention was granted to André Fleury for his Prélude, Andante et Toccata, and congratulations were given to Daniel-Lesur for his work La Vie intérieure.
Bonnal’s symphony is a free paraphrase in three movements that correspond to the following texts from Septuagesima Sunday, the first of three Sundays before the Lenten season:

1. In the midst of Life we deal with Death. To whom can we turn if not to You, Savior, who has suffered so much for our sins.
2. Holy and Merciful Savior, do not deliver us to a bitter death. Our fathers have hoped in You, and You have delivered them.
3. Our fathers have cried toward You; they cried, and they were not disappointed. Holy God, God full of strength, do not deliver us to a bitter death.
The first movement, rather slow and very calm, presents two themes: the first one is contrapuntal; the second is like a chorale. In the second movement, a luminous trio—a sort of colorful arabesque (with the Positive Nazard, Flute 4' and Tierce 13⁄5' in the right hand, the Swell 8' foundation stops in the left hand and the Pedal 8' and 4' stops)—seems to express the hope mentioned in the text; after a section on the Swell Voix Celeste with a Flute 4' in the Pedal, the piece ends on an A-flat major chord with a quiet 16' in the Pedal. The third movement, which uses themes from the other movements, becomes increasingly flamboyant, leading to a free, lyrical second melody on the Positive Clarinet 8', followed by an arabesque on the Great Harmonic Flute 8'. After a progressive crescendo with the theme announced tutti in the Pedal, two measures of silence and a brief return to the Clarinet solo, there is a final distressful cry. Bonnal dedicated this work to his friend Joseph Bonnet who greatly appreciated it:
Ta nouvelle œuvre est magnifique, d’une grande profondeur de sentiment d’une haute sérénité musicale et poétique. Tu as tiré un parti excellent de la mélodie si belle et traduit les sentiments exprimés par le texte littéraire sous l’âme d’un grand artiste chrétien. Ton œuvre, comme toutes les précédentes du reste, témoigne d’une haute sincérité humaine et artistique.35

[Your new work is magnificent, a very deep, peaceful expression of great musicality and poetry. You have brought out the best in the beautiful melody and translated the feelings contained in the literary text as expressed by a great Christian artist. Your work, like all of your previous ones, testifies to an utmost human and artistic sincerity.]

In this same letter, Bonnet advised Bonnal to contact the publisher Leduc, who, thanks to Bonnet’s intervention, published this work in 1933. Bonnet played this symphony on numerous occasions, notably for a mass at Saint-Eustache Church in Paris on January 28, 1934. He also recorded it for the BBC. Encouraged by these successes, which placed him in the upper ranks of the French organ scene, Bonnal participated in a series of eight recitals organized by the Amis de l’Orgue on the Mutin organ at Saint-Bernard College in Bayonne.

His adherence to the neo-classical organ
Around 1930, Bonnal had been appointed titular organist at Saint-André Church in Bayonne, a neo-Gothic church built 1856–1869. The 32-stop, three-manual organ was built in 1863 by the Wenner et Götty firm from Bordeaux (Georges Wenner and Jacques Götty founded their firm in Bordeaux in 1848). This organ was a gift to the city from Napoléon III. When a vault collapsed above the organ loft in December 1895, Gaston Maille, who had taken over the Wenner firm in 1882, restored this symphonic organ from 1898 to 1902; an electric blower was installed probably during the 1920s. (See photo 3.)
In 1933, Bonnal supervised the restoration of this instrument by Victor Gonzalez, in collaboration with André Marchal, who had a home in Hendaye, and Norbert Dufourcq, much of whose family lived in Labastide-Clairence, a village about 20 kilometers from Bayonne. Bonnal described its neo-classical aesthetic:
on the Swell, we added a Plein-Jeu II and a Clairon that came from the Positive; on the Positive, some new stops were installed: Nazard, Doublette and Tierce, replacing the Gambe, Trompette and Clairon; for early music, the Clarinet was transformed into a Cromorne . . . The deteriorated pneumatic elements were replaced with a modified tubular system which provided more rapid and perfect precision . . .36
Finally, this 35-stop instrument was entirely revoiced to give more fullness to the foundation stops and more distinction to the reed stops. (See photo 4.)

