Tag: Minimalism

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Erik Satie: 7 Gnossiennes, Apfel Café Music ACM078

Français

« 7 Gnossiennes » est la suite de la première ère pour piano solo d’Erik Satie. Il s’agit de sept morceaux de piano étranges, mais beaux, calmes et merveilleux.

Deutsch

„7 Gnossiennes“ ist der frühe Klaviersoloklang von Erik Satie. Er besteht aus sieben seltsamen, aber schönen und ruhigen, wunderbaren Klavierstücken.

English

“7 Gnossiennes” is the early piano solo suit of Erik Satie. It’s consist of seven strange but beautiful and calm, wonderful piano pieces.

Español

«7 Gnossiennes» es la primera obra para piano solo de Erik Satie. Se compone de siete extrañas pero hermosas y tranquilas, maravillosas piezas para piano.

Italiano

“7 Gnossiennes” è il primo lavoro per pianoforte solo di Erik Satie. È composto da sette strani, ma bellissimi e tranquilli, meravigliosi pezzi per pianoforte.

Les 7 Gnossiennes d’Erik Satie sont une série de pièces pour piano composées entre 1889 et 1897, caractérisées par une atmosphère énigmatique et minimaliste qui s’écarte des conventions classiques de leur époque. Le terme Gnossienne, inventé par Satie, pourrait faire référence à des éléments mystiques ou mythologiques, évoquant des danses anciennes ou des pratiques ésotériques. Ces pièces se distinguent par leur rythme libre et l’absence de signature de mesure, ce qui permet une grande liberté d’interprétation. L’harmonie est souvent inhabituelle et les mélodies, bien que simples, créent une ambiance introspective et contemplative. La musique est empreinte d’une lenteur hypnotique, où chaque note semble suspendue dans le temps, reflétant l’intérêt de Satie pour l’exploration de nouvelles textures sonores et d’expressions musicales intérieures.

Erik Satie’s 7 Gnossiennes are a series of piano pieces composed between 1889 and 1897, characterised by an enigmatic, minimalist atmosphere that departs from the classical conventions of their time. The term Gnossienne, coined by Satie, could refer to mystical or mythological elements, evoking ancient dances or esoteric practices. These pieces are characterised by their free rhythm and the absence of a bar signature, which allows great freedom of interpretation. The harmony is often unusual and the melodies, though simple, create an introspective and contemplative atmosphere. The music is imbued with a hypnotic slowness, where each note seems suspended in time, reflecting Satie’s interest in exploring new sound textures and inner musical expressions.

Tracklist:
1ère Gnossienne, Lent (1890)
2ème Gnossienne, avec étonnement (1890)
3ème Gonosienne, Lent (1890)
4ème Gonosienne, Lent sans presser (22 janvier 1891)
5ème Gonosienne, Moderato (8 juillet 1889)
6ème Gonosienne, Avec conviction et avec une tristesse rigoureuse (janvier 1897)
7ème Gnossienne, Allez (1891, du « Fils des étoiles »)

Enjoy the silence…

from Apfel Café Music, ACM077

released 1 Novembre, 2024

Jean-Michel Serres (Piano, Engineering, Mixing, Mastering, Cover Design)

Cover Art – « L’étoile » ou « La danseuse sur la scene » de Edgar Degas (1878)

© 2024 Apfel Café Music
℗ 2024 Apfel Café Music

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Summary & Review | The Bathroom by Jean-Philippe Toussaint, Dalkey Archive Press, 2000

Summary Synopsis

The narrator was a 28-year-old man living in the apartment of Paris. One day, he was living at home and using the bathroom all the time. Edmondsson and their mother looked after him. The Polish artists Kabrowinski and Kovalskazinski would arrive and paint the walls, cook the chickens… The couple would dine at the narrator's and four would play Monopoly…

One day, out of the blue, the narrator left the bathroom and Paris, headed aimlessly for Italia, stayed in a hotel in Venice, and spent futile days. Finally, Edmondsson came looking for him, and she spent some time in Venice. But the narrator inadvertently sent an arrow to Edmondsson that stuck in his forehead. And Edmondsson returned to Paris.

He was ill with sinusitis and entered a hospital. He befriended their attending physician. The doctor invited him to dinner and tennis. By misbehaving with the head nurse or something, out of the blue, he decided to return to Paris…

Book Review

This novel decribes the ordinary contemporary life of Parisians without sense significant and serious events. The narrator's behavior and purpose are random and strange, as light and unreasonable as they are stagnant from time to time. The narrative progresses lightly, but at times comes to a halt. And it's composed of miniature things and banal episodes.

There's an important description in section 33 of part 1, in a monologue by the narrator. It's described below.

33) There are two ways of watching the rain fall, at home, behind glass. The first is to hold one's gaze fixed on any point in space and watch the succession of rains at the chosen spot; this way, restful for the mind, gives no idea of the finality of the movement. The second, which requires greater flexibility of vision, consists in following with the eyes the fall of a single drop at a time, from its intrusion into the field of vision to the dispersion of its water on the ground. In this way, it's possible to imagine that movement, however lightning-fast it may appear, tends essentially towards immobility, and that consequently, however slow it may sometimes seem, continuously drags bodies towards death, which is immobility. Olé. (pp. 37-38)

This description is the essence of the novel, and it is the thought and theme of the novel. And it is the thought of movement and stillness, so this novel is a tale of flow and stillness.

