CD 1
1. Gnossienne N°1 	
2. Petite Ouverture A Danser 	
3. Gymnopédie N°1 	
4. Véritables Préludes Flasques (Pour Un Chien) : Sévère Réprimande 	
5. Véritables Préludes Flasques (Pour Un Chien) : Seul A La Maison 	
6. Véritables Préludes Flasques (Pour Un Chien) : On Joue 	
7. Gnossienne N°2 	
8. Les Trois Valses Distinguées Du Précieux Dégoûté : Sa Taille 	
9. Les Trois Valses Distinguées Du Précieux Dégoûté : Son Binocle 	
10. Les Trois Valses Distinguées Du Précieux Dégoûté : Ses Jambes 	
11. Gnossienne N°3 	
12. Le Picadilly 	
13. Descriptions Automatiques : Sur Un Vaisseau 	
14. Descriptions Automatiques : Sur Une Lanterne 	
15. Descriptions Automatiques : Sur Un Casque 	
16. Gnossienne N°4 	
17. Les Pantins Dansent 	
18. Le Piège De Méduse : Quadrille 	
19. Le Piège De Méduse : Valse 	
20. Le Piège De Méduse : Pas Vite 	
21. Le Piège De Méduse : Mazurka 	
22. Le Piège De Méduse : Un Peu Vif 	
23. Le Piège De Méduse : Polka 	
24. Le Piège De Méduse : Quadrille 	
25. Pièces Froides : Danses De Travers I 	
26. Pièces Froides : Danses De Travers Ii 	
27. Pièces Froides : Danses De Travers Iii 	
28. Avant-Dernières Pensées : Idylle 	
29. Avant-Dernières Pensées : Aubade 	
30. Avant-Dernières Pensées : Méditation 	
31. Gambades 	
32. Embryons Desséchés : D'Holothurie 	
33. Embryons Desséchés : D'Edriophthalma 	
34. Embryons Desséchés : De Podophthalma 	
35. Gnossienne N°5 	
36. Valse Ballet 	
37. Heures Séculaires Et Instantanées : Obstacles Venimeux 	
38. Heures Séculaires Et Instantanées : Crépuscule Matinal (De Midi) 	
39. Heures Séculaires Et Instantanées : Affolements Granitiques 	
40. Première Pensée Rose+Croix 	
41. Poudre D'Or 	
42. Gnossienne N°6

CD 2
1. Trois Morceaux En Forme De Poire : Manière De Commencement - Eric Le Sage 	
2. Trois Morceaux En Forme De Poire : Prolongation Du Même - Eric Le Sage 
En Forme De Poire : Lentement - Eric Le Sage 	
4. Trois Morceaux En Forme De Poire : Enlevé - Eric Le Sage 	
5. Trois Morceaux En Forme De Poire : Brutal - Eric Le Sage 	
6. Trois Morceaux En Forme De Poire : En Plus - Eric Le Sage 	
7. Trois Morceaux En Forme De Poire : Redite - Eric Le Sage 	
8. Je Te Veux - Juliette 	
9. Chez Le Docteur - Juliette 	
10. J'Avais Un Ami - Juliette 	
11. La Diva De L'Empire - Juliette 	
12. La Belle Excentrique : Marche Franco-Lunaire - Eric Le Sage 	
13. La Belle Excentrique : Grande Ritournelle - Eric Le Sage 	
14. La Belle Excentrique : Valse Du Mystérieux Baiser Dans L'Oeil - Eric Le Sage
15. La Belle Excentrique : Grande Ritournelle - Eric Le Sage 	
16. La Belle Excentrique : Cancan Grand-Mondain - Eric Le Sage 
17. Choses Vues A Droite Et A Gauche (Sans Lunettes) : Choral Hypocrite - Isabelle Faust 
18. Choses Vues A Droite Et A Gauche (Sans Lunettes) : Fugue A Tâtons - Isabelle Faust 
19. Choses Vues A Droite Et A Gauche (Sans Lunettes) : Fantaisie Musculaire - Isabelle Faust 
20. Cinéma - Eric Le Sage 
21. Daphénéo - Jean Delescluse 	
22. Ludions : Le Rat, Drôle - Jean Delescluse 	
23. Ludions : Spleen, Mélancolique - Jean Delescluse 	
24. Ludions : La Grenouille (Américaine), Fantasmagorie - Jean Delescluse
25. Ludions : Le Poète, Léger - Jean Delescluse 	
26. Ludions : Le Chat, Burlesque - Jean Delescluse 	
27. La Statue Retrouvée - David Guerrier 	
28. Embarquement Pour Cythère - Isabelle Faust 	
29. Allons-Y Chochotte - Jean Delescluse

Alexandre Tharaud – piano
Eric le Sage – piano
Jean Delescluse – tenor
Isabelle Faust – violin
David Guerrier – trumpet
 

'My aim was to offer on these two discs the richest possible panorama of Satie's piano and chamber music, ranging over his whole lifetime'. So writes Alexandre Tharaud in the sleevenotes.

