"Monsieur le pauvre"
The composer Erik Satie died in a Paris hospital on July 1, 1925, after a long illness. During his several months stay in the establishment, the only thing he longed for was to be returned to his home to die at home, amid poverty, in the very modest Parisian suburb of Arcueil-Cachan.
"Monsieur le pauvre", the title by which Satie often called himself, lived there miserably from 1898 and for the rest of his days, even though he would become a famous, if disputed, composer from 1911 onwards.
The "popular" Satie in the mid-20th century
Indeed, Satie gained the recognition of the scholars at least after the Société Musicale Indépendante dedicated a monographic concert to him, after Maurice Ravel's efforts, in 1911. From then on he became "popular", although never as 150 years later, when in the second half of the 20th century his youthful works began to be heard in the most diverse contexts, from commercials intended for the sale of mass consumer products, to jazz-rock or jazz fusion arrangements, as well as a good number of final film shots where a couple walks along the beach with the sunset in the background.
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| Erik Satie (1866 - 1925) |
Of all this, Satie would have been grateful, no doubt. And perhaps he would have invented a new title for each performance, because when it comes to titles, he showed boundless ingenuity. One of his first forays into solo piano music, from 1888, and perhaps his best known and happiest work, bears the curious title 3 Gymnopédies. It is said to allude to the education of young Greeks, but when Satie was asked about it, he pointed out that he had been inspired by the novels of Flaubert...
It has also been said that the three pieces are the same piece written three times. They explore a single idea, it is true, but from different perspectives, while maintaining their undeniable dreamy character unchanged.
The version, audio only, is by the French pianist Anne Queffélec:
00 Gymnopédie No. 1. Lent et douloureux
03:33 Gymnopédie No. 2. Lent et triste
06:30 Gymnopédie No. 3. Lent et grave
