Erik Satie: genius or madman?

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

One of the most amazing and controversial composers in the history of music is Eric Satie. The composer's biography is replete with facts when he could shock his friends and admirers, first fiercely defending one statement, and then refuting it in his theoretical works. In the 90s of the nineteenth century, Eric Satie met Carl Debussy and denied following the creative developments of Richard Wagner - he advocated supporting the newly emerging impressionism in music, because this was the beginning of the reincarnation of the national art of France. Later, the composer Eric Satie waged an active skirmish with imitators of the Impressionist style. In contrast to ephemerality and elegance, he put the clarity, sharpness and certainty of linear notation.

Sati had a huge impact on the composers who made up the so-called "Six". He was a real restless rebel who tried to refute the patterns in the minds of people. He led a crowd of followers who loved Sati's war on philistinism, his bold statements about art and music in particular.

Young years

Erik Satie was born in 1866. His father worked as a port broker. From an early age, young Eric was drawn to music and showed remarkable abilities, but since none of his relatives were involved in music, these attempts were ignored. Only at the age of 12, when the family decided to change their place of residence to Paris, Eric was honored with constant music lessons. At the age of eighteen, Erik Satie entered the conservatory in Paris. He studied a complex of theoretical subjects, among which was harmony. He also took piano lessons. Studying at the conservatory did not satisfy the future genius. He drops out and joins the army as a volunteer.

A year later, Eric returns to Paris. He works in small cafes as a pianist. In one of these establishments in Montmartre, a fateful meeting took place with Carl Debussy, who was impressed and intrigued by the unusual choice of harmonies in the seemingly simple improvisations of the young musician. Debussy even decided to create an orchestration for Satie's piano cycle, the Gymnopedia. The musicians became friends. Their opinions meant so much to each other that Satie was able to lead Debussy away from his youthful fascination with Wagner's music.

Move to Arkay

At the end of the nineteenth century, Satie leaves Paris for the suburb of Arcay. He rented an inexpensive room above a small cafe and stopped letting anyone in there. Even close friends could not come there. Because of this, Sati received the nickname "Arkey hermit". He lived completely alonesaw the need for meetings with publishers, did not take large and profitable orders from theaters. Periodically, he appeared in the fashionable circles of Paris, presenting a fresh musical work. And then the whole city discussed it, repeated Sati's jokes, his words and witticisms about the musical celebrities of that time and about art in general.

Twentieth century Sati meets learning. From 1905 to 1908, when he was 39 years old, Eric Satie studied at the Schola cantorum. He studied composition and counterpoint with A. Roussel and O. Serrier. Erik Satie's early music dates from the late nineteenth century, 80s-90s. These are the "Mass of the Poor" for choir and organ, the piano cycle "Cold Pieces" and the well-known "Gymnopedia".

Cooperation with Cocteau. Ballet "Parade"

Already in the 1920s, Sati published collections of piano pieces with a strange structure and an unusual name: "In Horseskin", "Three Pieces in the Shape of a Pear", "Dried Embryos", "Automatic Descriptions". At the same time, he wrote several expressive, extremely melodic songs in the rhythm of a w altz, which appealed to the public. In 1915, Satie met a fateful acquaintance with Jean Cocteau, playwright, poet and music critic. He received a proposal to create, together with Picasso, a ballet for the famous Diaghilev troupe. In 1917, their brainchild - the ballet "Parade" - was released.

Intentional, emphasized primitivism and deliberate contempt for the euphony of music, adding alien sounds to the score, like a typewriter, car sirens andother things, it was the reason for the loud condemnation of the public and the attacks of critics, which, however, did not stop the composer and his associates. The music of the ballet "Parade" had a music hall response, and the motives were reminiscent of melodies that were humming in the streets.

Drama "Socrates"

In 1918, Sati writes a radically different work. The symphonic drama with singing "Socrates", the text for which was the original dialogues of the authorship of Plato, is restrained, crystal clear and even strict. There are no frills and games for the public. This is the antipode of "Parade", although only a year has passed between their writing. At the end of Socrates, Eric Satie promoted the idea of furnishing, accompanying music that would serve as a backdrop to everyday affairs.

Last years of life

Sati met the end of his busy life while living in the same suburb of Paris. He did not meet with his old friends, including the "Six". Eric Satie gathered around him a new circle of composers. Now they called themselves the "Arkey school". It included Cliquet-Pleyel, Sauguet, Jacob, as well as the conductor Desormières. The musicians discussed the new art of a democratic nature. Almost no one knew about Sati's death. It wasn't covered, it wasn't talked about. The genius left unnoticed. It was not until the mid-twentieth century that there was renewed interest in his art, his music and philosophy.