Erik Satie.
French composer; lived from 1866 to 1925; a lot happened in Paris at that time. Satie initially wrote a lot of 'old' salon music following his father's example; he was rejected from the Conservatory as musically untalented; he was a cabaret and bar pianist, then studied medieval music and Gregorian chant, and graduated in counterpoint technique.
Later he became a friend and advisor of Tzara, yes, Tristan Tzara and Dadaism, who I think did important things besides the many funny things, like when a tailcoat/evening/very-dressed group was 'forced' through a dilapidated and terribly dirty toilet to get the stage of a ceremonial performance, because they cleverly blocked the other stairs leading to the main hall...
He was a member of many other movements, perhaps even joining the Rosicrucian Society; there are many interesting things to read about his life. At that time, there was an incredibly diverse and bustling life there.
French composer; lived from 1866 to 1925; a lot happened in Paris at that time. Satie initially wrote a lot of 'old' salon music following his father's example; he was rejected from the Conservatory as musically untalented; he was a cabaret and bar pianist, then studied medieval music and Gregorian chant, and graduated in counterpoint technique.
Later he became a friend and advisor of Tzara, yes, Tristan Tzara and Dadaism, who I think did important things besides the many funny things, like when a tailcoat/evening/very-dressed group was 'forced' through a dilapidated and terribly dirty toilet to get the stage of a ceremonial performance, because they cleverly blocked the other stairs leading to the main hall...
He was a member of many other movements, perhaps even joining the Rosicrucian Society; there are many interesting things to read about his life. At that time, there was an incredibly diverse and bustling life there.
Imagine when he wrote the accompaniment to A Midsummer Night's Dream with Cocteau, or when the already legendary Diaghilev's Ballets Russes performed Parade among Picasso's sets.
Or when Satie's music played during René Clair's surrealist film...
He had one true love, Suzanne Valadon, who was an artist, model, and above all a painter, and yes, she became the mother of Utrillo, the legendary alcoholic-painting genius, but by then she had left Satie long ago.
What is still very widely known today from Satie's music is the Gymnopédie cycle.
The year is 1888.
A wealth of explanations detail what this music is, where it came from, etc.… Inspired by the music of ancient Greece; a sarabande-based dance; some melody from the movement culture of ancient Sparta; another old war dance; some religious ceremony; simply a theatrical accompaniment, etc.… A few years later, Debussy arranged it for a large orchestra; since then, five million arrangements, film scores, even the advertising industry have sucked it up.
It is also on this record, among many others.
A wealth of explanations detail what this music is, where it came from, etc.… Inspired by the music of ancient Greece; a sarabande-based dance; some melody from the movement culture of ancient Sparta; another old war dance; some religious ceremony; simply a theatrical accompaniment, etc.… A few years later, Debussy arranged it for a large orchestra; since then, five million arrangements, film scores, even the advertising industry have sucked it up.
It is also on this record, among many others.
Don't expect this CD recording to be like this all the way through; however, the harmony is very strange and strong, just different from, say, 300 years ago. The performance of the Labéque sisters is extremely special to me. There are millions of very good pianists, the number of really big names is in the dozens, and this music has been played by so many people that it is questionable whether the number of performers is finite... so the comparison doesn't make much sense.
What comes off this album is the very beautiful flow, as these pieces float into our horizon; like some meteorological phenomenon, like clouds, there is a fine veil of mist between them, and a real, fluttering-thunderous performance, because some ears are used to Early Music, it is definitely not music, but some private depth comes through, on the one hand from Satie's genius, and on the other hand from the personalities of the performers, because here it is already in abundance, so it is extremely fine individual music.
Here is a short clip about the performers.
What comes off this album is the very beautiful flow, as these pieces float into our horizon; like some meteorological phenomenon, like clouds, there is a fine veil of mist between them, and a real, fluttering-thunderous performance, because some ears are used to Early Music, it is definitely not music, but some private depth comes through, on the one hand from Satie's genius, and on the other hand from the personalities of the performers, because here it is already in abundance, so it is extremely fine individual music.
Here is a short clip about the performers.
The sound quality is very good.
On good systems, it's a real piano.
It's black and quite large. The piano parts have a beautiful and delicate string and keyboard sound. And such dynamics that you fall back... because, after all, the piano story began with both piano and forte...
As a strong harpsichord lover, I have to admit that this sound is extremely touching.
The artwork.
One of the most special I've come across.
At first, it's an average quality digipack, with images assembled from Satie's sketches and drawings; then, when you turn it towards the light, at a certain angle, a hidden pattern appears, created by a thin cellophane-like material laminated on top.
His handwriting:
After Satie's death, some strange things were found in his room.
A piano, full of cobwebs... it turned out that he composed a lot in his head.
Drawings of made-up / never existing things; some of them correctly advertised in the press of the time, e.g. "Lead castle for sale at a bargain price".
And lots and lots of umbrellas...
A piano, full of cobwebs... it turned out that he composed a lot in his head.
Drawings of made-up / never existing things; some of them correctly advertised in the press of the time, e.g. "Lead castle for sale at a bargain price".
And lots and lots of umbrellas...
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