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Regarding Satie waltzes
There are many to choose from. His first from 1885 Fantaisie-valse and Valse-ballet are for piano solo. From the turn at the century we have Je te Veux, Poudre d'Or, Tendrement, La Diva de l'Empire and many more, for voice and piano.
NF

I've been trying for years to get hold of written music for Satie's Ogives. Can anybody help?

Congratulations on an excellent site!
My name's Steven and I'm a violinist and bassoonist as well as a big fan of Erik Satie. Does anyone know of any pieces by Satie for violin and piano, aside from the "Choses vues à droite et à gauche (sans lunettes) or any other arrangements of his works for violin & piano? Plus, I heard a couple of years ago that some musicologist or other had found a 'lost' 4th movement to the "Choses vues..." (I always thought the 3rd movement was a bit abrupt, but you expect that from Satie). Does anyone know any more about this? Where can I obtain a copy of the 'finished' work in score?

My first exposure to Satie was the Gymnopédies. I have played much of his other works and I am particularily fond of his set of Nocturnes. They posess a remarkable detached yet serene quality unlike any music I know.
Does anyone share this opinion?

August 12, 1996:

I need urgent help.
I try to find the notes "Sports et Divertissements" of Erik Satie. Those notes which include the witty drawings of the composer. Can anybody tell me where they are published.

August 13, 1996:

Hello once again,
Now I will take the opportunity to write something more on this really wonderful ES page. My knowledge of Erik Satie goes back some years. The first pieces which I have heard were the Gymnopedies - wonderful. It was a former friend of mine who played them. Now I have lost the connection to this friend and I am always remembering of him when I hear this music. 20 years ago I lived in Frankfurt, Germany. Once I went to a music shop and found there, by chance, a little music album "Sports et Divertissements" written by Erik Satie. I was fascinated of the music and, in particular, by the witty drawings which accompagnied the music and the short textes. I alsways thought, that these drawing were also made by ES. Unfortunately, I did not buy this music 20 years ago. Now I have tried, some years later, to find this music (notes) again, but no one in Germnay could help me to find this edition with the drawings. I have only found an edition without drawings. In the preface is written (and that is the reason, why I believe that there must be an edition with the drawings: "Cette publication est constituée de deux éléments artistiques: dessin, musique. La partie dessin est figurée par des traiots, des traits d'esprit; la partie musicale est representée par des points, des points noirs. Ce deux parties réunies en un seul volume forment un tout: un album...." So I wrote to SEDIM in Paris; they distribute exclusively the music notes of ES; I asked them, whether they could help me. I got back a short Fax, that they have sent my inquiry to Editions Salabert; they are the owner of the copyrights of ES's music. Up to now, I have no answer. Can anybody help me? Do these music notes (with the witty drawings) exist? Where are they published? Last but not least: congratulations to this "News group", it's really fine.
Dr. Wolfgang Trabert

Hello once again,
I am still looking for the music notes of "Sports et Divertissements". In the meanwhile I made some progress because I have got an answer of Madame Ornella Volta from Paris who is responsible for the archive of Erik Satie. She told me about two editions of "Sports et divertissements" with the illustrations of Charles Martin. One of these publications is issued 1982 in New York by Dover (ISBN 04 8624 3656). The other edition is apparently one for the japonese market because there is an japonese appendix (ISBN 1117 7979 4; no publishing company). Both editions seem to be a facsimile of an original which was published at the édition Vogel (no idea whether this company still exists???) My question now is: Can anybody tell me where I can order these books, especially the first one? My bookseller here could not help me. 13. August 1996
Wolfgang Trabert

August 14, 1996:

Dr.Trabert,
Dover publishes Sports et Divertissements in catalogue no. 0-486-24365-6. I have the score. If you need me to look up something, let me know.
(Brian)

August 16, 1996:

Dear Brian,
thank you for your advice concerning Sports and divertissements. The problem now is that my bookseller here in Germany said he could not help me to order these music notes. Is there any possibility to order these music notes via internet? Nevertheless: Thank you!
Wolfgang

Regarding "Sports et Divertissements".
(This contribution is delivered from Olof Höjer and translated into English)
The witty drawings are not the composer's but a work of the French illustrator Charles Martin. Satie wrote the music with these drawings in mind. They were not distributed until after the 1st world war as an exclusive bibliophile de luxe edition which is now available, for instance, in New York in a "Collection Heidi Nitze".
A bit later they were distributed once again, this time with NEW drawings of Martin from 1922. This latter edition is now in the hands of Ornella Volta at Fondation Satie (which she showed me personally). On the music market you can nowadays find a black and white edition (which gives a rather pale opinion about the 1922 year's graphical portfolio with Satie's original music scores in black and red) published by Dover Publications, 180 Varick Street, New York, N.Y. 10014, USA (I use these myself when playing). The only way to get an opinion about how the ORIGINAL drawings looked like (they whom in 1914 inspired Satie - if not the contrary...) is, as I can think of, to read Robert Orledges "Satie the composer" (Cambridge 1990) where one of them ("Le Golf") is reproduced.

August 26, 1996:

As a pianist and a fan of French impressionist music, I am pleased by this recognition of Satie's works and by this forum. I own several copies of the sheet music for the Trois Gnossienes. However in each copy there are different English interpretations of The Velvet Gentleman's cryptic instructions. If anyone out there knows the correct translation please let me know so that I can sleep at night.

September 1, 1996:

Thank you for all the help in finding the album "sports et divertissements". Finally, I have got it from my bookseller in Frankfurt. With interest I saw that there was before the Vogel edition another private print which is now also available in a so-called "Heidi Nitze collection" at New York. Can anybody can tell me some more details about this edition, especially any bibliographic data and/or how to order this album and its price. I would be interested in that.

September 3, 1996:

does anyone know where I can find some free sheet music on the web?
thanks-Katie Stewart

October 2, 1996:

Satie trivia: Rene Clair, the late, great French film director, made a film called "Entr-Acte", in which Satie makes a brief appearance. Food for thought: Is "Sports & Divertissements" more effective when performed from the edited version (i.e., with bar lines)? What are the composer's assumptions with respect to conventional music notation? --Jim in California

October 15, 1996:

is there any actual piano score of the "Trois Gymnopedies" because if there is id really like to get a copy
can anyone help me out
belinda

Regarding piano scores of Trois Gymnopédies
If you mean manuscripts they are partially printed in litteratures and the original manuscripts are archived in Biblioteque National in Paris (I glanced through them in 1988 and found a fascinating stain of cooking-oil....)
Printed scores you can get from (for example) Editions Salabert in Paris
NF

October 29, 1996:

Greetings Satie-istes. I'm looking for the piano/vocal score of Satie's puppet opera "Genevieve de Brabant". This is the form in which it was originally scored. Later it was scored for a chamber orchestra and that is the version commonly available through Universal Editions (which I already have). Am hoping to stage it this summer at the College of Marin,(California). Any and all leads gratefully accepted.
Thanks,Paul Smith

October 30, 1996:

Hello
I'm in need of some help from any Satie enthusiasts out there. I have been told that I have to do a presentation on the music of Satie and I hardly know anything. I would like to know more about his piece called Embryons Desseches if anyone has any info. I can't even get hold of any scores!! Someone please help.

November 3, 1996:

"Entr'acte" is a great little film. I think Rene Clair did it as part of the ballet "Relache" ("No Performance Tonight"). Current prints of it have a thirty-second introduction tacked on the front, featuring Satie and Francis Picabia firing a cannon at you. This introduction wasn't originally part of "Entr'acte", but a way to signal the beginning of "Relache" itself; instead of striking the stage three times according to French theater tradition, Satie fired a cannon at the audience!

November 17, 1996:

I am trying to translate Satie's "L'Omnibus automobile" into English. The word "sergots" appears, but isn't in any French dictionary I've been able to find. If you know what it means, please tell me
Thanks!
--Ed Ducayet

November 18, 1996:

Help... I have listened to First Gymnopedie and believe that I have heard this in at least one recent movie but cannot remember which one. Can anyone enlighten me?

November 26, 1996:

Hello
I wonder if any one know where i can find TEXT and notes to Le Piège de Meduse (comedy with music) with text of Satie.

