Today I received a Dutch translation from the book by Charles Tournemire on César Franck in which he tells about the life and work of his great master. Written in rather old-fashioned language it is sometimes very amusing. E.g. "Thinking about the mystical radiances of the art of César Franck, the disappointing and dangerous reaction of the last 20 years still doesn't stop to grow.... As a disgust, it seems to come forth from the lower regions, to disgrace the beauty of the art!"
Also, he writes about his Maitre Angélique in bombastic language, as if he were a saint: "...angels and archangels and the whole empire of spirits of the afterworld came to visit the soul of César Franck". Yet this book contains interesting details on how to perform the organ works.
Inspired by this book, I tried to perform this Pastorale more or less according to his instructions. Tournemire writes that this is a charming piece that, as for its structure, can be compared with the Fantaisie in c and he praises the simplicity of the A-B-A form. Also, he states that mostly the staccato part is performed in giddy high speed which totally destroys the balance of the piece. The Andantino should be played at 58 and the Quasi Allegretto at 100. I tried this but came back to 108 for the staccato part that to me then sounds more fluid. Hope you like this rendition.
For Dutch CCH members: the book can be ordered at
http://www.veermanmuziek.nl for E 15.80
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