The ''Danses gothiques'' (''Gothic Dances'') is an 1893 piano composition by

Erik Satie Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (, ; ; 17 May 18661 July 1925), who signed his name Erik Satie after 1884, was a French composer and pianist. He was the son of a French father and a British mother. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, but was an und ...

, one of the works of his " Rosicrucian" or "mystic" period. It was published posthumously in 1929. A performance lasts around 12 minutes.

Background

The ''Danses gothiques'' was composed in the middle of Satie's six-month love affair (January to June, 1893) with the painter Suzanne Valadon, when he was torn between his religious preoccupations of the period and more earthly matters. It was the only intimate relationship he is known to have had, and he was clearly the more emotionally vulnerable of the two. The free-spirited Valadon, whom Satie affectionately called "Biqui", took a room near his at 6 Rue Cortot in

Montmartre Montmartre ( , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Right Bank. The historic district established by the City of Paris in 1995 is bordered by Rue Ca ...

to facilitate the romance; and she painted a now-famous portrait of him, one of her earliest efforts in oils. But she rejected his proposal of marriage and continued to see other men. Chief among them was the stockbroker Paul Moussis, with whom she had an intermittent but long-standing liaison until they finally married in 1896. "At that stage in her life, her love affairs seemed to pass over her like sunshine", Valadon biographer June Rose noted. Given their shared connections in the Montmartre bohemian scene, it is unlikely Satie would not have at least heard rumors about this. His status as a part-time lover, whether he recognized it or not, is suggested in his only surviving letter to Valadon, dated March 11, 1893. He is trying to arrange a date with her: "Don't forget that your poor friend hopes to see you...Let me add, Biqui chéri, that I shall on no account get angry if you can't come to any of these rendezvous; I have now become terribly reasonable; and in spite of the great happiness it gives me to see you I am beginning to understand that you can't always do what you want." Satie was soon working on the ''Danses gothiques'', which was completed between March 21 and 23, 1893. His conflicted feelings are reflected in the subtitle of the piece, "A

Novena A novena (from Latin: ''novem'', "nine") is an ancient tradition of devotional praying in Christianity, consisting of private or public prayers repeated for nine successive days or weeks. The nine days between the Feast of the Ascension and Pen ...

for the great calm and profound tranquility of my Soul".

Music and texts

The title of the ''Danses gothiques'' is something of a misnomer. It is in fact one continuous piece of music, a series of interrelated chord sequences unified by a recurring rhythmic figure of two eighth notes and a quarter note. These were divided - apparently after the music was composed - into nine parts by what Robert Orledge called "quasi-religious and self-pitying titles." The central focus is the Dance No. 5 (''For the poor deceased''), which in length almost exactly balances No. 1 and employs all but one of the work's motifs. The "dances" themselves are meditative rather than dance-like, and are all to be played ''très lent'' ("very slow"), the characteristic tempo of Satie's "Rosicrucian" compositions. Fra Angelico 031

Curiously, four of the titles (Nos. 4, 7-9) are introduced in mid-motif, obscuring where the parts are supposed to begin and end. Satie, with his

interdisciplinary Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several other fields like sociology, anthropology, psychology, ec ...

interests, was as much concerned with the ''look'' of his scores on the printed page as he was with their musical effect. This led Swedish pianist-musicologist Olof Höjer, who recorded Satie's complete keyboard works in the 1990s, to suggest a theory about the extramusical structure of the ''Danses gothiques'': "Judging by the appearance of the manuscript, it seems that his main interest was the optical impression that the arrangement of the different parts would make on the score along with the headings. Perhaps this is an early example - maybe even the first - of a musical ''mise en page'', an artistically intended integration of music, notation and text, quite probably inspired by Satie's contact with contemporary poets." Satie's dedication reads, "To the Transcendent, Solemn and Representative Ecstasy of

Saint Benedict Benedict of Nursia ( la, Benedictus Nursiae; it, Benedetto da Norcia; 2 March AD 480 – 21 March AD 548) was an Christianity in Italy, Italian Christian monk, writer, and theologian who is venerated in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Ortho ...