December 3, 1996:

Im studing piano and i want some satie scores to learn how to play these beautiful music. Please tell me where i can download these scores. how to get it
regards,
felipe rossi

December 13, 1996:

Hi, my name is Yuval,
I'm looking for the text of "MORT DE SOCRATE".
Can anyone please help me?
--Thanks.
--Yuval.

December 22, 1996:

I m writting again, trying to get some satie s scores or MIDI files. If anyone have something related with this "L'enfant terrible" (as debussy named him ) please let me know
Kind regards
Felipe Rossi

December 24, 1996:

hello, my name is sonny, I first heard Erik Satie whilst driving in the rain to pick-up a friend. Anyway the song I heard was "Carmen E-Dragon" played on piano and harp, the song was so haunting that I began to collect all the music that I could find by this genius unfortunately I have been unable to locate "carmen E-Dragon"

Regarding Carmen E-Dragon
Never heard of. Not listed in any litterature. Someone else know?

January 12, 1997:

C'est incroyable de trouver a news group on Satie!
He was one of my first favorite composers (thanks to the Ciccolini recordings)...The Gymnopedies are a quiet window to the Soul..Le Fils des Etoiles, the Rosicrucian Music, and the Nocturnes are sublime things...maybe accidents...When Sati wasn't feeling insecure, he was a Great Mystic...P.s. I just bought a "pneu" written by him.. (I stumbled upon this News Group by accident, vaguely...) Good Luck!
(Someone Born Very Old in a Very Old World)

Thanks. Maybe you meant "....born very young in a very old world" (Satie's statement)....

January 23, 1997:

Regarding L'Omnibus automobile
Regarding Le Mort de Socrate
Regarding Le Piège de Meduse
The word "sergots" is a slang word for police officers.
The text of La Mort de Socrate can be found in Satie's partition, edition Max Eschig, Paris.
Le Piege de Meduse has been annotated by O. Volta and edited in Paris, ed. du Castor astral, 1988, and in Hofheim (Germany) at Wolke, in 1990 (German translation by Silke Hass). You can also find it in English in Erik Satie, A Mammal's Notebook, edited by O. Volta, London, Atlas Press 1996 (translation Antony Meleille).
Ornella Volta (English translation by Sofi Frossen)

January 30, 1997:

I first listened to Satie a year ago and I became very fascinated by his music. It`s so melancolic, and still it has a lot of dejected humour. His life is also fascinating. Perhaps he was born in the wrong century?

February 7, 1997:

Hi.
I'm pretty new to Satie's work, my cousin played The Gymnopedes No.1 a while ago and I fell in love with the complete harmonic and haunting sound of 'No.1, it is such a gentle piece and I would love to learn how to play it. As does the Lady who wrote in, can I get free sheet music on the Net?
Thanks very much,
Alex

Regarding free sheet music on the Internet
I haven't done any extensive research on this but I have quite recently published the "unappetizing choral" from Sports et Divertissements. I also have some copies of Satie's manuscripts that I'm planning to publish soon.
NF

February 11, 1997:

From Luc Jeanjean (Montpellier,France)
Hello!!! That's great to find this site on the Web.
Just listen to the Gymnopédies orchestred by Debussy. I find them magic...
AU REVOIR MES AMIS...

February 18, 1997:

Recently I "discovered" Satie's "Prélude d'Eginhard". It is a beautiful piece of music which was published posthumously. You can find it on A. Ciccolini's selection of 'Mystical Works' of Satie on the EMI-label. It was also used in the film "Satie & Suzanne" in a performance by Reinbert de Leeuw, which I also found interesting, yet a bit 'rough'. I would like to know how other Satie-fans feel about this work, and Satie's 'mysticism' in general (Rose+Croix, Ogives, ...). Is it too etherical? Is it exciting? Or do you consider it boring, and less interesting than his 'Gymnopédies', 'Gnossiennes', etc. I myself am still in doubt about this, and would like to hear from you.
Tom Verheyden, Antwerp, Belgium

February 24, 1997:

Hello, or bonjour, as Satie would say. I'm a younger Satie enthousiast from Calgary, Canada. Recently, I have been working on the first three Gnossiennes for piano. One of you commented how they sound like flowing down the Nile... Actually, some of the inspiration came to him while he visited an archaelogical site in Greece. Looking down into the tomb, he wondered about life way back when, especially dancing! Anyhow, I am quite impressed by this site! Rathu Atsravas

February 27, 1997:

Incroyable! A 'news group' for Erik Satie...!
I would like to know if anyone has information on Satie's 4-hand piano music. I might have to perform "En Habit de Cheval" and would like to know the background of how he came to write this piece. Also: I'm enchanted by Satie's "Trois Petites Pieces Montees": were these written for chamber orchestra? If they were, does anyone know where I can get a copy of the score?
Louis Cigliano

February 28, 1997:

does anyone has the "premiere gymnopédie " score ???
Im hardy looking for these sheets and will be grateful if someone can send it via e-mail to me.
Kind regards
frossi
frossi@africanet.com.br

March 22, 1997:

Here's a dumb, dumb question that I'm sure everyone know the answer to except me: What does "gymnopedies" mean? I know that "trois" is "three" -- I remember that much from high school French. But I've gotten so many weird and unlikely readings of the "gymnopodies" -- . Please, won't one of you Satie enthusiasts clear up the mystery for me (and for my tuba quartet. Yes, indeed, were playing the 1st Gym. as a transcription for 2 euphoniums & 2 tubas -- sounds great!)

March 24, 1997:

Quoting a news group discussion:
>Although I can't give any actual examples, I have the impression that
>the Gymnopedies often have been used as a soundtrack for TV programs
>and films, in order to create a somewhat melancholy, neurotic, introvert atmosphere?
>- Personally, of some reason they always give me an association to wistful moods of
>childhood summer days... Any comments?
>Yep - it´s used for commercials for insurances and skin care products (in Germany).
>If Satie would know that, he´d surely be laughing aloud in his sinster grave.

Gymnopedies #1 was also featured in the ultimate Canadian movie, "Goin' Down the Road" (1970).

April 5, 1997:

I was looking for the text of "Socrate", but never got a reply from anybody. I know, the text is from Aplaton's writings, but I don't know exactly which of his writings. (I do not speak French.) Maybe you as another Satie lover can help me with that?
--Thanks, Yuval.

April 8, 1997:

Yuval:
Ornella Volta edited a book of Satie's writings called "A Mammal's Notebook." It came out in November of last year and includes the English text of "Socrate." Ask your local bookstore to look it up in Books in Print and order it for you.
Mike Topp

April 9, 1997:

You can find an French/English translation in a CD by Jean Belliard (tenor) and Billy Eidi (piano) of Socrate and the six nocturnes on Timpani records, 1C1020, distributed in the U.S. by Qualitron Imports. This is my all-time favorite recording of the piece, and I think you would enjoy it. You can email me if you need further help.
The text itself is Victor Cousins' French translationof the Dialogues of Plato in three parts: the first, from the Symposium; the second, from Phaedrus; and the third, from Phaedo.
I hope this helps.
Brian

I believe that Satie represents the genuine birth of modernity in music, an accolade that is not often accorded his music because it represents such an extreme contrast compared with contemporaneous compositions, especially those of Wagner, Debussy and the French School of Delibes, d'Indy, etc. Because his compositions are so quixotic, deliberately anti-traditional, they are often overshadowed byh developments in Vienna and Europe that seemed to be important, yet were exactly the kinds of musical trends that Satie, as a refined Frenchman of the highest tastes, was reacting against.
As part of an overt attempt to found a nationalist school of music which would stand as far apart from the extremes of Romanticism, from the aching excesses of Wagernianism, as France was demanding, which would also involve Ravel, Satie moved to modality as a different musical language; one stood for ideals of clarity and simplicity, and employed simple textural writing as a move against the density of form and texture epitomising the works of the late Romantics. Music against organicism seems to be an important factor in Satie's compositional technique, paving the way for Cubist techniques of construction which Stravinsky would exploit some years later. How do people feel about inorganic music as a feature of Satie's compositional style ?
Daniel Harding
University of York Music Department

April 10, 1997:

It's my delight to present the following information from Ornella Volta:
Thanks to Sofi Frossen for the translation
NF

For your Satie web pages, I inform you that a new Archives ES collection has just been created by ed. Salabert. Six pieces of these collection (supervised by me) were just published.
1. Choeur des Marius, for tenor, choir and piano
2. Neuf chansons de cabaret, for vocals and piano
3. Trois pièces for piano (Allegro, Modéré, Verset laïque et somptueux)
4. La statue retrouvée, for trumpet and organ
5. Deux oeuvres pour violin et piano:
a) Choses vues à droite à gauche (éd. revisé et augmentée)
b) Embarquement pour Cythére
6. a) The Dreamy Fish (éd.revisée)
b) The Angora Ox
The numbers 1,3,4,5a+b,6a are edited by R. Orledge, the 2 is edited by Steven Moore Whiting and the 6b by Johny Ritz.
Once again, thank you so much for your interest in Satie.
Best regards, Ornella Volta

Dear Yuval,
regarding the text of Satie's "Socrate" I have it in english and italian (of course also in french).
If it can be of any help, I can suggest you the cd FACD36 (Factory classic compact disk) Erik Satie- Socrate that contains the original in french with the english translation.It also contains different songs with the text. If you have a fax,number I can fax you a copy of the booklet.
Best regards
Enzo Boeri

April 11, 1997:

Hi,
I am interested in finding the paper of the Gymnopedie No. 1.
I don't know where to find it in an easy way.
It could be possible to ask it from the Ricordi publishers but it would take long. Do you know a website, where I could find it?
Thanks,
Jose'Maria Guzman

April 12, 1997:

Hi~~
When you say the paper of Gymnopedie No.1, do you mean the music for it? That is readily available at good music stores, or I could send you a copy myself.
Douglas Haubert

April 15, 1997:

I play the Gnossiennes. I heard they are intended to mock Chopin's nocturnes. Does anyone know why he wrote these pieces? Also, what does Gnoossienne mean in English??
-Ben Lamorte

April 16, 1997:

Bonjour, I believe it refers to the ancient civilization on the island of Crete, Gnossos or Knossos is an archaeological site there.
D. Haubert

Dear All,
On the subject of Satie and parody, do people know Ravel's "Entretiens de la Belle at de la Bete" from the suite 'Ma mere l'Oye' ? This gently imitates Satie's style of composition, particularly the Gymnopedies, in its textural and rhythmical construction - from what I have learnt, it seems it was written as a token of affection for Satie's music, which Ravel had been instrumental in promoting during a series of concerts in 1911 (I think...), which pushed awareness of Satie's compositions to the fore; I believe Ravel's actions played a part in instigating the incredibly prolific part of Satie's compositional career which followed.

April 17, 1997:

........>a move against the density of form and texture epitomising the works of the
>late Romantics. Music against organicism seems to be an important factor in
>Satie's compositional technique, ........

I find it intriguing the parallel between Rossini, a composer that probably can be considered one of the last musicians of the 18th century, and Erik Satie, a 20th century musician. Both reacted against romanticism during the 18th century. Rossini against the winning romanticism by writing very short piano miniatures (peches de ma vieillesse). Satie did the same against the late romanticism.
Another interesting similarity are the like the notes added to the scores.
Enzo Boeri

Yep, about "Gnossiennes", it is a faux-French word (equivalent to, say, calling someone a "Satist"), referring to the palace of Minos at Knossos, which was one of the pre-Greek cultural centres on Crete. I think Satie was probably informed of some the archeological discoveries which were going on there - this was the time of von Schliemann's exploration which included lots of socio-historical speculation and which ran counter to earlier opinions about Crete. It would have been big news at the time, and probably inspired a lot of Golden-Age thinking, as it still does (somewhere I've got a cracker of a book about the "matriarchal ecofeminist" side of Gnossos and Mycenae).
The pieces are not really "Gnossic" are they? Not as far as I know, anyway. So little is known about Greek music that it would be difficult to assess the whole question; and Satie's tendency to put odd or inconcgruous titles to music suggests that he wasn't really trying to be authentic. They ARE in and out of one of the modes, I think, the Lydian (which you can produce by playing a white-note scale on a piano, starting at F).
Emma

Hey!!
This is Juan, a spanish amateur pianist that would like to know where to find any free Satie's piano solo scores here in Internet.

April 18, 1997:

Dear All,
On the subject of reactions against the epic scale of the late Romantics, even Mahler himself seems to have anticipated the rejection of large-scale forms and performance forces in the Fourth Symphony. If you read Deryck Cooke's book on Mahler, he calls the Fourth a "neo-roccoco" work. It seems that the move towards what later became the neo-Classical movement was very much 'l'espirit du temps,' as a cultural move on behalf of French artists seeking a new aesthetic that would lead them away from the titanic shadow of Wagner, and towards the creation of a purely Gallic style. Interesting that the Austrian Mahler should have seen it coming as well.
Daniel Harding

April 20, 1997:

Ornella Volta has collected Satie's writings in a wonderful new book called "A Mammal's Notebook." The book came out within the last year. If you are interested in Satie's glacial humor, this is a must read. It collects a number of writings I haven't seen elsewhere, and includes his plays and drawings, as well as the notes he wrote that accompany the music. Very very funny.

April 21, 1997:

Re: earlier discussion of "Gnossiennes" as word coming from excavation of palaces at Knossos, on island of Crete.
I heard a different theory a long time ago, that "Gnossiennes" comes from greek word "gnosis", meaning knowledge. I just read an elaboration that makes this sound more plausible: "gnostics" were pre-christian cults who believed that matter was evil, and that emancipation came through knowledge, "gnosis."
I like the second theory. The Gnossiennes are sad, contemplative. I can see Satie honoring these early mystics.
DB
BTW, "agnostic" from "no knowlege" (of god; god is unknowable.)

April 23, 1997:

Thanks for the information about song texts in "A Mammal's Notebook." That's worth the price of admission for me. Now I can find out what happens after "Dans le grand chapeau Grenaway . . ."
Brian

April 24, 1997:

Hi all,
About Socrate: there would be trouble with any English translation of Satie's textfor Socrate, because it's his excerpts from Cousin's translation, described by Laurence Davies as "very Gallic." Why not use one of the good out-of-copyright translations, such as B. Jowett's? It would be exceedingly difficult to get a translation that was quite in line with the French, and impossible to find one which did jsutice to the original Greek AND Cousin's translation, which is no doubt relevant. And Jowett's is at least of the same period.
A further note about the Gnossiennes. I'd say that the "gnostic" hypothesis is unlikely, partly because of the good historical support of the first story (i.e. that Satie wrote them after seeing one of the exhibitions of material from the excavations on Crete). Also, gnosis is pronounced with a long "o" (like knowsis...) and would not require a double "ss", but a single one (Gnosienne). And if Satie had wanted to refer to the sects who called themselves Gnostics, then he would have called the music Gnostiennes (perhaps?). Gnostics in the mystical sense (people who believed in demiurges and so on) didn't really happen until post-Christian times and were, as far as we can tell, not keen on the Greek modes. Who knows, perhaps he was thinking about both and didn't bother being "authentic"...
btw the Gnossos idea is also borne out by the first editions of the pieces, which had Greek-style decorations on them.
That's my two cents' worth.
Emma

Olof Höjer pointed out to me that Satie's "La diva de l'empire" is a march, not a waltz (which I wrongly indicated earlier). Thanks for the correction.
NF

April 29, 1997:

Dear Satie Disciples,
Do you think that Satie should be hailed as the precursor of Modernism in music ? It seems to me that, with his masterful use of pastiche and parody, irony and sarcasm, Satie was employing facets of musical modernity long before, say, Berio's 'Sinfonietta' with the quotes from Debussy and so on. Wit, especially that of the iconoclastic kind, seems to be, if not the most important factor in aspects of Modernism, then at least one of the uppermost in dealing with models, inherited traditions, and values of the past. Satie's use of musical models, Chopin, Chabrier, Mozart, and so on, seems to anticipate the anarchic, subversive traits of later developments across the arts. Perhaps Satie should be given more credit than he deserves ?
Daniel

May 1, 1997:

Daniel,
Satie can never be given more credit than he deserves!
I was interested to hear this Modernism idea of yours. It's not really an area which I have looked into yet (but just heading into at least three months' worth of freelance composition and study, so, who knows?), but I did my B.Mus. Honours thesis on Satie and Neoclassicism, and another essay the same year looking at Satie and Minimalism, both with an eye to proving Darius Milhaud's statement that, 50 years after his death, Satie would be seen to have anticipated all major movements in music to have appeared in that time within his own body of work. I'm finishing off a preliminary website on this subject at the moment, which should be up by the end of next week.
I know that R. Orledge (in 'Satie the Composer') has mentioned Vexations as a possible early example of serialism and this seems to stand, albeit a little wobbly, thanks to Satie's use of his material in that piece.
I was unaware that modernism had this humorous side to it - I have always been under the impression that Berio's Sinfonietta was in the minority, with deadly serious people like Milton Babbitt and co. far outweighing any levity on Berio's part. Would you care to elaborate a little on this?
Caitlin.