Tharaud has worked magic here by presenting Satie in a highly inventive way. Whereas most discs of Satie's music simply present the Three Gymnopedies, the Six Gnossiennes, and other popular pieces, grouped together as published, the pianist here has presented us with a two CD 'concert'. The first is a disc of music for solo piano, starting with the First Gymnopedie (the other two are omitted), then interweaving various Satie gems with the Gnossiennes, which are spread out throughout this first CD. The playing is simply outstanding; there is no shortage of fine pianists offering their interpretations of Satie, but I know of no other who seems so 'inside' the music. Because of the silly titles, it is easy to think of Satie's as superficial music, but Tharaud feels below the surface, giving an enchanting disc. I sat mesmerised from beginning to end (all 42 tracks).

The second disc, entitled 'Duos', includes pieces for two pianos, one piano/four hands (the second pair of hands one Eric le Sage - a name surely redolent of Satie's Paris?), piano and violin (Isabelle Faust), piano and chanteuse ('Juliette'), and tenor (Jean Delescluse), and trumpet (David Guerrier). Well, the trumpeter only gets one track, but he certainly makes the most of it. Juliette sounds as though she spends most of her time in a Paris cafe dense with cigarette smoke, entirely appropriately. Le Sage is equal with Tharaud, thoroughly immersed in this strangely beautiful music. And Delescluse is, er, delicious in the slightly rude song 'Allons-y Chochotte' ('Come on, Chochotte, Chochotte..')which finishes the second disc. But wait, there is a Satie-esqe surprise at the very end..

The presentation is excellent too. The discs are housed in a double fold-out plastic tray, a sketch of the composer imprinted on the front. A substantial tri-lingual booklet is part of the package and also includes texts in French, with English and German translations. There is even a secret code on the back of the booklet to gain access to free downloads of further Satie recordings by Tharaud (including 14 minutes of 'Vexations'). This is all outstanding. ---Steve, amazon.com

download: uploaded yandex 4shared mediafire solidfiles mega zalivalka filecloudio anonfiles oboom

back

01 - Gymnopédie 1
02 - Gymnopédie 2
03 - Gymnopédie 3
04 - Gnossienne 1
05 - Gnossienne 2
06 - Gnossienne 3
07 - Gnossienne 4
08 - Gnossienne 5
09 - Gnossienne 6
10 - Embryons desséchés- 1. d'Holothurie
11 - Embryons desséchés- 2. d'Edriophtalma
12 - Embryons desséchés- 3. de Podophthalma
13 - Croquis et agaceries- 1. Tyrolienne turque
14 - Croquis et agaceries- 2. Danse maigre
15 - Croquis et agaceries- 3. Españaña
16 - Sports et Divertissements- 01.Choral inappétissant
17 - Sports et Divertissements- 02.La Balançoire
18 - Sports et Divertissements- 03.La Casse
19 - Sports et Divertissements- 04.La Comédie Italienne
20 - Sports et Divertissements- 05.La Réveil de la Mariée
21 - Sports et Divertissements- 06.Colin-Maillard
22 - Sports et Divertissements- 07.La Pêche
23 - Sports et Divertissements- 08.Le Yachting
24 - Sports et Divertissements- 09.Le Bain de mer
25 - Sports et Divertissements- 10.Le Carnaval
26 - Sports et Divertissements- 11.Le Golf
27 - Sports et Divertissements- 12.La Pieuvre
28 - Sports et Divertissements- 13.Les Courses
29 - Sports et Divertissements- 14.Les Quatre-Coins
30 - Sports et Divertissements- 15.Le Pique-nique
31 - Sports et Divertissements- 16.Le Water-chute
32 - Sports et Divertissements- 17.Le Tango
33 - Sports et Divertissements- 18.Le Traineu
34 - Sports et Divertissements- 19.Le Flirt
35 - Sports et Divertissements- Le Feu d'Artifice
36 - Sports et Divertissements- Le Tennis
37 - Heures Séculaires et Instantanées- 1.Obstacles venimeux
38 - Heures Séculaires et Instantanées- 2.Crépuscule matinal
39 - Heures Séculaires et Instantanées- 3.Affolements granitiques
40 - Le trois valses distinguées- 1.Sa taille
41 - Le trois valses distinguées- 2.Son binocle
42 - Le trois valses distinguées- 3.Ses jambes
43 - Sonatine bureaucratique
44 - Nocturne 1
45 - Nocturne 2
46 - Nocturne 3
47 - Nocturne 4
48 - Nocturne 5

