Drifting Through the Fog of Satie's Gnossienne No 1
The Best Moments
Gnossienne No. 1
I'm Erik Satie, and these are the best moments of my Gnossienne No 1. Here you'll find the passages that make this little piece from around 1890 feel like a slow walk through a labyrinth, one of the stories behind its strange title. On this site my fellow composers and I also teach you to recognize our pieces the moment they begin, so give the Trainer a go .
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No Bar Lines, No Rush
I begin Gnossienne No 1 with the word "Lent", which just means slow, and I wrote it for solo piano, so nobody else has to share the blame for the mood. A gently rocking left hand starts up, a sad little tune wanders in above it, and I left out the bar lines, so the music has no fences and walks wherever it likes.
The Tune Goes Exploring
I like to think the middle is where the melody gets curious, because it leaves its first idea behind and starts poking around in corners it hadn't visited before. The left hand keeps rocking along as if nothing has happened, like a friend who nods politely while you tell a very long story.
Leaving Without a Fuss
I bring the opening idea back near the end, so you get the pleasure of recognizing something, which is more than most people get at a party. Then the music fades away quietly, the way I like to leave a room, and I suspect you won't notice until the silence has already settled in.
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I hope you enjoyed learning about the best moments of Gnossienne No 1 as much as I enjoyed sharing them with you. Now that the last notes have faded, I find that this little piece still leaves a quiet space behind it, and I think that is exactly where it does its best work. There is still plenty more to explore, from the strange word I chose as its title to the Paris of cabarets and small rooms where I wrote it. The piece has also traveled a long way from my piano, and it keeps turning up in places I could never have imagined. If you're curious, I'd be glad if you clicked on the links provided and kept wandering a little further into Gnossienne No 1. Take your time with it, play it again whenever you like, and let it be as slow as it wants to be.
Recording: La Pianista, Public domain