Saint-André Church, Bayonne
Wenner et Götty / Maille (1902) / Gonzalez (1933)

I. GRAND ORGUE (56 notes)
16' Montre
8' Montre
8' Bourdon
8' Flûte Harmonique
4' Prestant
22⁄3' Nazard
2' Doublette
Plein-Jeu IV
Cornet V (C3)
16' Bombarde
8' Trompette
4' Clairon

II. POSITIF (56 notes)
16' Bourdon
8' Principal
8' Bourdon
8' Salicional
4' Flûte
22⁄3' Nazard
2' Doublette
13⁄5' Tierce
8' Cromorne

III. RÉCIT (56 notes)
8' Cor de nuit
8' Violoncelle
8' Flûte Harmonique
8' Voix Céleste
4' Flûte Octaviante
2'/1' Plein-Jeu II
8' Voix Humaine
8' Basson-Hautbois
8' Trompette Harmonique
4' Clairon

PÉDALE (30 notes)
16' Flûte
8' Flûte
16' Bombarde
8' Trompette

Combination Pedals: Thunderstorm Pedal, G.O./Péd, Pos/Péd, Réc/Péd; Pos./G.O., Réc/G.O.; Réc./Pos; Réc/G.O. 4, Pos/G.O. 16. To activate the Reeds: on the Réc, Pos and G.O. To activate the G.O. keyboard. To activate the Pos Mixtures; Réc Tremulant.

Pistons under the G.O. keyboard: Soft Foundation stops, Foundations 8 and 4, Foundations 8, 4 and 2, Tutti Plein-Jeu, General Tutti.

Bonnal performed the inaugural recital on September 27, 1933:

I.
J. S. Bach’s Toccata and Fugue
A Sarabande grave by François Couperin
Father Martini’s Gavotte (for the new “carillon-like stop” [the Swell Plein-Jeu II])
N. de Grigny’s Trio en dialogue (utilizing the Cromorne stop)
D. Buxtehude’s Fugue in C major

II.
C. Franck’s Third Choral
Tournemire’s L’Orgue mystique, Op. 57 (nos. 1–4), which had been dedicated to him
Joseph Bonnet’s Epithalamé, Op. 5 (1909)
E. Bonnal’s Cloches dans le ciel (first public performance).
On November 8, 1933, Bonnal’s organ students gave another concert:

Irène Darricau performed two pieces by J. J. Lemmens
Jeanne Larre (Vierne)
Renée Gemain (Franck)
Marylis Bonnal [his daughter] (a piece by Périlhou)
Mady Galtier, the organist at the Saint-Charles Church in Biarritz (a Bach Fugue)
Christian d’Elbée (Franck’s First Choral)
Ermend Bonnal (his own Paysages euskariens).

This beautiful organ has remained unchanged to this day and was classified as a historical monument in 2001. According to the present titular organist, Etienne Rousseau-Plotto, in addition to the French symphonic repertory, French organ music from the 1930s sounds absolutely spectacular on this organ.37
In 1933, the same year as the restoration of the Saint-André organ in Bayonne, Tournemire had requested the Société Cavaillé-Coll firm to modify his own historic 1858 A. Cavaillé-Coll organ at Sainte-Clotilde Basilica in Paris. According to an article by Bérenger de Miramon Fitz-James,38 following the reinauguration of this organ on June 30, 1933, the following ten stops had been added to this instrument: a Cornet on the Grand-Orgue; a Tierce and a Piccolo on the Positif; a Quintaton 16', a Nazard, a Tierce, a Plein-Jeu IV and a Bombarde on the Récit; and a Bourdon 16' and a Quinte 51⁄3' in the Pedal. The wind pressure was lowered on the Positif, the Positif Unda Maris was transformed into a Salicional, and the Positif Clarinet was moved to the Récit. In addition, a new console was installed with three 61-note manuals and a 32-note pedalboard, along with numerous pedal combinations. Following this restoration, a series of seven benefit recitals was given to help cover the restoration expenses. On March 22, 1934. Bonnal ended the fourth concert, given with the following artists who performed their own works:

