Classical Works:

Gymnopédies (3), for piano (also orchestrated by Debussy)

  • Date: 1888
  • Main Performer: Erik Satie
  • Genre: Keyboard
  • Period: Modern (1870-)

Review

Though much of Satie's music remains little known beyond the ranks of devoted connoisseurs, the three Gymnopedies (1888) for piano are instantly familiar. Indeed, Satie no doubt would have been amused by the range and absurdity of the contexts in which they have since been presented, from ballet scores to jazz-rock fusion arrangements to commercials for mundane consumer products. Debussy was very fond of these pieces -- his orchestrations of the first and third likely exceed the popularity of the original version -- and even Satie's critics grudgingly admired them. One of the composer's contemporaries famously remarked that these little pieces "seemed to have been written by a savage with taste."

The etymology of the title is important, and its significance is a source of some debate amongst scholars and critics. Though Satie insisted that the work was inspired by the writings of novelist Gustav Flaubert, "Gymnopedies" rather suggests Ancient Greece. Gymnopedia festivals, held in honor of warriors felled in battle, consisted of naked youths dancing and miming wrestling and boxing poses. As Satie scholar Eric Gillmor has noted, the composer had some knowledge of the Greek language and history by way of involuntary training in Greek as a boy. As with most of Satie's music, so steeped in satire and enigma, it is in the end difficult to make a connection between the Gymnopedies and their source of inspiration.

The Gymnopedies follow closely on the heels of the Sarabandes of 1887, which, Satie and his apologists insisted, marked a turning point in the history of French music. The Sarabandes, with their modal, plainchant-like melodies and static harmony comprised of unresolved chains of seventh chords, were a decidedly anti-Wagnerian statement in 1887, when the musical life of Paris was dominated by the German composer's works and admirers. As though a direct rebellion against the bombast of Wagnerian music drama, Satie composed the Sarabandes, described by the composer's friend Roland-Manuel as possessing "a sonorous magic of complete originality."

The same might be said of the Gymnopedies; they are certainly works of "sonorous magic" and share many of the musical traits of their predecessors. At the same time, they are somewhat more organic than the Sarabandes; the three pieces essentially explore a single idea, albeit each from a slightly altered perspective. This, according to Gillmor, betrays the influence of cubism on the work. Like the Sarabandes, only more so, the Gymnopedies "are one piece written three times -- cast in the same mold as it were, but with the most subtle variations in phrasing, harmonic coloring, and balancing of part." The simple modal melodies are repeated with slight variations, while successions of seventh and ninth chords provide a gentle, colorful underpinning whose "sonorous magic" mitigates its dissonance. Each of the three pieces has a tonal center, in each case unstable, merely hinted at and encircled by the undulating harmonic shifts. Satie eschews melodic development in favor of repetition and juxtaposition of melodic elements, which, together with the static harmonic language, lend the work its characteristic dreamy quality.

