Gymnopédies, Gnossiennes and Other Works for Piano

In his piano works especially, Erik Satie (1866?1925) was a witty musical caricaturist. The eccentric French composer loved to satirize academic rules in general and the impressionistic titles of Debussy's compositions in particular, giving his own works such surrealistic names as Pieces in Pear Form and Dried Embryos, and annotating them with equally bizarre musical directions: "Tres 'neuf heures du matin" (Very "nine in the morning"), "Corpulentus" (Corpulent), and so on. His comic spirit is equally embodied in the music itself, as this delightful selection of seventeen piano works amply proves. They are as spare, lively, and capricious as they are hauntingly melodic. In addition to the well-known Gymnopédies and Gnossiennes, the pieces reproduced here include Sarabandes, Pièces froides, Poudre d'or, En habit de cheval, Morceaux en forme de poire, Embryons desséchés, Aperçus désagreables, Descriptions automatiques, and more.This volume, the largest collection of Satie's piano works yet published, has been reprinted on fine-quality paper from authoritative original editions, and sturdily bound to provide you a lifetime of study and enjoyment. In its pages are some of the most original and appealing achievements of a turbulent era in music, compositions that influenced such modern masters as Ravel, Milhaud, and Poulenc.

Sarabandes No. 1 No. 2 No. 3Gymnopédies [Gymnopaidiai] No. 1 No. 2 No. 3Trois Gnossiennes [Three Dances of Knosos (?)] No. 1 No. 2 No. 3Le Fils des Etoiles: Wagnérie Kaldéenne du Sâr Péladan [The Son of the Stars: A Chaldean Wagnery by Sâr Péladan] Prélude du 1er Acte: La Vocation Prélude du 2e Acte: L'Initiation Prélude du 3e Acte: L'IncantationSonneries de la Rose + Croix [Trumpet Calls of the Rose + Cross] Air de l'Ordre Air du Grand Maître Air du Grand PrieurPrélude de La Porte Héroïque du Ciel [Prelude to The Heroic Gate of Heaven]Pièces Froides [Cold Pieces] Airs à Faire Fuir I Airs à Faire Fuir II Airs à Faire Fuir III Danses de Travers I Danses de Travers II Danses de Travers IIIPoudre d'Or [Gold Dust]3 Morceaux en Forme de Poire (à 4 mains) avec une Manière de Commencement, une Prolongation du même & un En Plus, suivi d'une Redite [3 Pieces in Pear Form (for four hands) with a Bay Way of a Beginning, an Extension of the Same, and an In Addition, followed by a Repetition] Manière de Commencement Prolongation du Même I Prolongation du Même II Prolongation du Même III En Plus RediteEn Habit de Cheval [In Riding Habit] (four hands) Choral Fugue Litanique Autre Choral Fugue de PapierApercus Désagréabkes [Unpleasant Observations] (four hands) Pastorale Choral FugueVéritables Préludes Flasques (pour un chien) [Genuine Flabby Preludes (for a dog)] Sévère Réprimande Seul à la Maison On JoueDescriptions Automatiques [Automatic Descriptions] Sur un Vaisseau Sur une Lanterne Sur un CasqueEmbryons Desséchés [Dried Embryos]I: d'HolothurieII: d'EdriophthalmaIII. de PodophthalmaCroquis et Agaceries d'un Gros Bonhomme en Bois [Sketches and Provocations of a Portly Wooden Mannikin] No. 1: Tryrolienne Turque No. 2: Danse Maigre (à la Manière de Ces Messieurs) No. 3: EspañañaChapitres Tournés en Tous Sens [Chapters Turned Every Which Way] Celle Qui Parle Trop Le Porteur de Grosses Pierres Regrets des Enfermés (Jonas et Latude)Vieux Sequins et Vieilles Cuirasses [Old Sequins and Old Breastplates]I: "Chez le Marchand d'Or (Venise, XIIIe Siècle)"II: Danse Cuirassée (Période Grecque)III. La Défaite des Cimbres (Cauchemar)