Description
The second of the Gnossiennes, the sparsest of the three and the most given over to stillness. Like the first, it is written without bar lines or a time signature, and words such as "with astonishment" and "with great kindness" stand in place of conventional markings — instructions less about playing than about the state of mind to play from.
The left-hand figure repeats unchanged throughout while fragments of melody are set above it. Only around 370 notes fill more than three minutes, so the silence between them becomes a structural element. There is less rise and fall than in the first, which pushes the quality of the sonority to the front.
The task is to make few notes carry. The sparser the piece, the more one has to listen to each note decaying. Do not hurry the next note in: wait until just before the previous one disappears. Since the pacing is left to the player, it is a valuable piece for learning to shape time by your own breathing.
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Sheet music provided by Mutopia Project
About the Composer
Erik Satie (1866-1925)
Erik Satie was a French composer from Honfleur who worked in Montmartre's cabarets while pursuing a highly individual musical aesthetic. Known for spare, understated music and whimsically titled works, he later influenced minimalist and ambient music. This site includes the Gymnopédies and Gnossiennes, along with "Danse maigre."
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