Erik Satie, Gnossienne No 1

The first irreverence with which Erik Satie greeted the French academy was to label Opus 62 as the first work he composed, when he was 19 years old. Six years ago he had entered the Paris Conservatoire, standing out as an excellent student, in theory, harmony and piano; however, he will leave the institution at 21, a bit annoyed with the aesthetic trends of the epoch, whether they were academic or avant-garde.

A Cabaret Pianist
But, after all, his eight years of studies at the Conservatory provided him with a solid foundation, especially as a pianist. With this instrument, he would make a living and for it, he would compose most of his music. The same year he abandoned the academy, 1887, he began working as a pianist in the Le Chat Noir Cabaret, but soon after he was fired, and violently. However, it did not take long to find work as a pianist in a similar establishment. This time it was the turn of the cabaret L'auberge du clou, where he stayed for several years and where he was lucky to meet Claude Debussy, with whom he began a friendship with ups and downs.

Erik Satie (1866 - 1925)

It was precisely Debussy who reproached him on a couple of times that his music seemed at times careless in regard to musical forms. In response to this claim, Satie replied with the composition of a small work entitled "Three pieces in the shape of a pear", for four-hand piano, which are neither three nor, of course, are pear-shaped.

Exotic music
The 1900 Paris Exposition opened the way for many musicians to come into contact with other and more exotic musical universes. There was born, for example, Debussy's taste for Javanese music. Satie didn't fall behind and was enthusiastic about Romanian music, a footprint that scholars swear to observe in the enigmatic Gnossiennes, composed a year later. These are the years when Satie proves to have a special preference for number three. Hence the three Gnossiennes, which culminates a stage begun with the three Sarabandes (1887) and the three Gymnopédies (1888).

"Furniture music"
Beyond his commitment to the production of fun compositions, full of fantasy and humour, Satie always continued to be a hipster, an experimental musician. That was how in 1920, in the company of other composers, the production of what they called "furniture music" was focused, a music that is not an object in itself, but a kind of musical decoration, whose purpose is purely utilitarian, as with furniture.

Although in principle the exotic Gnossienne No. 1 does not belong to the category just described, it is undeniable that it acquires another meaning, another dimension, "a new beauty" if it is heard as background music (!), or piped music? in this simple video illustrating the routine of its author on his daily trip from home to work.
At the piano, the Frenchman Jean-Yves Thibaudet.

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