Yitkin Seow – piano

Yitkin Seow's 1989 recording of Erik Satie's popular miniatures for Hyperion is a fine choice among a handful of excellent recordings. Whether or not one has a preference for the critically acclaimed albums by Pascal Rogé or Aldo Ciccolini, Seow's polished performances are in the same league and differ only slightly in terms of rubato, dynamics, and phrasing. Satie's music is somewhat rarefied, eccentric, and vaguely surrealistic, but also limited in emotional range and style. Pianists must contend with his thin textures, abrupt changes of mood, and unusual harmonic voicings in much the same way: with refined delicacy, as in the three Gymnopédies, the six Gnossiennes, and the five Nocturnes, or with irreverent, punchy vigor, as needed in Sports et divertissements, Heures séculaires et instantanées, and the Sonatine bureaucratique. Seow's playing is on the subdued side -- the very antithesis of Romantic pianism, which Satie would have applauded -- and his interpretations have a veiled quality that makes these short pieces enigmatic and perhaps mistier than might be expected. Hyperion's recording, while pleasant, is also a little muted, so a higher volume setting is advised to hear all the details, especially in the extremely soft Gymnopédies. ---Blair Sanderson, Rovi

We have had to wait far too long for this first solo recording from Yitkin Seow, for he is an excellent pianist with a keen sense of style. I would like to have from him and Hyperion such mainstream works as the Brahms Paganini Variations or the Chopin B minor Sonata, music that he plays very well; but failing that his artistry is fully evident in the present Satie collection. The recital begins with the composer's most popular pieces, the three Gymnopédies, sensitively done but, given their simplicity and Greek inspiration, arguably just a tiny bit too beautified (or cosmeticiz.ed) by rubato compared with the more straightforward Peter Lawson on his Classics for Pleasure disc. The same goes for the Gnossiennes, but I hasten to add that Scow's freedom did not worry me seriously and he does characterize each piece welt, thus avoiding monotony. In drier pieces such as the Embryons iesséchés he gives us wit and point, playing the 'fake endings'—and the references to Chopin's Funeral March and other music—with just enough humour to emphasize their jokes yet not overdoing them. It is similar with the 'Clementine' stylization of the Sonatine bureaucratique. Altogether this is an attractive and well-chosen Satie collection, well recorded in St Barnabas's Church in North London with an acceptable degree of reverberation. --- Gramophone [12/1989]

download: uploaded yandex 4shared mediafire solidfiles mega zalivalka filecloudio anonfiles oboom

back

1. Vexations, for piano	 69:30

Stephane Ginsburgh – piano

Vexations is a strange piece, of uncertain provenance and meaning. It's a simple, four-part theme for piano, with an inscription implying (though never stating explicitly) that the theme is to be performed 840 times in succession. Other instructions relating to tempo and the use of the bass are oblique, and up to the individual interpreter. Satie never published, performed, or discussed it in his lifetime; it was only brought to public attention in 1949, when John Cage published a facsimile version. In September, 1963 Cage and 11 other pianists performed it in its full marathon form, and it's been played a number of other times, including a centennial performance featuring 21 pianists, each playing for an hour. This CD, on which the piece is performed by Stephane Ginsburg, offers only five-percent of the whole -- in order to get the full 840 out of it, you'll have to play the disc 20 times. But even one journey from beginning to end will have a powerful effect on the listener. The slow, mournful repetition of these off-kilter notes that move and resonate with each other in unexpected ways creates a kind of head-spinning feeling after a while, not unlike late-period extended works by Morton Feldman (the solo piano piece For Bunita Marcus, or the piano/violin duo For John Cage, in particular). Putting this disc on in the background -- Satie described some of his other work as "furniture music," designed to unobtrusively fill the space around a listener -- will be at first fascinating, then disquieting, and finally relaxing. Of course, on another level it's interesting just that it exists, given the technology of digital recording. Ginsburg could, after all, have played the piece once and the producer could have cut-and-pasted 41 more repetitions into place. But they didn't; they played it through. --- Phil Freeman, Rovi

download: uploaded yandex 4shared mediafire solidfiles mega zalivalka filecloudio anonfiles oboom

