Erik SATIE (1866-1925)
An Erik Satie Entertainment
Meriel Dickinson (mezzo-soprano)
Peter Dickinson (piano)
rec. 6 October 1975, All Saints Church, Petersham, UK and other venues/dates
Texts in French included; no translations
HERITAGE HTGCD171 [68:09]
The core of this disc is the reissue of a Unicorn LP recorded in October 1975 and released the following year. It’s augmented by mono recordings taken from live concerts that Peter and Meriel Dickinson gave.
That there is variety in the programming is a given, with conjunctions of Satie’s vocal and solo piano pieces enlivened by three readings taken from his writings. The pieces span the years 1887 to 1923, two years before Satie’s death, and reveal many facets of his compositions, from the light, the whimsical, the expressive, the familiar and also the unexpected. For example, Satie was an early enthusiast for Ragtime and his 1904 Le Piccadilly is a marvellously vivid example of the genre. I don’t know enough of Satie’s biography but perhaps he went to the Paris Exposition of 1900 and heard the Sousa Band, which was around the time Ragtime made its first impression on Europe, other than printed music, of course. Le Piège de Méduse is a one-act lyric comedy for which Satie wrote some incidental music, a pert ironic sequence that gives repeated pleasure not least in Peter Dickinson’s reading – taken straight with no winks to the audience. Poudre d’or is a jolly waltz and there are Vexations, Gnossienne No 2 and Gymnopédie No 1 without which the programme wouldn’t really be complete.
Satie’s songs offer much to intrigue as well as gently bewilder. The three melodies of 1887, written when he was 21, are, as ever with him, compressed and artful, notably the last of the three, Sylvie, with its sense of a loving stasis. The Hymne: ‘Salut Drapeau! oscillates uncertainly. Tendrement is a prime example of his mastery of popular song whilst Geneviève de Brabant is a turn-of-the-century stage work for which Satie provided some music; the two examples here are very brief and, though beautifully performed, make one wonder in what context they could function.
Whether writing for the stage, recital platform, cabaret or grabbing the zeitgeist Satie’s influence was subtly important. He spans moods and styles and as he shows in the vocal work Ludions, composed a couple of years before his death, he was still crossing barriers with impunity, here mixing the portentous with the ridiculous and with the poetic and not giving a damn.
An Erik Satie Entertainment includes those delicious extracts from his writings, two of which are read by Peter Dickinson and one by Meriel. Obviously, there is a change in acoustic from the LP to the live mono performances – and you’ll hear the appreciative audience laughter as well.
The texts are in French only. Peter Dickinson’s booklet note covers everything you need to know. This augmented restoration is a Satie microcosm.
Jonathan Woolf
Previous review: John France
Contents
Le Piccadilly: Marche (1904) [1:54]
Trois melodies (1887) [6:11]
Gnossienne No 2 (1893) [2:11]
Hymne: Salut Drapeau! (1891) [4:31]
Pieces froides No 2 (1897) [1:09]
Tendrement (1902) [4:25]
Poudre d’or (1900-01) [4:11]
From Genevieve de Brabant (1899-1900) [3:27]
Gymnopedie No 1 (1888) [3:13]
Vexations (1893) [3:29]
Trois melodies (1916) [4:36]
Chanson (1887) [1:05]
Chanson medievale (1906) [1:48]
Reading: Satie’s Self Portrait [2:36]
Le Piege de Meduse (1913) [3:22]
Quatre petites melodies (1920) [2:52]
Reading: A Musician’s Day [2:25]
Trois poemes d’amour (1914) [2:30]
Reading: Satie’s Fakes [1:55]
Ludions (1923) [3:59]
Reading: In Praise of Critics [1:50]
La Diva de l’Empire [1:59]
Je te veux (1897) [2:45]