Daniel-Lesur – La Vie intérieure
Olivier Messiaen – Diptyque
André Fleury – Prélude, Andante, Toccata
Maurice Duruflé – Adagio and Choral varié on the “Veni Creator”
Ermend Bonnal – Symphonie sur le Répons “Media Vita”

In 1934, Bonnal was awarded the Prix Durand (with Guy Ropartz) as well as the Grand Prix of a wine competition in Bordeaux for his Hymn au Vin. Bonnal then gave a series of prestigious organ concerts. On March 28, 1936, he performed a recital on Emile Bourdon’s organ at the Monaco Cathedral. On September 1, 1936, he inaugurated, with André Marchal, the organ restored by Victor Gonzalez at the Bayonne Cathedral. On January 28, 1937, he performed his own La Vallée du Béhorléguy au matin in the eighth concert of La Spirale at the Schola Cantorum, with his fellow colleagues: Jehan Alain (Suite), Olivier Messiaen (Jules Le Febvre’s Prélude, Aria et Final and selections from his La Nativité du Seigneur [Les Bergers, La Vierge et l’Enfant, and Les Anges]); Daniel-Lesur premiered his own Cinq Hymnes; Jean Langlais, his own Hommage à Francesco Landino and Mors et resurrectio; and André Fleury, his own Deux mouvements (Très lent and Vif et agité). How exciting it must have been to attend this concert! On April 26, 1937, Bonnal inaugurated the Debierre organ in the Preparatory School at the Aire-sur-Adour Seminary.
In the mid 1930s, both Bonnal and Tournemire were drawn to St. Francis of Assisi. On July 19, 1933, Bonnal had thanked Tournemire for having sent him his Fioretti pieces:

J’admire qu’après le monument qu’est l’Orgue mystique vous puissiez écrire d’autres pièces en renouvelant encore votre style. Une telle abondance dans sa richesse est une chose magnifique et si rare qu’on ne l’avait pas vue depuis Bach! Quel haut exemple vous êtes pour nous: vos disciples! Donc merci mon bon maître et ami d’être la lumière qui nous aide à avancer dans la voie difficile, mais belle!

[I admire that after the monument which is the Orgue mystique that you can write other pieces while continually renewing your style. Such a rich abundance, so magnificent and rare, has not been seen since Bach! What a noble example you are for us, your disciples! Therefore, thank you my dear master and friend to be such a light which helps us to advance on the difficult but beautiful path.]

A year and a half later, on May 7, 1935, Bonnal’s Franciscan Poems39 were performed in a concert at the Grand Théâtre in Bordeaux, broadcast live on the radio. That same year, Tournemire and his second wife, Alice, became members of the third order of Saint Francis of Assisi. In 1937, Tournemire finished a theatrical work that crowned his career: Il Poverello di Assisi, Op. 73 (five lyrical episodes in seven scenes on a text by Joséphin Péladan).40 Both Bonnal’s and Tournemire’s two monumental works, centered around this great saint, certainly prepared the way for Olivier Messiaen’s future opera Saint François d’Assise (1983).

