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Eccentricity Raised to High Art

J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 12/09/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"According to Nicholas Slonimsky, Erik Satie (1866-1926) 'elevated his eccentricities and verbal virtuosity to the plane of high art.' So true. This very strange Parisian, creating music of a new simplicity, had a profound influence, through his music and his manner, on composers like Debussy and Ravel, not to speak of their successors in the post-WWI group Cocteau called 'Les Six.' His music is tonal but with odd piquant harmonic progressions, simple but often quite deep, and almost all of it is appealing both immediately and over the long term.



This 2CD compilation from Naxos consists primarily of piano music, all of it drawn from their 4CD series featuring Klára Körmendi (with the assistance in a couple of pieces by second pianist Gábor Eckhardt). There are also orchestral excerpts from three of Satie's ballets (Les Aventures de Mercure, Rêlache, and Parade) as well as Debussy's orchestrations of Nos. 2 & 3 of his three Gymnopédies. (Körmendi plays the familiar first Gymnopédie.) The orchestral pieces are played by Orchestre Symphonique et Lyrique de Nancy under Jérôme Kaltenbach. These selections represent much of the range of Satie's output; my only regret is that there is nothing from his trailblazing cantata 'Socrate.' And that one of Satie's most appealing songs, the cabaret-waltz 'Je te veux', is rendered here as a piano solo.



As to Satie's 'verbal virtuosity' one can hardly avoid smiling on encountering such titles as 'Three Morsels in the Form of a Pear', 'An Unappetizing Chorale,' or 'Airs to Make You Run Away.'



The selections here would undoubtedly make a wonderful introduction for anyone who has not otherwise become acquainted with Satie's sly and endearing music. If the playing of the Nancy Orchestra is sometimes a little thin in the string department, this is no major defect as Satie's music is rather leanly orchestrated.



Recommended for the Satie newcomer, particularly at this super-budget price.



Scott Morrison"