Erik Satie

3 Gymnopedies

The ANACROUSE collection offers novice and experienced pianists alike a wide choice of classical works, from the Renaissance to the modern era.

We have set ourselves the goal of offering both "must-haves" from the classical repertoire and pieces by sometimes forgotten composers, all of undeniable pedagogical value. Each piece, sold individually, has been carefully edited, both in terms of the musical text and its engraving, to guarantee musicians the conditions essential to the pleasures derived from frequent trade in these works.

The scores are offered in traditional book form (paper sheets), and also available by download.



Version revised in 2010 by Sarah Fahy and Patrice Bourgès.

These are probably Erik Satie's most famous works, composed in February and April 1888.
Their title evokes ancient Greece: the Gymnopédies, "feasts of naked children", were celebrated in Sparta every year in honor of fallen soldiers. Is he referring to the deliberately stripped-down, naked style of these pieces? To their processional allure? To their childlike simplicity?

Whatever the case, these are three slow waltzes of similar construction, in which a theme, in the right hand, unfolds over an obstinate accompaniment, bass on the first beat, chord on the second.
The nuances, ranging from pp to p (apart from a few f passages), the tempo indications (slow and painful, slow and sad, slow and low), the unresolved sevenths of the harmony, all contribute to the melancholy character that emanates from these three pieces.