His positions in Paris
In 1938, the French Institut awarded Bonnal the coveted Prix Lassere for his compositions. On September 3, 1939, the Second World War broke out. On November 3, Tournemire died mysteriously, leaving the organist post vacant at Sainte-Clotilde Basilica in Paris. However, since the government had closed the church (which was located just across from the Ministry of War) for fear of bombings, no successor was named. Bonnal did indeed write a text for L’Orgue in homage of Tournemire, entitled “L’Homme et L’Oeuvre,” which was published in March, 1940.41
In the summer of 1940, Sainte-Clotilde Basilica reopened. The organ was played during services by Bernard Schulé (1909–1996), an organ student of Joseph Bonnet who was the titular at the British Embassy Church since 1935 and who had substituted at Sainte-Clotilde for Tournemire since fall 1938. Schulé was a close friend of both Norbert Dufourcq and André Marchal.42
In 1941, Bonnal returned to live in Paris, where he was appointed to work with Henri Busser as Inspecteur Général de l’Enseignement Musical à la Direction des Beaux-Arts [General Inspector of Musical Education for the Direction of Fine Arts] throughout France. Dufourcq then organized a competition to determine Tournemire’s successor at Sainte-Clotilde. It was supposed to take place on December 20, 1941, precisely at 1:30 p.m. According to the announcement, the public was invited to attend with free admission; the church was to be heated. The candidates (Jean Langlais, Antoine Reboulot, and Daniel-Lesur) were to improvise a prelude and fugue and the verses of a hymn and to perform a work each by Bach, Franck, and Tournemire. Daniel-Lesur, who was supported by Olivier Messiaen, was hoping to compete. However, this competition was cancelled, due to the fact that many of the possible candidates were held as prisoners or were demobilized in the free zone during the war, thereby preventing them from coming to Paris to officially apply for this post. This was, in any case, Daniel-Lesur’s situation. On December 14, 1941, Norbert Dufourcq wrote a letter to Jean Langlais, informing him that the competition would occur at a later date.43
Then it was decided that an interim organist would be designated at Saint-Clotilde until a competition could be held after the war. When Sainte-Clotilde reopened in February, 1942, Canon Verdrie, the church priest, named Bonnal as titular without a competition, due to his fame as a well-known and respected musician who had been highly recommended by Count Bérenger de Miramon Fitz-James. After his nomination to this prestigious post, Bonnal thus became the successor to his lifelong friend and professor, Charles Tournemire.44 According to Bonnal’s daughter Marylis, numerous prominent musicians encouraged him to accept this post (notably Norbert Dufourcq, Béranger de Miramon Fitz-James, André Marchal, Noëlie Pierront, Gaston Poulet, René Calvet). Bonnal rarely remained in Paris since he often traveled throughout France to inspect conservatories. Thankfully, Schulé was able to substitute for him. (See photo 5, page 28.)
Bonnal felt that making music in French conservatories during this tragic time represented a sign of hope for the future. He encouraged students to maintain the following objectives:

D’abord le travail et la discipline dans l’effort: c’est à dire les deux ferments qui forgent, grandissent et trempent les caractères, purifient et annoblissent les ambitions. Ensuite: la recherche constante de la qualité. Songez qu’il ne doit pas vous suffire d’être d’excellents virtuoses possédant de sérieuses qualités techniques, il vous faut devenir d’authentiques musiciens.
La musique vous la découvrirez dans la pratique quotidienne, dans la fréquentation permanente des grands musiciens, des Bach, Mozart et Beethoven, pour n’en citer que trois parmi les plus grands. Vous devez par la méditation fréquente, essayer d’entrer en communion avec l’âme de ces grands humains qui furent de très grands penseurs. N’en jouer, même parfaitement, que le texte musical, c’est n’en connaître que la lettre, mais cela ne suffit pas, il vous faut en rechercher l’Esprit.
Soyez donc très ambitieux spirituellement et vous aurez un jour la surprise de découvrir la musique là où elle se trouve, en son seul domaine qui est celui des mouvements de l’Ame, de la connaissance humaine . . . en un mot: de la poésie!
Je n’ai jamais oublié ce mot admirable que me dit un jour mon cher ami Paul Dukas: “il n’y a pas d’art sans poésie.”45

[First of all, one must work and discipline one’s efforts: this will forge, expand and solidify one’s character, purify and ennoble one’s ambition . . . Constantly search for quality; it’s not enough to be an excellent virtuoso with a serious technique, you must become authentic musicians.
You must daily discover the great musicians: Bach, Mozart and Beethoven, to mention only these three among the greatest. Through frequent meditations, you must try to enter in communion with the souls of these great people who were very great thinkers. It does not suffice to play the musical text perfectly, this only allows you to know the letter; you must look for the Spirit.
Dare therefore to be spiritually ambitious and you will one day be surprised to discover that music belongs to the exclusive field . . . of poetry!
I’ll never forget the admirable words of my dear friend Paul Dukas who told me one day: “There is no art without poetry.”]