Three rooms in which the narrator lived and stayed: the bathroom, the hotel room and the hospital's twin-bedded room are the places and points from which the narrator looks at moving things.

Three foods, pouples, dame blanche and flamber les rognons, are symbols of movement and continuous change. They signify the movement or flow of matter between spaces.

And monopoly, darts and tennis are things or elements of standstill. They are essential movement things, but they sew stops in this novel, or developments of the stop.

The narrator lives randomly and freely, causing events or phenomena of the stop, and remains the points for thinking and reflecting.

The three elements, eposodes among others people and these combinations make the rhythm and current pleasant, and composes pretty white scenes.

This novel is the novel of rhythm and flow, which writes people live in rhythm and light flow in the contemporary city without heavy significant. It's a good life. It must be very sympathetic, pleasant and amusing for readers.

Product Details

La salle de bain

Jean-Philippe Toussaint

Les Éditions de Minuit, Paris, France, (initialement publié en 1985)

144 pages, €5.50

ISBN 978-2707319289

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Erik Satie: Trois Gymnopedies – Jean-Michel Serres (Piano) Apfel Café Music ACM051

1 – Trois Gymnopédies: No. 1 Lent et douloureux

2 – Trois Gymnopédies: No. 2 Lent et triste

3 – Trois Gymnopédies: No. 3 Lent et grave

My first Classical Music recording “Trois Gymnopedies” by Erik Satie is available on YouTube, YouTube Music, Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Deezer, TIDAL, other music streaming services and online music stores. Please, listen and relax.

Les Trois Gymnopédies d’Erik Satie, composées en 1888, incarnent une poésie musicale d’une simplicité hypnotique, qui reflète parfaitement le style singulier de Satie, souvent vu comme un précurseur du minimalisme. Ces œuvres pour piano, marquées par une atmosphère douce et mélancolique, contrastent avec les compositions souvent plus denses de la fin du XIXe siècle. Avec leur rythme lent et leur mélodie en trois temps, les Gymnopédies semblent suspendues dans le temps, dégageant une impression d’intemporalité. Elles portent en elles un mystère que Satie renforce en choisissant un titre énigmatique : « Gymnopédies » renvoie aux anciennes fêtes grecques en l’honneur d’Apollon, où des danses lentes et élégantes étaient exécutées. Cependant, bien que le terme évoque une tradition antique, les pièces ne se revendiquent d’aucune référence directe à la Grèce classique.

Ce qui rend les Gymnopédies si marquantes, c’est leur simplicité : chaque pièce est construite sur une structure minimaliste, avec des motifs mélodiques et harmoniques répétitifs. Cette répétition crée une ambiance de rêverie contemplative, comme si la musique berçait l’auditeur, le plongeant dans un état de calme méditatif. Satie y explore des harmonies simples et délicates, souvent empreintes d’une douceur mélancolique. La première Gymnopédie, particulièrement célèbre, pose d’emblée cette ambiance douce et résignée, tandis que les deux autres poursuivent cette atmosphère sans en rompre l’unité.

Les Trois Gymnopédies sont devenues emblématiques de l’approche artistique de Satie : un refus de la complexité virtuose pour privilégier l’épure, la suggestion, et un retour à l’essentiel. Ces pièces continuent d’inspirer les auditeurs par leur beauté sobre et leur capacité unique à capturer une émotion douce-amère, évanescente et inoubliable.

Erik Satie’s Trois Gymnopédies, composed in 1888, embody a musical poetry of hypnotic simplicity that perfectly reflects Satie’s singular style, often seen as a precursor of minimalism. These piano works, marked by a gentle, melancholy atmosphere, contrast with the often denser compositions of the late nineteenth century. With their slow rhythm and three-beat melody, the Gymnopédies seem suspended in time, giving off an impression of timelessness. They carry with them a mystery that Satie reinforced by choosing an enigmatic title: ‘Gymnopédies’ refers to ancient Greek festivals in honour of Apollo, where slow, elegant dances were performed. However, although the term evokes an ancient tradition, the pieces make no direct reference to classical Greece.

What makes the Gymnopédies so striking is their simplicity: each piece is built on a minimalist structure, with repetitive melodic and harmonic motifs. This repetition creates an atmosphere of contemplative reverie, as if the music were lulling the listener into a state of meditative calm. Satie explores simple, delicate harmonies, often imbued with a melancholy sweetness. The first Gymnopédie, which is particularly famous, immediately sets this gentle, resigned mood, while the other two continue this atmosphere without breaking its unity.

The Three Gymnopédies have become emblematic of Satie’s artistic approach: a rejection of virtuoso complexity in favour of purity, suggestion and a return to the essential. These pieces continue to inspire listeners with their sober beauty and their unique ability to capture an emotion that is bittersweet, evanescent and unforgettable.

Enjoy the silence…

from Apfel Café Music, ACM051

released March 1, 2024

Jean-Michel Serres (Piano, Engineering, Mixing, Mastering, Cover Art)

© 2024 Apfel Café Music

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