~ All Music Guide

Albums with Complete Performances of the Work

Title Date
Satie: Piano Works2003
Clair de lune1996
Erik Satie: Pieces For Piano
Piano: The Greatest Hits1999
Harp and Soul1983
Satie: Musique pour piano
Satie: Avant-Dernieres Pensees (Selected Piano Works, Vol. 1)
Satie: Piano Works1998
Satie: Orchestral Works1999
Erik Satie: Socrate1985
The Music of Erik SATIE
Celestial Classics2000
Diplogenesis2006
Serenity: Satie2002
Satie: Gymnopédies No1-3; Pièces froides No1-6
Les Introuvables d'Aldo Ciccolini1999
Satie: Complete Piano Works, Vol. 11994
Gymnopédie1999
Floating World2004
A French Collection2000
Satie: Greatest Hits2003
Satie: Popular Piano Works2000
Relaxing With the Classics1998
Chantal de Buchy: Récital1990
Satie: Piano Works2001
Satie: Gymnopédies No1-3; Petite ouverture à danser1996
Satie: Piano Music1998
Satie: Gymnopédies; Gnossiennes; Préludes
Satie: Piano Music2002
E. Satie - R. Pöntinen1986
Satie: Gymnopédies No1-3; Parade
Serenity: Music for Harp & Flute1997
Satie: Piano Music
The Artistry of Christopher Parkening1993
The Only Romantic Piano Album You Will Ever Need2007
Les Ondes musicales
Classical Relaxation with Ocean Sounds: Satie1999
Encores 21994
Erik Satie1988
For a Rainy Day2001
Diamond Settings: Hommage À Satie1996
Someone Special2004
Musique de Nuit1987
Classic Fantasy 21991
The Music Of Eric Satie1992
Satie: Piano Works1990
Children's Corner: Piano Music for Children
The Greatest Piano Collection2000
Clarinet Bonbons1989
Satie: Gnossiennes; Gymnopédies; Piano Works2004
Satie: Parade; Relâche; Mercure1989
Satie: Gymnopédies Nos. 1-3; Gnossiennes Nos. 1-61998
Satie: The Velvet Gentleman
Satie/Ravel
The Erik Satie Show1992
Satie: Works for solo piano & piano 4 hands2000
Music for Lovers1999
Satie: Gymnopédies No1-3; Gnossiennes No1-6
Transcriptions for Chromatic Harmonica (French Compositions)1999
Satie: Piano Works1984
Satie: Oeuvres pour piano
Erik Satie: Transcriptions pour basson et piano
Satie: Piano Music2003
Piano Music by Erik Satie1989
Satie: The Complete Piano Works1993
Clair de Lune: French Piano Music1991
Satie: Piano Works1992
Satie: Piano Music; Mélodies [includes DVD]
Arabesques1991
Oboe Sensual2002
Erik Satie: 3 Gymnopédies
Satie: Jack in the Box
After the Rain...The Soft Sounds of Erik Satie1995
Caio Pagano: French Piano Music2000
Let's Do French1995
Satie: L'Oeuvre pour Piano, Vol. 1: Premieres et Dernieres Oeuvres
French Impresions1999
Satie: Gymnopédies No1-3; Sports et divertissements No1-21
Hommage à Satie
Corno del Alma2002
Erik Satie1992
The Best of Erik Satie2000
Satie Favorites
Satie: Parade; Relâche; Mercure; Gymnopédies; Gnossiennes2004
Satie: Piano Music1999
Satie: Piano Works (Selection)2001
Satie, Liszt, Poulenc and others2000
Satie: Gymnopédies No1-3; Sports et divertissements No1-211994
Satie: The Complete Solo Piano Music2003
Satie: Gymnopédies No1-3; Gnossiennes No1-62000
Dream World2001
Satie: Piano Works1991
Satie: L'Oeuvre pour piano, Vols. 1 & 22001
Classical Surroundings: Harp1999
Sketches of Satie2002
Yitkin Seow Plays Erik Satie2004
Unforgettable Classics: Tranquility1998
Satie: 3 Gymnopédies; 6 Gnossiennes2006
The Piano Collection, CD 24
Happily Ever After: CD to Accompany Drew's Famous Wedding Planner2005
Erik Satie Danceries
Peter Fletcher Plays Erik Satie2005
Satie: The Complete Piano Music, Vol.11996
Piano French Masters Greatest Hits1996
Satie: Oeuvres Pour Piano1989
A Bouquet of Classics, Disc 41992
Dance of the Blessed Spirits1998
Erik Satie: Piano Works2003
Steve Hackett2005
Satie, Ravel: Piano Works2004
Satie: Piano Music1990
Classics for a Rainy Day
Classical Potpourri1995
Catherine Wilson and Friends1995
G'night Wolfgang: Classical Piano Solos for Bedtime1990
Satie: Piano Works
Peter Schindler: Blue Solitude
Chill with Satie2001
Satie for relaxation
Sentimental English Horn2000
Anugama: Classic Fantasy II1993
Satie: The Early Piano Works1998
Satie: 3 Gymnopédies and Other Piano Works2006
Erik Satie: Visions2004
The Piano Collection [Box Set]
Midnight Classics2006
The Girl with the Flaxen Hair2001
The Music of Erik Satie1992
Elegie2000
Erik Satie: Oeuvres Pour Piano, Vo. 1
Satie: Works For Piano


Albums with Excerpt Performances of the Work

Title Date
Cosmic Music: Meeting Angels Through Sound & Music1997
Amazing Babies Are: Brilliant2005
Satie for relaxation
Satie1997
Ravel: Gaspard De La Nuit/Debussy: Children's Corner/Fauré: Nocturne No.6/Satie: Gymnopedie Nos.1-3/Gnossiennes Nos.11995
Satie: Gymnopédie Nos. 1, 2 & 31995
HGTV: Dinner Party2006
The #1 Adagios Album
These You Have Loved, Vol. 3
Family Circle: Best Ever Classics Sampler1996
Scorpio: Music Of The Zodiac1996
Parents The Lullaby Album1993
Midnight Classics2002
Classical Cool [Box Set]2003
A Day at the Beach1996
Ravel, Debussy, Satie: Orchestral Works1997
Classical Chillout2005
Be Mine: The Ultimate Romance Album2005
Peaceful Classics2001
HGTV: The Art of Living [Box Set]2006
The Magic of Satie2002
Musique Francaise1998
The Most Relaxing Guitar Album in the World... Ever!2005
Classical Chillout, Vol. 2: Classic Ads2003
The Very Best of Satie2006
Bedtime Beats: The Secret to Sleep2006
Classics for Lovers1997
Classics for Lovers (Enhanced CD)1995
Erik Satie: Integrale De La Musique Pour Piano
Classical Music for Yoga
Everlasting Tranquility
Encores You Love
Piano By Candlelight1998
Learning Your Classical Music2003
Piano Moods1994
Classical Chillout (Box Set)2003
The Impressionists: A Windham Hill Sampler
The Sounds of Trinity1991
Classical: The Greatest Moments Ever2006
Afternoon Tea Serenade1997
Gentle Classics2002
Romantic Melodies1997
Romantic Adagios1999
Satie: Piano Works2002
These You Have Loved, Vol. 3
Jeff Vidov: Arise, for There Are Four Paths to Truth2006
Chill with Satie2001
Ravel, Satie, Franck and others
Romance1990
Peaceful Classics; Guitar Classics2002
For Yoga2004
The Most Relaxing Guitar Album in the World ... Ever!2005
Ten String Spectacular1987
The Most Unforgettable Mellow Classics Ever1998
Night Music, Vol. 9: Classical Favourites for Relaxing and Dreaming1991
Family Circle Weekday Soothers1996
Spa: Music Therapy 2 CD Set2005
Zen Garden: Inspiring Creation2004
25 Greatest Classics2001


 
 
 

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