During the war, Bonnal took his vacations each August at Saint-Sever (in the Landes). He stayed in the home of Father Binsoll, the priest in Arièle, a nearby village. Each day, Bonnal visited his dear friends Ambroise Dupouy (organist at the Abbatial Church in Saint-Sever since 1840—who was responsible for the installation of its beautiful A. Cavaillé-Coll organ there in 1898—who died at the end of World War II), and his son Jean Dupouy (1896–1965), who succeeded him. Ambroise Dupouy’s daughter Jeanine, born in 1922, took daily lessons with Bonnal and her father. She has testified to Bonnal’s rigorous and severe approach, emphasizing his noble ideas and his meticulous care concerning details of touch, phrasing and fingering.
At the beginning of his summer vacation in 1844, Bonnal gave an organ concert with Jean Etchepare’s Double Vocal Quartet at Saint-André Church in Bayonne on Monday, July 31, 1944 at 3:45 p.m. This may seem like an odd time to give a concert, but this was due to the fact that many of the organ concerts in churches at that time served as an introduction and a conclusion to the exposition and benediction of the Holy Sacrament. Bonnal’s eclectic programs combined classical music with the popular traditional Basque repertory:

J. S. Bach: Toccata and Fugue (in D minor)
C. Franck: First Choral
A Basque Cantique (sung by the Double Vocal Quartet)
C. Franck: Second Choral
E. Bonnal: Joie et Joie for a men’s choir, set to a text by Loÿs Labèque
C. Franck: Third Choral
Improvisation on a given theme (by E. Bonnal)

E. Bonnal: O Salutaris
Josquin des Près: Ave Vera Virginitas
E. Bonnal: Tantum Ergo (in the Basque style) (sung during the exposition and benediction of the Most Holy Sacrament)
To conclude, Bonnal played J. S. Bach’s Chorale on the Veni Creator (most certainly his Fantasia super “Komm heiliger Geist, Herre Gott,” BWV 651).

Following this concert on July 31, Bonnal went to Saint-Sever to rehearse for a “Grand Concert Spirituel” that he was planning to give on Friday, September 8, 1944, at the Abbatial Church there, in collaboration with the Calvet Quartet and the Parish Schola directed by the organist Jean Dupouy. The proposed program:

I.
J. S. Bach: Toccata and Fugue (in D minor)

II.
N. de Grigny: Trio en dialogue
F. Couperin: Sarabande grave
N. Clérambault: Dialogue du 1er Ton
Cl. Balbastre: Noël (“Joseph est bien marié”)

III.
Händel: Sonata (in D major) for organ and violin (with Joseph Calvet)

IV.
E. Bonnal: Paysage landais
Noël landais
Improvisation (on a given theme)

V.
Maurice Ravel: Quatuor (played by the Calvet Quartet during the exposition and benediction of the Holy Sacrament)
At the end, Bonnal had programmed C. Franck’s Final.