May 3, 1997:

>>How do people feel about inorganic music as a feature of Satie's compositional style?<<

This type of music is the perfect antidote to Beethoven (not that there's anything wrong with Beethoven). We finally leave a system of composition that drives you along by cadence points. In Satie's system, there are cadence structures, but the chords are mostly pandiatonic: since the melody is predominant, any chord under it is acceptable as a coloring factor.
What I see in Satie's use of this structure is 1) Mosaics. Pieces like the Rosicrucian and later Nocturnes use cells that are juxtaposed. 2) Collages. Just as the Cubists used everyday objects out of their context to form new perspectives, here familiar pieces that people sang in the street are positioned in unique ways.
The problem, as Ned Rorem points out, is "knowing when to stop." What replaces organicity in structuring a piece? John Cage observed that Satie's solution was to replace organicity with chronicity: time is the organizing factor. This is an interesting development in 20th Century music, because this century has come to recognize time as the fourth dimension. Not only do you find strict time structures in the early pieces, but John Cage has even found it in later pieces, pointing out an elaborate phrase scheme in "Choses Vues A Droite Et A Gauche."
Is this type of composition being taught now? I think it would be an interesting technique for a young music student to experiment with.
Brian

May 6, 1997:

Dear Caitlin,
Replying to your message from last week (sorry for the delay) :-
It seems to me that the most important aspect which characterises cultural modernity is that of humour. Parody, pastiche, mannerism, deliberate quotation: all are engendered by the iconoclastic flavour of modernism, which colours its attitudes towards previous traditions. Of course, in the age of cultural nomadicism - the sense that, in an era dominated by the mass media and rapidity of international telecommunications, modern man is essentially culturally rootless - one adopts an attitude of judicious selectivity towards cultural icons, picking and discarding with a sense of liberal abandon. From what I can remember reading, Subotnik levels something of this type of argument against Stravinsky's neo-Classical works (see Essays in Honour of Leonard B. Meyer). Insitgated by Cubism with its technique of collage, the fundamental technical aspect is one of decontextualisation - lifting material from its original context, thereby depriving it of an organic sense of continuity with its surroundings, and putting it to new ends.
Satie's attitude towards Schubert, Chopin, Mozart and Chabrier is essentially one which seeks provocatively to flout conventional rules - his Cubist handling of a Classical sonata, for example, frees it from its sense of organic unity, and dismnantles its structure for the purpose of re-construction according to Satie's own ends. However, as his written annotations in several scores suggests, it seems to me that, while obviously part of a serious re-assessment of prior traditions, Satie begins the whole sense of humour in modernism, a sense which refuses to take itself, and more specifically those models it seeks to destroy, with a high degree of seriousness. It is a world far removed from Mahler and the late Romanticists, and the belief that the "symphony should embrace the world.". From here on, an amount of tongue-in-cheek begins to pervade twentieth-century cultural scrutiny, a technique of self-ridicule which reached its apotheosis in the Dadaism of Paris and Zurich, as part of a feeling of post-war betrayal. Essentially, modern attitudes of re-interpretation, when addressing previously hallowed conventions, incorporate a level of sardonicism, of irony, which would certainly never have been introduced to such an extent before. With the eclecticism that comes from a rootless, international, or even 'hyper-global' cultural development, the theme of decontextualistion becomes increasingly important in an era where the supersedence of natioanal boundaries renders any sense of 'homegrown' endeavour increasingly sidelined. Where most levels of national (even personal) identity are suddenly available to all, a deliberately anarchic, subversive manner begins to permeate the feeling of antagonistic denial. Malcolm Bradbury, for instance, describes post-modernism as being 'parody of a parody, the pastiche of a pastiche.' Irony appears as being the most effective method of dealing with the inconsistencies and betrayal in contemporary life.
I hope that's not too long !
By the way, it does form a part of what I'm currently writing my own dissertation on at York University, and I would claim all the usual copyright affirmations to do with reproduction in any form and acknowledgments, reprinting in its entireity with this message,etc. Not that it would probably be all that interesting to anyone as it is...
Daniel Harding

May 12, 1997:

if someone can, puhleeze, locate a copy of reinbert de leeuw's version of gymnopedia on phillips label (cd 446 672-2) and how i can purchase a copy of it-- i will be forever and a day grateful.
thanx
norman johnson

June 4, 1997:

-- hi! I write from italy... you know works of architectures of satie?
thanks!
Ciao, Alex.

June 16, 1997:

April 1996 (NF) - La Diva is not a valse, but a "marche chantée" (singing march?)
- les Ogives are edited by the Chant du Monde, Paris
22.9.96 (Lynne Polak) - for Georges de Feure, see the book by Ian Millman, Courbevoie (France), ACR, 1992, or an article by the same author, in Tableau Fine Arts Magazine, VI, 1, September-October 1983, or this painter's exhibition catalogue, made at the Musée du Prieuré, à Saint Germain en Laye, close to Paris, in 1995
29.10.96 - Geneviève de Brabant edited by Universal (partition piano, with a book, partition orchestra with book - these two books are just reproductions by Ornella Volta from the original book by Lord Cheminot, that Universal should edit separately in its integrality, but it hasn't been done yet. - Oeuvres pour violon et piano: le 4e mouvement de Choses vues et un inédit- Embarquement pour Cythère just came out by Salabert (coll. Archives Erik Satie).
30.10.96 - Embryons dessechés is edited by Max Eschig
27.2.97 - Same thing for Trois petites Pièces montées
28.2.97 - Les Six: Auric, Honegger, Milhaud, Poulenc, Durey and Tailleferre
- Sonatine bureaucratique is edited by Combre
- Gymnopédies, from Greek: youvois (naked/nude) Eoides (children) puisque, à Sparthe, c'était une "danse d'enfants nus" (naked/nude children's dance)
Ornella Volta

June 19, 1997:

April 15: Nothing proves that Satie wanted to joke about Chopin's nocturnes with "les Gnossiennes". The first Gnossienne ("fifth" according to the recent edition) was composed in 1889, after that Satie had heard the "airs roumains" in the World Exhibition in 1889 in Paris.
The word "Gnossiennes" comes from Cnossos (in the 19th century: Gnossos) and is possibly referring to the holy dances, danced in Cnossos' (on the Crete island) labyrinth.
According to professor Léon Guichard, in astronomy the star gnossienne is the ancient name of Ariane's Crown (Ariane was one of the stars called Crown). We also know that Ariane is the name of a mythological character who, thanks to a thread, helps Thésée to kill the Minotaur and to get him out of the Cnossos labyrinth.
April 24: For a good translation into English of Socrate, see Anthony Melville's text, in A Mammal's Notebook, Atlas Press, London, 1996.
Ornella Volta

July 2, 1997:

Hello to the Satie Fan group
Some days ago I have bought the scores of some piano pieces composed by Erik Satie. Among others there are also the scores for a valse entitled "Je te veux", dedicated to a woman. Does anybody know further details about the history of this piece? It sounds a little bit like a circus waltz and is rather different to other pieces of Erik Satie. If you want to contact me, you can do this under my e-mail adress: newtra@med-rz.uni-sb.de
Wolfgang Trabert

July 13, 1997:

Where can I find the downloadable score of Gymnopedie No.1? Please help.