back

01. Pieces Froides No.1
02. Pieces Froides No.2
03. Pieces Froides No.3
04. Gnossiennes No.1
05. Gnossiennes No.2
06. Gnossiennes No.3
07. Gnossiennes No.4
08. Gnossiennes No.5
09. Gnossiennes No.6                         play
10. Sports Et Divertissements Yatching
11. Sports Et Divertissements Le Tango
12. Sports Et Divertissements Le Bain de Mer
13. Gymnopedies No.1
14. Gymnopedies No.2
15. Gymnopedies No.3
16. Pieces Froides Airs A Faire Fuir No.1
17. Pieces Froides Airs A Faire Fuir No.2
18. Pieces Froides Airs A Faire Fuir No.3    play
19. Sarabande No.3
20. Ogive No.1 Tres lent
21. Petite Ouverture A Danser

Alessandra Celletti - piano

A wonderful gem! This incredibly well put together album is a triumph start to finish. The way in which Celletti interprets and represents the tunes on her sole piano is astonishing; perfectly paced with a beautiful use of dynamics and ordered all together so well it delivers a sensation of euphoria. This is a perfect measured collection of written sound that's delivered through the fingers of a rare artist who has within her that special ingredient needed to be able to release Satie's compositional ideas and make them illuminate the listener's ears. An esotérik talent. --Daniel Bristow - Cluas.com

Erik Satie, the father of ambient music, was one of music's great originals. His simplicity, essential harmonies, freedom of form of musical understatement made a strong impression on composers like Debussy, Ravel and Stravinski.

download: uploaded yandex 4shared mediafire solidfiles mega zalivalka filecloudio anonfiles oboom ziddu

back

CD1
1. Gnossiennes - No. 1 – Lent		5:40	
2. Gnossiennes - No. 2 - Avec étonnement	3:11
3. Gnossiennes - No. 3 – Lent		4:20
4. Gnossiennes - No. 4	3:09
5. Gnossiennes - No. 5	3:26
6. Gnossiennes - No. 6	2:28
7. Petite ouverture à danser - Ed. Robert Caby (1905-1992)	2:26     play
8. Prélude de la porte héroïque du ciel	5:44
9. Danses gothiques		13:36	
10. Ogives - I			2:52
11. Ogives - II			4:06                                         play
12. Ogives - 3.		2:46
13. Ogives - IV		3:42
14. Gymnopédie No.1	6:06
15. Gymnopédie No.2	5:03
16. Gymnopédie No.3	4:58

CD2
1. 3 Sarabandes - No. 1	6:44
2. 3 Sarabandes - No. 2	7:17
3. 3 Sarabandes - No. 3	6:03
4. Sonneries de la Rose + Croix - Air de l'Ordre	5:10
5. Sonneries de la Rose + Croix - Air du Grand Maître	6:07
6. Sonneries de la Rose + Croix - Air du Grand Prieur	3:45
7. Pièces froides: - Airs à faire fuir - I. D'une manière très particulière	3:39
8. Pièces froides: - Airs à faire fuir - II. Modestement	1:51
9. Pièces froides: - Airs à faire fuir - III. S'inviter	3:39	
10. Pièces froides: - Danses de travers - I	1:43                      play
11. Pièces froides: - Danses de travers - II	1:26
12. Pièces froides: - Danses de travers - III	2:17
13. Prière	1:35
14. 4 Préludes - Fête donnée par des Chevaliers Normands en l'Honneur d'une jeune Demoiselle	4:17
15. 4 Préludes - Prélude d'Eginhard	2:19                               play
16. 4 Préludes - 1er Prélude du Nazaréen	5:26
17. 4 Préludes - 2ème Prélude du Nazaréen	4:37

Reinbert de Leeuw – piano

Satie wrote in a variety of styles. Much of his later work (including most of the work with the humorous titles) amounts to a burlesque of salon music of the day, and tends to be charming, often affecting, but on the light side. (There are exceptions, of course, such as the Nocturnes.)

The early pieces grouped on these 2 CDs (which include the famous Gymnopedies) are in a different league. They come from a period in which Satie seemed to be working through spiritual issues, and some were written specifically for the mystical Rosicrucian Order. Satie was pushing the envelope in terms of structure and harmony (although the harmony was not dissonant, but, instead, quite similar to Debussy's experiments of roughly the same time). The music can be repititious (not unlike chant) but with subtle variations (as if a distant--and early--cousin of minimalism). Most of it tends to be meditative and quiet, relatively uncomplicated, and, in that sense, anti-virtuosic. (I should add that the Gymnopedies were among the less experimental pieces of that time, although compared to, say, Saint-Saens, they were revolutionary in their simplicity.)

