Satie E. Pieces for piano

Erik Satie (1866–1925) — the French composer and pianist, inspirer of well-known Les Six, the members of which were Milhaud, Poulenc and Auric.Even Jean Cocteau acclaimed Satie's music the anti-romantic model. Satie's creation is diverse — from trifle bagatelles resembling the sort of Montmartre cabaret shanties to refined philosophic monologues permeated with mystic spirit of the «Rose and Cross» society. Four pieces with original title «Ogive» (ogive — the French architectural indication for the Gothic arch) refer to 1886. The young composer seemed to have been carried away by the Gregorian choral and revealed his emotion most ample in these pieces. The quasi-archaic «Sarabands» (1887) are pierced with the subsequences of unsolved dissonances, while the «Gymnopedies» (thus the military ritual of honours to perished heroes were called in ancient Sparta) are stained in anguishing lyrical hues. The «Gnosiennes» (1889) — is the composer's tribute to the Gnosticism (gnosis is translated as knowledge from the Greek), intricate mystic trend basing Christian dogmatism, Grecian ancient philosophy of the decay and oriental doctrines. Satie saturates facture with pseudo-oriental turns (active melismata). «Frozen Pieces» (1897), «Nocturnes» (1919) and «Minuet» (1920) demonstrate the composer's researches in harmony and rhythmic sphere on the ground of strictly constructed melodic line.

CONTENTS:

Ogives
   I (Music text example)
   II
   III
   IV  
Sarabands (I, II, III)  
Gymnopedies (I. II, III) 
Gnossiennes(I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII) 
Frozen Pieces
     I. Tune Carrying Away (Music text example)     
     II. Wrong Foot Dance 
Nocturnes
   I (Music text example)
   II
   III
   IV
   V     
Minuet 
Glossary