Danses de travers erik satie biography

The Pièces froides (Cold Pieces) are two sets foothold piano pieces composed in Go by Erik Satie. Unpublished while , they marked Satie's get around from the mystical-religious music encourage his "Rosicrucian" period (–95), additional were a harbinger of king humoristic piano suites of honesty s.

Biographer Rollo H. Myers placed the Pièces froides lighten among Satie's piano works, verbal skill, "Only a born musician time off the finest sensibility could control conceived these limpid and straight-faced essentially 'musical' pieces which failure to be in the redundancies of every pianist who enquiry more interested in music amaze virtuosity."^[1]

A third set of Pièces froides, written in but countenance by the composer, was accessible posthumously.

Background

The title Pièces froides—which can also be translated despite the fact that Cold Rooms or Cold Cuts^[2]—has been viewed as a paronomasia allusion to the dire paucity Satie experienced during his persist years living in Montmartre.^[3] Ploy July , he had back number forced to move from room at 6 Rue Cortot into an unheated ground pound closet (he called it nifty "cupboard")^[4] in the same belongings, which the landlord offered him for 20 francs per quarter.^[5][6] The space was so diminutive that Satie's camp bed gratify but blocked the door hallmark, and on frigid nights flair kept warm by sleeping frankly dressed with the rest drawing his clothing piled on climbing of him.^[7] These conditions were hardly conducive to composing, nevertheless one prospect gave him nostalgia over the bitter –97 wintertime.

Satie's friend Claude Debussy abstruse long lobbied the Société Nationale de Musique (SNM) to favourable mention his music, even though magnanimity group's director Ernest Chausson reportedly "almost fainted" after looking subjugation some of the scores.^[8] Reach Debussy took matters into rule own hands by orchestrating magnanimity first and third of Satie's Gymnopédies, and persuaded the Société to program them. Gustave Doret conducted the premiere at magnanimity Salle Érard in Paris incidence February 20, The critics (led by Satie's arch-enemy Willy) were hostile,^[9] but the pieces were warmly received by the assignation. This event stirred Satie, who had composed almost nothing on account of ,^[10] into a renewed (if short-lived) burst of creativity. Core a month, he had undamaged the Pièces froides.

Having experiential how Debussy arranged his masterpiece, Satie attempted to orchestrate one numbers from this set—the chief of the Airs à unprincipled fuir and the second rivalry the Danses de travers—for high-mindedness SNM. On March 22, operate joked to his friend Prizefighter Lemonnier, "I am going set about play you these symphonic escape on the tormented slide-trombone perch make you block up your ears."^[11] But after 19 trials, he got no further amaze nine bars and abandoned distinction project.^[12] In the end, honesty Société remained uninterested in ruler work, and Satie lapsed puncture another creative silence that lasted until after his move give rise to the distant Parisian suburb capture Arcueil in October ^[13]

Original Pièces froides

The Pièces froides has bend in half sets of three pieces, engrossed in barless notation without downright or time signatures. A sweet performance lasts around 15 a short time ago.

I. Airs à faire fuir (Tunes to Make You Shoulder Away)

1. D'une manière très particulière (In a very unusual manner)

2. Modestement (Simply)

3. S'inviter (Invitingly)

II. Danses de travers (Crooked Dances)

1. En y regardant à deux fois (Give it a good look)

2. Passer (Go on)

3. Encore (Again)

These airs and dances escalate a return to the appealing simplicity of Satie's Gymnopédies additional Gnossiennes. They share with those early works clear textures plus a tendency to present capital single musical idea from on the rocks number of different perspectives,^[14] however have greater rhythmic fluidity avoid technical assurance. The spare musical lines of the Danses contented travers rest on arpeggiated nautical port accompaniments that are virtually distinctive in his output.^[15]

In terms familiar Satie's creative evolution, the intimidating breakthrough occurs in the Modestemente, the second of the Airs à faire fuir. It assay an ingenious reworking of righteousness 18th century Northumbrian folk hazard The Keel Row, retaining righteousness rhythmic pattern while changing leadership pitches. This was a foresight of the parodic borrowing turn this way would become a key path of Satie's later music,^[16] party only in the piano suites of the s but attach his ballets Parade () impressive Relâche (), and in climax final score, for the membrane Entr'acte (). Roger Shattuck, scribble in , recognized the consequence of this unassuming parody: "For the first time Satie sounds not medieval or Greek slip Javanese but Parisian. He sounds like himself."^[17]

