Karl-Andreas Kolly - Gymnopedie - The Best of Erik Satie (2015) [DSD128]

In 1888, the eccentric French composer Erik Satie (1866-1925) published three short, atmospheric piano solos called Gymnopédies. The first, marked Lent et douloureux (“slowly with pain/grief”), is perhaps one of the most famous piano solos penned during the late Romantic era. Let’s dive a little deeper into Gymnopédie No. 1 and see what makes it so memorable.
No one is completely sure why Satie named these pieces Gymnopédies. The term itself comes from the ancient Greek word for an annual festival where young men danced to show off their athletic skills (probably without clothing, like in the Olympics). But because the music does not evoke images or feelings from that festival, others think the inspiration for the title came from Gustave Flaubert‘s novel Salammbô (Satie said this after proclaiming himself a “gymnopedist” – whatever that means) or the following poem from J. P. Contamine de Latour that was published in a magazine alongside the music.
French Poem:
Oblique et coupant l’ombre un torrent éclatant
Ruisselait en flots d’or sur la dalle polie
Où les atomes d’ambre au feu se miroitant
Mêlaient leur sarabande à la gymnopédie
English Translation:
Slanting and shadow-cutting a bursting stream
Trickled in gusts of gold on the shiny flagstone
Where the amber atoms in the fire gleaming
Mingled their sarabande with the gymnopaedia.
Musical Analysis
The first thing to understand about Gymnopédie No. 1 is that its simplicity is intentional, and that’s where the beauty comes from. The melody is a single, flowing line of quarter notes, raising and lowering like ocean waves. The rhythms are long and sustained, creating a sense of floating through time.