Gymnopedies Nos. 1 - 3
Preludes flasques pour un chien
Prelude en tapissarie
Nocturne No. 4
Vieux sequins et vieilles cuirasses
Embryons desseches
Gnossiennes Nos. 1 - 6
Sonatine bureaucratique
Le Piccadilly
Cecily's notes;
Personal Background: I listened to this because I heard a few tracks from an Ensemble Sarband album called Satie in the Orient or something like that. I loved the melodies so I looked at the two Satie albums I had and picked the one with the Gnossiennes on it. It was not an instant hit with me but I really loved the waltz track, so I kept playing it once and a while.
Resonance: At times opaque, yet repeated listens crack the emotional code of one piece after another. 'Je Te Veux' is a waltz so of course it should sound like falling in love. 'Le Piccadilly' is a ray of sunshine - if I made a mixtape (or modern equivalent) of "songs to brighten your day" this would be on it for sure. The Gnossiennes and Gymnopedies are haunting and delicate. Nothing is overcooked yet nothing is simple. Emotionally it is remarkably rewarding, not closed off and overly intellectualized. 5/5
Design: Sometimes I listen to this CD and start thinking the piano is the only necessary instrument. Guitar, violin, voice - any of these by themselves starts to feel incomplete after a while but piano in the hands of a master is a completely sustainable creation. 5/5
Utility: I listen to this more often than any other classical CD I own. This is partly due to the soothing atmosphere (one isn't always in the mood for orchestral bombast) but its also because, subdued as it is, it is a work of melodic genius. 5/5
Best: Gnossienne 1; Je te veux; Le Piccadilly; Gymnopedie 1;
Worst: There are some parts of 'Vieux Sequins et Vielles Cuirasses' that slightly annoy me but I really like other parts of the melody so it evens out.
Conclusion: A keeper. 15/15 points.
Ticharu's notes;
Personal Background: This CD was released in 1984, I may have had both the LP and the CD, hard to remember but I think I had both. The CD would have been one of the first CDs added to my little box of CDs in 1984. As such I'm amazed it still plays!
Resonance: Extremely high on all levels not least because I've been listening to these performances for a very long time. 35 years! So there aren't any other versions of these little pieces that sound right. Pascal Roge nails it. 5/5
Design: Satie is that composer who gives all non-virtuosi musicians and phonometricians hope that they too could invent such beautiful music. Of course it isn't that simple. Satie brought an intelligence to his composition. So controlled, so perfect, this music is completely beyond time and imagining. These notes reach right inside to the centre of your being. 5/5
Utility: All piano music, much as I love it, is difficult to listen to these days with the tinnitus. I have different frequencies in each ear something like 4 and a third micro-tones apart. The ringing seems to increase with piano music more than any other instrument. I've tried all sorts from adjusting the EQ, playing it quiet, playing it loud. I can add echo and reverb to my own piano music which helps mask the high pitched ringing but I can't add reverb to a recording like this. That would be silly. Piano, my favourite instrument in the world and I'm virtually unable to listen to it. Turning me into a grumpy old man ahead of my time... 1/5
Conclusion: The CD was re-released in Europe and the UK in 2006. Find a copy! Put it in your box and if you really love piano music, stay out of loud, deafening environments like rock concerts unless you have industrial grade hearing protection.
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