I became familiar with Satie via Aldo Ciccolini's ground-breaking series of 30 years ago or so. There, as in most Satie compilations, the early work was mixed in with the later work, which had the effect (for me, at least), of causing me to not quite "get" the early work. (Ciccolini's later set devoted an entire CD to the early work, under the "Mystic Works" rubric, as I best recall, but the piano sound was very disappointing, and Ciccolini was not particularly "mystical" in his approach to the work.)

Reinbert de Leeuw's approach is either revelatory or terribly dull, depending upon who's listening. I love it. I think he's the first pianist to effectively reveal what unique and potent music this is, in part by simply slowing it down. He has a beautiful sounding piano to work with (superbly recorded), and he revels in that beauty, to our benefit. Yet I don't think the slow speed is such an issue that the listener loses track of the architecture of the pieces. It just gives you time to listen. –E. Weed

Reinbert de Leeuw is the most original piano interpret I have ever heard ! His versions of Eric Satie's famous Gymnopedies are unique, because his plays them so slowly that it is sometimes difficult to recognise them; you re-discover them as you hear him play. This is the perfect approach to play some famous pieces people have heard so many times in a refreshing way. Of course, this is different from the "classic" way to play Satie, as Philippe Entremont did in a definitive way. But Reinbert de Leeuw is really original : it is the slowest interpretation of Satie's pieces. There is a few seconds silence between each note.

download: uploaded yandex 4shared mediafire solidfiles mega zalivalka filecloudio anonfiles oboom

back

1	Reflections on Aubade	2:58
2	Reflections on Méditation	3:35
3	Reflections on Sévère Réprimande	2:57
4	Reflections on Idylle	4:01
5	Gnossienne No. 3	3:00
6	Reflections on Gnossienne No. 2	4:26
7	Reflections on Gnossienne No. 1	5:53
8	Satie Ist Mir Traum 3x Nicht Erschienen		6:24
9	Vexations 1801		8:52
10	Vexations 1611		9:45
11	Vexations 2105		23:22

Karl "Bumi" Fian - Flugelhorn, Trumpet
Ima - Tamboura
Hannes Kottek - Flugelhorn
Lauren Newton - Vocals
Wolfgang Puschnig - Clarinet (Bass), Flute, Sax (Alto), Sax (Soprano)
Christian Radovan - Trombone
Wolfgang Reisinger - Gong, Kalimba, Triangle
Mathias Rüegg 	Arranger, Conductor, Leader
Jon Sass - Tuba
Woody Schabata - Vibraphone
Roman Schwaller - Clarinet, Composer, Sax (Tenor)
Harry Sokal - Flute, Sax (Soprano), Sax (Tenor)
Mathias Rüegg - Arranger, Conductor, Leader

Mathias Rüegg's Vienna Art Orchestra had always been an eclectic bunch, working in the odd jazz or classical cover into its repertoire with some regularity, but for this release, the ensemble went whole hog, leaping into the oeuvre of that grandfather of minimalism, Erik Satie. Originally issued as a two-LP set, every track (save one evocative Gil Evans-y piece by Rüegg) is a Satie composition rearranged, often brilliantly, and generally highlighting two or three individual VAO members. This reductionist technique serves the band well, as it has often had a tendency toward weighty ponderousness. Here, the arrangements are light and linear, affording a supple but transparent platform for the soloists, who are clearly encouraged to venture out into jazzy territory. Vocalist Lauren Newton and percussionist Woody Schabata are often in the spotlight here, the former's wordless ululations adapting themselves quite well to Satie's whimsical music and the latter's vibraphone providing an enticing mixture of rigor and dreaminess. Others, like the Gymnopedie No. 3, are presented for solo instrumentalist, here a lovely rendition by trombonist Christian Radovan. The final three tracks, the entirety of the second disc on the original issue, are given over to renditions of Satie's notorious Vexations, wherein the pianist was instructed to play the piece 840 times at a "very slow pace." Here, they're set for duets, Schabata in each case on vibes, accompanied by tenor sax (Roman Schwaller), voice (Newton), and bass clarinet (Wolfgang Puschnig). It's a daring and very successful gambit, as the piece is allowed to be gradually examined like a lustrous gem by several creative pairs of ears. The Minimalism of Erik Satie is a rare example of the pairing of jazz and classical that actually works on both ends. Recommended. --- Brian Olewnick , Rovi

download (mp3 @320 kbs):

uploaded yandex 4shared mega mediafire solidfiles zalivalka cloudmailru oboom

back