July 23, 1997:

I am new to this site. I know little about music; only that I like the sound of his piano pieces. I have a 2-CD set of his pieces; it's at home and I can't tell you who the pianist is. What I am hoping someone can me me some ideas on: are there other composers I might well like, if I like Satie the best of all the composers I know? I like the peacefulness, deliberateness of his compositions. Other composers demand attention; they allow the pianist to show off how powerfully or fast he/she can play. Their music intrudes.
Any advice? Thanks for reading this far!
Larry Frazier

July 24, 1997:

You may try Olivier Messiane's "quatuor pour la fin du temps", It's not so peacefull but you may like the last movement.. it's just still and ... crystal
greetings
Alessandro Fabbri

July 24, 1997:

Dear Larry,
Have a look for music by G.I. Gurdjieff; it's in a similar vein, recorded by people such as Keith Jarret. Also, you might like some of Poulenc's choral music, perhaps have a go at one of the Sixteen and Harry Christophers recordings. Finally, if you can track it down, anything written by Mompou later in his life is worth getting. Mompou had a bit of an epiphany later in life and discovered the beauty of silence in music. His Musica Callada is superb, and definitely reminiscent of Satie, in feel at least.
Oh - and maybe Perotin if you like early music.
Yours,
Emma Rooksby

July 25, 1997:

Larry,
One composer you'll like is Francis Poulenc. The early John Cage piano works are also reminiscent of Satie. I find Frederico Mompou's piano music interesting. His _Musica Callada_ is a series of short, very spare pieces which look back to Satie's serious side.
I hope we get more responses to this. I'm interested in discovering other composers as well.

July 25, 1997:

I enthusiastically agree with Emma, and would like to add Arvo Part tho the sussegested music for Larry.
love
enzo boeri

July 26, 1997:

Dear Sir
I am a pianist and Erik Satie is my favorite composer.Recently I retired from my job as teatcher in the Fine Arts and Music School of Parana State and tarted a more intense research on the work of the great composer. For a special piano piece:Je te veux ,I was unable to get the sheet music.
If you have any sugestion to solve this problem I would appreciate.
Sincerily.
Suzy Queiroz

July 26, 1997:

Dear Suzy,
Regarding Je te veux, I suggest you contact Editions Salabert, 22 rue Chauchat, 75009 Paris, France.
They are the publishers of most of Erik Satie's works. Phone: (1) 48 24 55 60.
NF

July 28, 1997:

>are there other composers I might
>well like, if I like Satie the best of all the
>composers I know?
To add to the list, Larry:
Definitely Arvo Part, and also a number of the other European minimalists - Howard Skempton and Gavin Bryars, maybe John Tavener (that's not 'Taverner' - this one's still alive), Henryk Gorecki (not his really early stuff). Ross Edwards (especially his 'Symphony Da Pacem Domine', written in memory of the conductor Stuart Challender) may also go down well.
Hope these are of some use.
Caitlin Rowley

August 4, 1997:

Hello from Nebraska, in the U.S.A. I am a pianist-writer-director. I am currently working/researching material for a low-budget movie about the 1923 meeting between Erik Satie and Irving Berlin that took place during June of that year. Any info would be appreciated! Also, I love the stills on the website. Where can I get good copies of photos like those? And finally, does anyone think there's any copyright issues I need to be aware of if my film gets made - especially if I use photos/drawings of Erik? Respond via the newsgroup or e-mail me at Fields644@aol.com. Thanks!

August 7, 1997:

I found a great site for locating and ordering music scores "http://www.jwpepper.com/". They have the most complete listing of Satie scores I have ever seen. They order the scores from different publishers so hopefully they can really get anything that they list.

August 7, 1997:

How do I find readable transcripts of Gymnopedia?

August 7, 1997:

On 29 April 1997, Daniel Harding began a discussion on Satie as a precursor of musical modernism. This mail is in reply to his most recent posting, on 6 May, in which he wrote:
>Satie's attitude towards Schubert, Chopin, Mozart and Chabrier is essentially one which seeks provocatively to flout conventional rules - his Cubist handling of a Classical sonata, for example, frees it from its sense of organic unity, and dismnantles its structure for the purpose of re-construction according to Satie's own ends. However, as his written annotations in several scores suggests, it seems to me that, while obviously part of a serious re-assessment of prior traditions, Satie begins the whole sense of humour in modernism, a sense which refuses to take itself, and more specifically those models it seeks to destroy, with a high degree of seriousness. It is a world far removed from Mahler and the late Romanticists, and the belief that the "symphony should embrace the world.".
>From here on, an amount of tongue-in-cheek begins to pervade twentieth-century cultural scrutiny, a technique of self-ridicule which reached its apotheosis in the Dadaism of Paris and Zurich, as part of a feeling of post-war betrayal. Essentially, modern attitudes of re-interpretation, when addressing previously hallowed conventions, incorporate a level of sardonicism, of irony, which would certainly never have been introduced to such an extent before. With the eclecticism that comes from a rootless, international, or even 'hyper-global' cultural development, the theme of decontextualistion becomes increasingly important in an era where the supersedence of natioanal boundaries renders any sense of 'homegrown' endeavour increasingly sidelined. Where most levels of national (even personal) identity are suddenly available to all, a deliberately anarchic, subversive manner begins to permeate the feeling of antagonistic denial.
>Malcolm Bradbury, for instance, describes post-modernism as being 'parody of a parody, the pastiche of a pastiche.' Irony appears as being the most effective method of dealing with the inconsistencies and betrayal in contemporary life.
I agree totally with your view of Satie's attitude towards his musical models, but question the association of these attitudes with those of the modernist composers. I have, unfortunately, been able to find little on modernism specifically, but in recent weeks have read interviews with Berio and a quantity of articles on postmodernism. The postmodernism articles in particular have been of great use in helping to define modernism, as there seems to be so much difficulty in defining postmodernism. Certainly, here in Australia, the postmodernist debate is one that has been ongoing for quite a while (see "Sounds Australian" No. 33, Autumn 1992: 'Postmodernism: what is it???'), and perhaps the only possible resolution to the question is in Warren Burt's statement: " ... we're all postmodern, and there's nothing to worry about." ("SA" 33, p. 18) - but I digress.
In regard to modernism, the main thing that comes shining through all the descriptions of postmodernism I have read (literary, dance, architectural, etc.) is that, while modernism works towards building (seriously) something new - new techniques, new looks, new modes of expression - postmodernism is the antithesis of this, pulling apart the readymade in a carefree fashion and rebuilding it, frequently with a sense of humour.
In his introductory essay to "SA" 33, Burt includes a parallel listing of elements relating to modernism and postmodernism, based on Ihab Hassan's 1981 'The Question of Postmodernism' ("Performing Arts Journal" # 16 [Vol. VI No. 1], 1981, pp. 30-37). See attachment for a reproduction of this listing (HTML file)
This table has been derived from postmodernism in literature but, given the continual stylistic interrelationships between the arts - _all_ the arts - it can be taken as a rough guide to postmodernism in music which, as mentioned above, does not seem yet to have been satisfactorily defined.
So, taking this table as a map of modernism and postmodernism, I'd like to examine just a few of the points it addresses ...
Romanticism/Symbolism vs. Pataphysics/Dadism This one is straightforward - it is well-known the role which Satie played in the anti-romantic movement in French music, and from the ideas of the symbolists (with which Debussy felt such an affinity). He was openly allied with the Dadaists, and even presided at the 'trial' of Andre Breton. Later, Satieists such as Gavin Bryars have been associated with pataphysics (the exact definition of which I haven't quite managed to figure out yet - if anyone can enlighten me on this score I would be most grateful), as well as contemporary figures such as Marcel Duchamp, who appeared in 'Entr'acte' with Satie.
Form vs. Antiform
Satie was a rebel where form was concerned, and it was rare for his pieces to be based on a traditional formal pattern (the cafe-conc works are an exception to this rule - their context required them, to a certain extent, to follow certain formal rules). The 'cubism' of works such as the "Gymnopedies" and "Pieces froides: Danses de travers" is a classic example of what might be termed 'open' formal procedures. In a sense, these works are never complete - it's just that he stopped writing at a certain point; a 'closed' type of form allows no such flexibility: it is self-contained.
Purpose vs. Play
Play is evident in many of Satie's works: in his humorous treatment of musical models, such as Clementi in "Sonatine bureaucratique", and also in the way in which he toys with his musical material (this is also related to form). Witness the meanderings of the "Gnossiennes" - he plays with the themes in all these pieces, arranging and rearranging until he feels that enough's been done with the material; the pieces are coherent, certainly, but at no time appear to have any particular aim, in the sense that a traditional form such as sonata form has a purpose: to get back to where it started. Satie never left his starting-point - he just went round in beautiful circles on the spot.
Hierarchy vs. Chance
This is getting a little obscure here. 'Hierarchy' in musical terms suggests, to me at any rate, the major/minor system in western music, and the forms associated with that system: leading-note-to-tonic movement, consonant/dissonant intervals, first and second subjects, relation of keys. In general, these have little relevance to Satie's music. His use of modes in the early pieces negates the tonal system to a certain extent, and his blatant disregard for standard musical practices (excepting his later post-Schola compositions, which may anyway be seen as an example of this, in their extremity!) would seem to work against his being associated with hierarchical notions. On the side of 'Chance' lies the (later) work of Satie devotee John Cage, although this link must be seen as tenuous at best.
Art Object/Finished Work vs. Process/Performance/Happening See 'Purpose vs. Play', above. Also falling under this heading is the "Vexations" experiment, I feel. Very much an exploration of performance, and the actual occurrence of the musical event - it is not possible to get a feel for this work simply by looking at the score.
Distance vs. Participation
Negative point for the postmodern case here. Distance from his musical material is something that Satie seems always to have maintained. How else could he have achieved the cubist pieces?
Creation/Totalisation vs. Decreation/Deconstruction Satie never went in for the building of musical edifices. As far as I can tell (off the top of my head), pretty much all his pieces have a very linear format: it's more like having his building blocks stretched out in a row on the ground, than turning them into a skyscraper. His treatment of Clementi, Chopin, and co. certainly seems to have a deconstructive side to it, pulling it apart and putting it back together, but, again, this argument seems to perhaps be a little unsteady.
Presence vs. Absence
This one seems to me to be going against the 'Distance vs. Participation' one. Same arguments apply, but this would seem to give the points to postmodernism. Somebody enlighten me if I'm glaringly in error here, please!
Centring vs. Dispersal
I suppose this comes back down to issues of form again, in a sense. 'Centring' could be seen as a term representative of the mechanics of sonata form, which is very much centred around the first theme, and aimed towards the recurrence of the whole exposition section as the recapitulation. The tonal system thing reinforces this centred approach to form, centring, itself, on the tonic note. Satie's music, on the other hand, moves out from one central point and feels no real need to return to that specific point. See 'Purpose vs. Play'.
Interpretation/Reading vs. Against Interpretation/Misreading This one's very much a Dada thing, I think. I have never gained the impression that Satie was overly keen for his works to be analysed to bits, to have people's various interpretations stuck onto his music to suit whatever purposes they may have (why am I doing this, then?????). The whole 'white' interpretation thing would seem to work against this anyway. It reveals a desire to even keep personal performance interpretations out of the music, to let the notes alone speak.
Genital/Phallic vs. Polymorphous/Androgynous
This appears, to me, to be related to Satie's continual reinvention of his musical style, the fluidity with which he altered his means of musical expression.
What this whole rant comes down too, however, is that it seems that modernism is more of a stuffed-shirt style than postmodernism, of which Satie seems more clearly to be a precursor in the manner which Daniel has earlier described.
In broader terms, however, I feel that the modernist idea could be applied to Satie because he was continually breaking new ground in his use of what appears to be postmodernism. At that time the reuse of 'found' materials and the increasing flexibility of musical form and tonality were radical. They really only came truly into their own in the post-WWI period, with the neoclassicism, wrong-note harmony and more adventurous forms of composers such as Stravinsky and Les Six.
Okay, now everybody pull me to pieces ... :)
Caitlin.

