Satie slipped into his scores such weird performance instructions as “on yellowed velvet,” “without pride,” “with the tip of the back teeth” — all aimed at destablishing the player’s traditional logic and good sense, and better preparing them to accept the unusual combinations of notes that he offered them.
What amazing ways to describe sound! I love The Magic of Satie played by pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet – so moody. This sentence is from the CD’s jacket. The liner goes on to say that Satie was an “odd composer” whose music appeals to a state of mind and speaks to one listener at a time. Erik Satie lived mostly in Paris, wasn’t much appreciated in his lifetime and led a lonely life. I hear French melancholy in his hauntingly beautiful compositions.