Tournier: Second Concert Fantasy

Marcel Tournier (1879–1951) was one of the most important harpist/composers in the history of the harp. Over his long career, he added a significant catalogue of very beautiful works to the harp repertoire. Many of his solo works, almost one hundred, have been consistently in print since they were first published. But in recent years harpist Carl Swanson has discovered a treasure trove of pieces by Tournier heretofore unknown and unpublished. These include the Deuxiéme Fantaisie de Concert in this edition.   The Fantaisie was discovered by accident. A set of old photocopies of the manuscript was discovered in Germany. No one knows where the original manuscript is. With the help of the great harpist Catherine Michel, Swanson has put this piece into playable form, and it is now being published for the very first time. He and Catherine often had to re-notate some passages to show clearly how they are played, re-spell some notes that have to be played enharmonically, add fingerings, pedals, and pedal diagrams.   Tournier wrote this piece when he was twenty-one, and before he became the impressionistic composer those familiar with his work know so well. It is in the late nineteenth-century romantic style that was taught at that time at the Paris Conservatory. The Fantaisie is an eight minute intermediate-level bravura piece by a first-rate composer, and a significant addition to much needed intermediate repertoire.