Chapitres tournés en tous sens: Le porteur de grosses pierres

Description

Another piece from the 1913 set Chapitres tournés en tous sens, titled Le porteur de grosses pierres (The Carrier of Large Stones). Its subject is a man bent under a heavy load, and the score carries Satie's characteristic annotations narrating the scene. Of the three pieces, this one leans most towards depicting physical motion.

A steady, plodding rhythm evokes the labour of hauling a heavy load, colored by humorously placed harmonies typical of Satie's satirical style. At about one minute forty-six seconds and only some 314 notes, it takes its time, valuing the pause of each heavy step. The range spreads wide from deep bass to high treble, sharpening the contrast between weight and lightness.

Rated intermediate, its wide range calls for 76 keys or more. Though under two minutes long, it demands the concentration to render each change of pulse precisely, and there is pleasure in catching small shifts of expression within a tread that never stops. Slowing the playback to feel the weight of each step, and looping the turning points with A-B, lets you savour Satie's singular world as you play it.

A three-piece piano suite Satie composed in 1913, carrying his characteristic whimsical, offbeat humor.