September 2, 1997:

Hi - fantastic page - congratulations. I'm chasing details on a Satie book I recently saw. It was a large hardcover which featured sketches, photos etc all concering 'Parade' This came in a hard sleeve which also contained a folder of many Satie bits and pieces: letters, doodles etc Do you know this? If so any further details: title, where I can get it... Hope you can help me - thanks - Mark

September 3, 1997:

I don't know if this is what you're looking for, but I have a book that sounds like what you mentioned entitled _Picasso's Parade_, by Deborah Menaker Rothschild, which features an analysis of the ballet and things like Picasso's costume design sketches, performance pictures, and Cocteau's notes. (Did you know he wrote dialogue for the three managers?) It has a red cover with the Chinese Conjurer's costume on it. It's published by Sotheby's Publications, The Drawing Center, number ISBN 0-942324-05-6.
Brian

September 3, 1997:

The book is Erik Satie: Del Chat Noir A Dada. It was a catalog for an exposition on IVAM Centre Julio Gonzalez 9/9/96 - 11/10/96. I bought a copy of it several months ago thru the magazine Art in America P.O. Box 10902. Des Moines, Iowa 50340; 1-800-288-2129 Monday-Friday 7am-10pm CST. I have never seen it in a book store in the USA. I did see it in a book store in Paris.
Andrea

September 5, 1997:

HY. I'm Stefan H., I'm french, and I've discovered E.Satie just six months ago. It's too early for me to say anything about him and his works, but I can say, I love his sounds. I play the piano, and of course I've played the 3 Gymnopedies, the 6 Gnossiennes, the Danse de travers (encore...). Have you seen, what he wrote on his partitures???
By the way, does anybody knows, where I can find some partitures from him on the Web???

September 8, 1997:

Answers by Ornella Volta of the Archives Erik Satie, Paris:

>Some days ago I have bought the scores of some piano pieces composed by
>Erik Satie. Among others there are also the scores for a valse entitled "Je te veux",
>dedicated to a woman. Does anybody know further details about the history of this
>piece? It sounds a little bit like a circus waltz and is rather different to other pieces
>of Erik Satie.

"Je te veux" was composed in 1897 with lyrics by Henry Pacory, then published by Bellon, Ponscarme (previous home Baudoux) in December 1902, in two versions (man and woman). After having been presented by Paulette Darty, in the beginning of 1903, he entered the repertoire of this singer.

>I am currently working/researching material for a low-budget movie about the
>1923 meeting between Erik Satie and Irving Berlin that took place during June of
>that year. Any info would be appreciated! Also, I love the stills on the website.
>Where can I get good copies of photos like those? And finally, does anyone think
>there's any copyright issues I need to be aware of if my film gets made - especially
>if I use photos/drawings of Erik?

Concerning the meeting Irving Berlin-Satie in Paris, around 1922, we know nothing else then what said Gaige Crosby, Footlights and Highlights New York, E.P. Dutton, 1948, p.186. Meanwhile Satie had borrowed in 1916 the rhythm of That mysterious rag by I.Berlin for his Ragtime du Paquebot in Parade. Satie had maybe heard Berlin's rag-time Berlin at Moulin Rouge in 1913 in the revue Tais-tois, tu'm'affoles, and possibly seen the French edition of this Rag under the name "pas de l'ours" by Francis Salabert (see O. Volta, Satie et la danse, Paris, Plume, 1992, p.29 to 32). A good analysis of Satie's rag-time after Berlin can be found in Nancy Perloff, Art and everyday popular entertainment and the Circle of Erik Satie, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1991, p.132-143. For the Erik Satie photos, the most complete source can be found at the Archives Erik Satie, in Paris, who also have the copyright.

September 22, 1997:

Hello, there!! I don't really have a contribution to make but I'm actually doing an essay for my music history unit (a short sharp and sweet one!!! Only 3000 words!!) on Satie : a "Skeleton Key Figure". Where and how do I begin??? Yours,
Joyce Ang

September 24, 1997:

Try Robert Orledge's "Satie the Composer". Also, Gillmor's "Erik Satie". Both of these also have great bibliographies, so even if what they say isn't relevant to your subject, there's bound to be something else there. Otherwise, it's back to the good old "Music Index", which has yielded some interesting things a little off the beaten path, and more recently written than those in these two books.
Caitlin Rowley.