During his visits to rehearse in Saint-Sever, the following photo was taken (See photo 6).
Unfortunately, Bonnal’s deteriorating health, due to his many personal sacrifices and concerns during the war, provoked a stroke that led to his death in Bordeaux, on August 14, 1944. This occurred just two and a half years after his appointment to Sainte-Clotilde46 and only twelve days after Joseph Bonnet’s own death.47 In the midst of the liberation of Paris, Bonnal’s daughter Marylis learned about her father’s death while listening to the radio! During this difficult time, Bonnal was buried in Bordeaux.
In 1945, Bonnal’s wife Hélène moved with her young children to Anglet. She survived, thanks to the generosity of an American organist, Mr. MacEvans, who was an officer in the American Army. He also directed a choir at the American University in Biarritz. To this day, Bonnal’s family is still extremely grateful for Mr. MacEvans’ kindness. In addition, André Marchal gave several benefit concerts for Bonnal’s family. On September 18, 1949, at Saint-André Church in Bayonne, with the singer Madame Malnory-Marsillac, the program included works by Bach, Couperin, Franck, Tournemire, and Bonnal (the second movement of his “Media Vita” Symphony). On May 15, 1952, Marchal performed another concert on the Saint-André organ in Bayonne, in Bonnal’s memory, with commentaries by Norbert Dufourcq, for the Jeunesses Musicales de France. This group was highly promoted in the Basque region by Bonnal’s very close friend, Joseph Calvet. Marchal’s eclectic program displayed the various tonal colors of this organ:

Louis Couperin - Chaconne in G minor
François Couperin – “Kyrie,” 5 verses from the Mass for the Parishes
J. S. Bach – Chorale: Christ lag in Todesbanden
C. Franck – Prélude, Fugue et Variation
Louis Vierne – “Final” from the First Symphony.
In 1975, Ermend Bonnal’s body was transported from Bordeaux to the Arcangues cemetery, in the Pyrenees mountains, an area he loved dearly. For this occasion, Henri Sauguet rendered homage to Bonnal’s positive inspiration on his own personal career as well as his contribution to 20th-century French music. Sauguet evoked Francis Jammes’ poem written in homage to Ermend Bonnal:

Taillé dans le dur bois d’un chêne harmonieux,
Ton pur profil, Bonnal, se confond avec l’orgue;
Mais de nous déchiffrer le silence des cieux
Ne te remplis jamais de vile et sotte morgue.
Comme aux astres, le jour, voilés par leur pudeur,
L’ombre est ce qui convient à ta noble carrière.
Ah! que tombe la nuit, et toute ta splendeur
Saura la consteller de notes de lumières.

[Carved in the hard wood of a harmonious oak tree,
Your pure profile, Bonnal, is merged with the organ;
But we must fathom the silence of the heavens
Which never fills you with a vile and foolish arrogance.
Like the stars, during the day, veiled by their modesty,
Darkness is most suitable to your noble career.
Ah! May the night fall, and all of your splendor
Will spangle it with enlightened notes.]

Conclusion
Joseph Ermend Bonnal belonged to a generation of artists from Bordeaux who possessed a high degree of moral perfection in their art and in their personal lives. They all shared a common, spiritual artistic vision, devoid of material ambitions, only desiring to serve music with deep, devoted love and passion. Inspired by the renewal of both traditional and early music, Bonnal formed numerous musical societies to promote this repertory. He left us an important heritage of deeply poetical pieces inspired by the rich culture of the Basque region. The intact organ at Saint-André Church in Bayonne testifies to his adherence to the French Neo-Classical organ. A prominent composer, music educator and administrator, a first-rate improviser and performer, Bonnal was indeed a dignified successor to his master and friend, Charles Tournemire, as titular organist at the Sainte-Clotilde Basilica in Paris. Bonnal served his art with humility. In spite of the numerous obstacles he encountered during his lifetime, Bonnal’s noble aspirations, along with the faithful support of his friends, enabled him to pursue his ongoing quest for perfection.

Acknowledgements
Carolyn Shuster Fournier warmly expresses her gratitude to: Mayette Bonnal, François and Marylis Raoul-Duval (members of Bonnal’s family), Madame Catherine Massip and Madame Vallet-Collot of the Bibliothèque nationale de France, Cécile Auzolle, Madame Marie-Françoise Romaine Brown-Bonnet, Aurélie Decourt, Madame Janine Dupouy, Brigitte de Leersnyder, Jacqueline Englert-Marchal, Adolphine and François Marchal, Yannick Merlin, Etienne Rousseau-Plotto Marie-Christine Ugo-Lhôte, and to the Ruth and Clarence Mader Memorial Scholarship Fund for its grant in 2006.