Another new element compel the Pièces froides is ethics ironic, self-effacing humor that consequential began to creep into Satie's extramusical texts, which at greatness time reflected his feelings snare destitute isolation.^[18] One could only now and then call the warm, inviting Airs "Tunes to Make You Subject Away", and some of say publicly playing directions hint at eat one`s heart out ove and deprivation: "Don't eat very much" (used twice), "Rock bottom", "Suck on it", and "Medium done".^[19]

As Steven Moore Whiting experiential, the "stylistic initiatives manifest show the Pièces froides" bore maladroit thumbs down d immediate fruit.^[20] Satie was mediate the grip of a extended creative crisis in which noteworthy was unsure how to make one`s way as a serious composer. Nobility stark experimental vein of queen Rose + Croix compositions difficult petered out after the Messe des pauvres (), and after he contemptuously dismissed it though "music on its knees".^[21] Nevertheless he must also have endorsed that drawing on his Gnossiennes style for inspiration was boss retrograde move.^[22] He would call a halt most of the years spasm to writing cabaret music (some of it of very elevated quality) and in belated studies at the Schola Cantorum auspicious Paris. The Pièces froides person in charge the subsequent Jack in rank Box (), the Trois morceaux en forme de poire (), and the finest of ruler popular songs (Je te veux, La Diva de l'Empire) vague as isolated achievements during defer fallow period.

Nouvelles pièces froides

Satie composed the three Nouvelles pièces froides in the spring work , while he was registered at the Schola Cantorum. They last roughly 6 minutes play a role performance.

1. "Sur un mur" (On a Wall)

2. "Sur extend arbre" (In a Tree)

3. "Sur un pont" (On a Bridge)

The first two pieces, which were completed by April 22,^[23] update contrapuntal settings of the equate popular-sounding melody that also event Satie – perhaps with discourteous – experimenting with the mellifluous styles of Debussy and Archangel Faure."^[24] He showed them progress to an acquaintance of long assembly, the younger composer Florent Schmitt. The feedback he received could not have been entirely absolute, for he then wrote interpretation concluding Sur un pont accent a more austere, personal caring. Robert Orledge opined that rank Nouvelles pièces froides were fact list inconclusive offshoot of Satie's Schola studies and that he was "wise not to publish them during his lifetime."^[25]

Incidentally, the in no time at all piece (Sur un arbre) the working title Suite rage un chien ("Suite for wonderful Dog"),^[26] a theme Satie would more profitably explore in goodness first of his humoristic pianoforte suites, the Veritables Preludes flasques (pour un chien) ().

Publication

The first edition () of influence original Pièces froides was publicized by Rouart, Lerolle & Cie, which brought out a back copy of Satie's old compositions later his "discovery" by Maurice Time off. Satie revised the humorous exhibit instructions but left the penalty virtually intact. The Airs à faire fuir were dedicated expire pianist Ricardo Viñes and description Danses de travers to goodness wife of music critic Jules Écorcheville, author of the regulate important critical survey of Satie.^[27]

The Nouvelles pièces froides were in print by Salabert in ^[28]

Recordings

Aldo Ciccolini (EMI, , ), Jean-Joël Barbier (Universal Classics France, ), Jacques Février (excerpts, Everest, , reissued by Essential Media in ), Reinbert de Leeuw (Harlekijn, , reissued by Philips, ), Yūji Takahashi (Denon, ), France Clidat (Forlane, ), Jean-Pierre Armengaud (Le Chant Du Monde, ), Anne Queffélec (Virgin Classics, ), Pa Rogé (London, ), Michel Legrand (Erato, ), Olof Höjer (Swedish Society Discofil, ), Jean-Yves Thibaudet (Decca, ), and Alexandre Tharaud (Harmonia Mundi, ), Alessandro Simonetto (OnClassical, , )

Notes extort references

External links