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Erik Satie

I had heard Satie's work long before I even knew who he was. It goes back so far that I don't even remember when the first time I heard his first Gymnopédies, I could have been four or five? I reckon it was during one of those intermission segments on Télé-Québec back in the late seventies and early eighties, or maybe during an old commercial. I do remember however being completely mesmerized by the work. The soft and very slow pace of the song, the delicate melody, it's one of the first times music had had such an impact on me (proof that music has a psychological impact even in those without prior musical knowledge). Back then however, I didn't have the resources or the knowledge to seek out this music; so once in a while, when I accidentally heard it again, I would be reminded of it's beauty.

Flash forward a decade, I'm working in a music store and (surprise), we're discussing classical music that we enjoy (up until this point, the subject was taboo - as a teenager you were either listening to all the hot bands everybody else at high school listened to or you were out). These early discussions went to prove that you were "mature" enough to listen to more adult music, the more difficult the music was, the more mature you were. But I digress. A friend of mine told me about this compilation of soft classical music she owned and told me it wasn't all cheesy and that it even included some of Satie's work. Satie" Who the fuck was Satie? She then told me her mom was a huge fan and that he had composed many short compositions and that he was quite weird for the time. Immediately I went into the classical section and grabbed a CD to listen to during a break. When the first two piano chords reached my ears, it almost felt like I had finally met a long lost estranged parent. It practically brought a tear to my eye. Within a week (and after thanking my friend countless times and telling her of my relationship with this work) I bought two or three different albums which included this piece. I went on to prefer some to others and even found other version later on in life.

For those of you who don't know about Satie, I am not going to give you a history lesson. Satie composed almost exclusively for the piano. His work included very vague and bizarre indications for the performers which made his work all that more particular. But regardless of how pleasant and playful his music might sound, he is also renowned for being quite a character and often getting into qualms with contemporaries. He was a part of an artist group in France called Les Six (The Six) and has had conflicts with almost every member. His work has been a huge influence on later composers and his bizarre and humorous experimentations with performance indications have influenced John Cage's own experimentations with musical theory and composition. Definitely a composer to discover for anyone into strange and peculiar music.

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