October 4, 1997:

Pursuing a degree in French Literature and Romance Philology at Columbia, I innocently stumbled upon this site while searching for information on Satie relative to the Dadaist movement. Nothing here that really suits my purposes - although I must say that I was mightily impressed (really!) with the exchange between Daniel Harding and Caitlin Rowley concerning Satie's entire oeuvre. That there's some serious edjummucation! Most of the comments on "Vexations" are pretty amusing. "That 'repeat 840 times' - that must be some sort of a joke!" Hello!! My recommendation to everyone is to read "Memories of an Amnesiac" (translated title for an English-speaking website). The man was a laff-riot. His collaboration with Francis Picabia on Picabia's "Intermission" tells a tale in itself. (Picabia being the man who once nailed a stuffed monkey to a board and called it "Still Life: Portrait of Cezanne.") I have before me a photo of Picabia taken during a performance of "Intermission" -!! looking lovely in a tutu and false beard. And Satie's "pears"? Some food for thought in this little excerpt from a rant delivered by Picabia to a Paris audience in 1920: "... Dada lui ne sent rien, il n'est rien, rien, rien. Sifflez, criez, cassez-moi la gueule, et puis, et puis? Je vous dirai encore que vous etes tous des poires." Translated: "... Dada smells of nothing, it is nothing, nothing, nothing. Whistle, shout, bash my face in, and then, and then? I will still tell you that you are all suckers."

October 9, 1997:

I am looking for information about the french composer Francis Poulenc,who trough the famous six was linked with Satie.Anybody who knows anything about his lifestyle, the things he did outside music,or concerning the music about his songs,please mail to:
koen.wynants@khk.be
Greetings and thanks.

October 10, 1997:

Hi! The music theory majors at Furman University in Greenville, SC have been searching for the score of "Vexations" and have not been able to locate it. We have been told that a publishing company named Musica Obscura publishes it but we cannot find a telephone number or an address so that we can contact them. If anyone has any information on how we could get a hold of the music we'd greatly appreciate it! Thanks!

October 12, 1997:

I too am a big (5 7 1/2") fan of Satie's piano works. I used to play in a band called the Motels, I have gotten into Satie's piano works, Je Te Veux, Nocturne #2, the Gnossienes, and some more obscure and remarkable other ones. satie was the precursor to practically everything in modern music. More or less. His sound is always mysterious if played with respect and restraint. Of course you can jazz his stuff up and it works too...
Marty Jourard, Seattle

October 12, 1997:

>> The music theory majors at Furman University in Greenville, SC have been searching for the score of "Vexations" and have not been able to locate it. We have been told that a publishing company named Musica Obscura publishes it but we cannot find a telephone number or an address so that we can contact them. If anyone has any information on how we could get a hold of the music we'd greatly appreciate it! Thanks! <<

Vester Music in Nashville has it. I'm sure they can mail it to you. Their number is (615) 254-9362 or (615) 244-2785.
Brian (bvratekin@compuserve.com)

October 13, 1997:

> I am looking for information about the french composer Francis Poulenc,who
> through the famous six was linked with Satie. Anybody who knows anything
> about his lifestyle, the things he did outside music,or concerning the music
> about his songs,please mail to:
> koen.wynants@khk.be
> Greetings and thanks.

Francis Poulenc was one of the great artist near Jean Cocteau (Mutual Admiration Society). He was involved in writing music to "The Newlyweds on the Eiffel Torn" (Les Mariés de la Tour Eiffel), with libretto by Jean Cocteau (premiere 18 june 1921).
Read about the "Ballets Suédois"! And have a lot of fun.
With greetings Elisabeth Beta Brunnberg

October 13, 1997:

Poulenc has plenty of piano music out, including a CD taken from 78s of Poulenc playing his own stuff. Trois Mouvements Perpetueles is one of my favorites. He had a falling-out with Satie ( keeping company with and among many others!), and is mentioned in most biographies of Satie.
Marty Jourard

October 13, 1997:

You might be interested in a Francis Poulenc piano recording from the early 1950's called "Poulenc Plays Poulenc and Satie." It is available (some place) on CD as Sony Classics 47684.
Dick

October 14, 1997:

Thanks, I'll check it out. Marty Jourard
Seattle

October 15, 1997:

>>> The music theory majors at Furman University in Greenville, SC have been
> searching for the score of "Vexations" and have not been able to locate it.
>We have been told that a publishing company named Musica Obscura
>publishes it but we cannot find a telephone number or an address so that we
>can contact them. If anyone has any information on how we could get a hold
>of the music we'd greatly appreciate it! Thanks! <<
>
>Vester Music in Nashville has it. I'm sure they can mail it to you. Their
>number is (615) 254-9362 or (615) 244-2785.

Alternatively, it was published in Robert Orledge's "Satie the Composer" (Cambridge University Press).
Caitlin Rowley

October 31, 1997:

Hello Satie-ists!
I am a musician/writer with a tremendous love for Satie's music. In the 80s I played synth and sax for a band called The Motels (Capitol). After we disbanded I became interested in learning more "traditional" music than new wave rock, so I started with Satie, playing along with the CDs and following the sheet music. Using this technique, I found that it is possible to learn Satie pieces, if you throw out all German conceptions of form. Satie goes in one direction and then stops. I love it! My faves are Nocturne #1, gnossiene #5, Je Te Veux, and a lullaby he wrote for kids. That he was a genius is inarguable. By the way, I have a copy of "The Velvet Gentleman" that I will dupe for a nominal fee (tape costs and postage) for anyone Interested. I love this website.
Marty Jourard, Seattle, WA mjourard@u.washington.edu

November 21, 1997:

Desparately seeking answer ASAP from Satie lover: I need to know all of his works that have been danced to. Perhaps through the copyright? Send response to: khorn@mail.slc.edu

December 9, 1997:

Forwarding another interesting letter from Brazilian pianist Cordélia Canabrava Arruda.
/ Niclas
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Dear Nick,
Thanks for answering my email.
It's incredible how all Satie's admirers start the same way, through the Gymnopédies. It's also amazing how these so chaste pieces of music remain fresher than ever.
My first "contact" with Satie was interesting. My eldest son was on his teens and used to listen to junk the whole day. One day, all of a sudden I heard a hipnotizing melody. I ran downstairs to see what it was. Well, he was listening to one of Blood, Sweat and Tears' records, specifically a certain piece called Gymnopédie. I must confess that I had never heard of Satie before that day.
I used to think of myself as a pianist searching for a specific composer. Tired of playing Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, Chopin, Grieg, etc., etc. I loved them all, of course, but someone was missing:MY COMPOSER. And there he was.
I got crazy, Nick. There was absolutely nothing in Brazil about Satie. I wrote a letter to a friend who was living in London by the time, and asked him to send me the sheet music of Gymnopédies.
Then the thing became a snow ball. I had to know everything about Satie, play all his piano works, record them. I was possessed...I went to Paris, visited "Le Placar", visited his tomb, the House of the Three Chimneys, where he died, had a pleasant lunch with Ornella Volta at Mère Catherine (where he used to have lunch -free, of course, - received the invitation to be the correspondent and representant of the Fondation in Brazil, and here am I, till today, absolutely in love with the man and the musician.
I give a lot of Satie recitals all over Brazil and become very proud when I see records of his music in all specialized shops. It makes me proud because I was the first! Even his name was unknown here.
I have read all he wrote and all that has been written about him. And, as I speak French quite well, I paid a lot of attention on the "clues" he gives over the pentagram to the interpreter, as well as to the "stories" in certain pieces. So that when I play Satie, I play the piano and obbey his sayings, trying to say (and play, of course) what he meant. His sayings are very important for a correct interpretation, in my oppinion.
I myself am an "initiate" and understand perfectly well things that some people consider nonsenses, like for instance: "Don't go away... Don't go to far".... etc., "clues" we find all over his pieces of the esoteric period. My interpretation of the preludes, for instance, is completely static, stuck in time and space, as he asks it to be. They are time and spaceless.
I also laugh a lot when I play the pieces of the humoristic period. The "short-stories" are delicious. Sports et Divertissements are musical hai-kais.
I don't know Olof Höjer work but am sure it must be very good. I think he's doing in Swede what I do in Brazil. And what's more: I have a feeling that we do not choose Satie. He chooses the ones he wants to spread his music.
Thanks for the idea of an Erik Satie homepage. You are one of the "chosen" too.
Looking forward from hearing from you,
Cordelia
Cordelia@dialdata.com.br

December 10, 1997:

Dear Cordelia,
I wonder quite how amazing it is that most Satie admirers seem to start by way of the Gymnopedies after all ? The pieces are apparently quite simple, and the simplicity of the melody and harmonic line is beguiling and very appealing. Its straightforward structure makes it instantly comprehensible, and the delicate accompaniment makes the melodic line stand clear.
What might be more interesting to observe is how many people then extend their interest in Satie to go on to listen to pieces such as 'Parade' or the 'Sonatine bureaucratique' which are not so simplistic, but are much more inventive and iconoclastic as regards the cultural material that Satie is appropriating and subjecting to principles of re-interpretation and renewal.
Daniel

Dear Daniel,
You wrote:
"I wonder quite how amazing it is that most Satie admirers seem to start by way of the Gymnopedies after all ? The pieces are apparently quite simple, and the simplicity of the melody and harmonic line is beguiling and very appealing. Its straightforward structure makes it instantly comprehensible, and the delicate accompaniment makes the melodic line stand clear. "
The Gymonopédies are APPARENTLY easy. Have you ever tried to memorize them? They're not that simple, Daniel. Besides, their interpretation is quite difficult. One has to obtain the exact sound. And the melody is appealing due to its apparent simplicity.
"What might be more interesting to observe is how many people then extend their interest in Satie to go on to listen to pieces such as 'Parade' or the 'Sonatine bureaucratique' which are not so simplistic, but are much more inventive and iconoclastic as regards the cultural material that Satie is appropriating and subjecting to principles of re-interpretation and renewal."
To these cultural material I would add "Socrate", (a masterpiece), "the Nocturnes", "Messe des Pauvres", "Geneviève de Brabante", as well as many others of much more difficult understanding.
Satie is a world, Daniel! And indispensable.
Thanks for writing
Cordelia
Cordelia@dialdata.com.br

December 12, 1997:

THE FIRST TIME I LISENT SATIE I WAS DRUNK IN MY BEDROOM, A FRIEND GAVE ME THE TAPE
IT WAS A VERY SPECIAL MOMENT OF SOUND AND COLORS. THE SLOWLY NOTES DANCING OVER MY DRUNK BRAIN. SADDNESS AND PEACE TAKING ME FAR TO A GARDEN. I AM LEARNING TO PLAY SPANISH GUITAR AND I ONLY HAVE BEEN FIND TABLATURE OF THE COMPOSITIONS OF ERIK, CAN SOMEONE HELP ME AND SEND ME SONG BOOKS OF ERIK SATIE OR TELL ME WHERE I CAN BUY ITS.(FOR GUITAR,PIANO...) NOT TABLATURE A NORMAL BOOK SONG, PLEASE EXCUSE MY ENGLIHS. I LIVE IN AN ISLAND (CANARY ISLANDS, SPAIN) AND HERE ITS VERY DIFICULT TO FIND PARTITUR(THAT IS THE WORD I WAS LOOKING FOR). I PREFER TO SEND YOU MY ADDRES BECAUSE I DON'T NOW IF MY EMAIL WORKS FINE.(REALLY I DONT NOW WHAT IS IT).
NAME: ALEJANDRO GANS PALANCA
ADDRESS: C/ SALVADOR MANRIQUE DE LARA Nº1, 3 E
35010 LAS PALMAS DE GRAN CANARIA
SPAIN
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SITE, AND PEACE (WHIT SATIE CLOSE ITS VERY EASY)

December 12, 1997:

If I can add a word (from a non-musician view), I think that most people have the first contact with Satie through the "gymnopedies" probably because, together with the "gnossiennes" they are the most generally played. I can give three examples about that: 1) in an Italian movie, "al lupo, al lupo", one of the main characters is a pianist and plays twice I dont'remamber whether gnossiennes or gymnopedies. 2) almost all television programs about xx century art (in particular the different avant-garde like dadaism, surrealism and so on)use Satie's music as soundtrack (the "three pieces in form of poire" is one of the most used in this regard, but there is a kind of stylistic continuity among these pieces and gnossiennes) 3) In some cases these examples of Satie's music of the first period have been used in "popular" music (like the Gymnopedie played by "Blood Sweat and Tears"). My first meeting with Satie's music was through a CD of an Italian pop singer, Alice, that plays songs from Satie, Faure' and Ravel. Then I followed the normal path: Piano Music, interest for the man and his role in the XX century culture, Other music (Parade, Socrate)
I end with a question: how to buy Cordelia's CDs?
Enzo Boeri

December 12, 1997:

Dear Enzo
Quite interesting observations you've made. In fact, the Gymnopédies and the Gnossiennes as well as Trois Morceaux en forme de Poire have been used and abused all over the world. I think it's because they are simple to be felt. They sort of transport one to some exotic place somewhere lost in time and space.
It's a fact though that they are so beautiful and touching that they arise the interest on the rest of Satie's works and on the man himself.
As to your question, you can buy my CDs on the net:
http://music.thebest.com.br
Thanks for writing
Cordelia
Cordelia@dialdata.com.br

December 15, 1997:

Thank you for the informative web site you have set up. Do you know of a place I can purchase a reproduction of one of Satie's scores?

December 17, 1997:

Dear Cordelia,
There seems to be an important distinction that needs to be drawn concerning Satie's music - that between the listener and the performer. You're right that the pieces are complicated for the performer, and it is a measure of Satie's abilities that he makes works simple for the listener, and therefore readily accesible, while presenting something of a challenge for the performer - he condenses two diametrically opposed elements without losing the effect of either.
Satie himself enjoyed the distance between listener/player, as his scores to the "Sports et Divertisements" shows - entertaining, amusing, 'diverting' for the performer, yet all these aspects are lost to the listener, who has no appreciation of the visual elements of the score. In this respect, Satie anticipates recent composers such as Barry Guy, who turn scores into graphic art, (see "Bird Gong Game") yet at the same time, Satie takes a mischevious delight in denying that side of his inventiveness to the listener. Most performances that have introduced a reading aloud of the comments and witticisms written in the scores have met with little success; they are intrinsic to the element of peformance, yet undermine the phenomon of listening.
Some twentieth-century music concerns the divergence between performer/composer/audience, emphasising the aural perception which unfolds independently from the visual score. Satie got there somewhat earlier than most, and emphatically reinforces the disparity of the perceptive experiences. As a pianist, it is an important point to bear in mind when coming to Satie's works, or so it seems to me.
Daniel

January 10, 1998:

Hello! my name is Ennio Paola. As a Music Educator, I have been using the Music of Erik Satie as a starting point for years. (Forget Mozart, the big 3 Bs etc.). I have also arranged some of his music for High School Concert Band. Does anyone know the legalities (Copyright issues) surrounding Satie's music and the creation of arrangements of his works.Any feedback would be appreciated, Thanks, Ennioe-mail : sigmuse@pathcom.com

January 12, 1998:

>>As a Music Educator, I have been using the Music of Erik Satie as a starting point for years.<<
Ennio,
Could you elaborate how you do that? I've always thought that would be a good way to introduce people to classical music.
Brian

January 14, 1998:

Can you tell me where I can find transcription of Satie's music on the net?(vivedjango@hotmail.com)

January 18, 1998:

>I need to know all of his works that have been danced to.

You will find all the answers in my book Satie et la danse, Paris, Plume, 1992.
Ornella Volta

January 25, 1998:

>Does anyone know the legalities (Copyright issues) surrounding Satie's music and the creation of arrangements of his works.

Ennio,
As copyright laws vary greatly between countries, the best thing to do is probably to get in touch with the relevant performing right association and ask someone there, or an arts law organisation.
Caitlin Rowley.