, and the Preparatory Methodology of the Most Powerful

Benedictine Order , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

." The titles are: Saint Lucy by Domenico di Pace Beccafumi

:''1. A l'occasion d'une grande peine'' (''On the occasion of a great sorrow'') :''2. Dans laquelle les Pères de la Très Véritable et Très Sainte Église sont invoqués'' (''On which the Fathers of the True and Holy Church are invoked'') :''3. En faveur d'un malheureux'' (''On behalf of a poor wretch'') :''4. A propos de Saint Bernard et de Sainte Lucie'' (''Concerning Saint Bernard and

Saint Lucy Lucia of Syracuse (283–304), also called Saint Lucia ( la, Sancta Lucia) better known as Saint Lucy, was a Roman Christian martyr who died during the Diocletianic Persecution. She is venerated as a saint in the Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ...

'') :''5. Pour les pauvres trépassés'' (''For the poor deceased'') :''6. Où il est queston du pardon des injures recues'' (''Where there is question of forgiveness for insults received'') :''7. Par pité pour les ivrognes, honteux, débauchés, imparfaits, désagréables, et faussaires en tous'' (''Out of pity for the drunken, disgraced, corrupted, faulty, unlikable, and forgers'') :''8. En le haut honneur du vénéré Saint Michel, le gracieux Archange'' (''In high honor of the venerable Saint Michael, the graceful Archangel'') :''9. Après avoir obtenu la remise de ses fautes'' (''After having obtained the remission of their faults'') Satie read extensively about the lives of the Catholic saints, and the four invoked in the ''Danses gothiques'' may well have had a personal significance for him. Apart from preaching reasonableness in living amongst others, Saint Benedict advocated an architecture for sacred buildings that was austere and devoid of ornamentation, a creative aesthetic Satie pursued in music throughout his life. Benedict is also a patron of the dying, and this provides a thematic link between the dedication and the titles of Dances Nos. 5 and 8. The latter is dedicated to Saint Michael, the

archangel Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the hierarchy of angels. The word ''archangel'' itself is usually associated with the Abrahamic religions, but beings that are very similar to archangels are found in a number of other relig ...

of death who weighs souls on a scale to determine their eligibility for heaven. Saint Bernard Lactation Miracle

The title ''Concerning Saint Bernard and Saint Lucy'' (No. 4) touches on Satie's lifelong fascination with eyes and their recurrence as a literary motif in his work. At first glance the 12th century French abbot who preached the

Second Crusade The Second Crusade (1145–1149) was the second major crusade launched from Europe. The Second Crusade was started in response to the fall of the County of Edessa in 1144 to the forces of Zengi. The county had been founded during the First Crusa ...

and the 3rd century Sicilian virgin martyr would seem a strange pairing. But Saint Lucy is a patron of the blind, and eyes figure in the iconography of both. Saint Lucy was often depicted bearing her eyes on a platter, having (according to one tradition) gouged them out herself to ward off a persistent suitor. And in a variant of Saint Bernard's "Lactation Miracle" he was healed of an ailment that threatened his sight by praying to an image of the

Nursing Madonna The Nursing Madonna, ''Virgo Lactans'', or Madonna Lactans, is an iconography of the Madonna and Child in which the Virgin Mary is shown breastfeeding the infant Jesus. In Italian it is called the ''Madonna del Latte'' ("Madonna of milk"). It was ...

. The icon came to life and squirted her breast milk into his eyes. The other headings seem to strike a more direct personal note. Olof Höjer wrote, "It is certainly tempting to see these titles...as references to

atie Atie may refer to: * Atie Voorbij (born 1940), a Dutch butterfly swimmer * Atie Ridder-Visser (1914–2014), a Dutch resistance fighter during World War II * Attie (disambiguation) Attie may refer to: *Attie people (Attié) **Attie language Peop ...

and his relationship with Suzanne Valadon, veiled under liturgic wordings. As a whole, a strange and remarkable contrast: abstract and totally unemotional piano structures functioning as a purification for a soul tormented by carnal lust and erotic conflicts. Is this music made for listening? Or even for playing?"Höjer, notes to "Erik Satie", pp. 18-20.

Conclusion

Satie appeared to have been initially pleased with the ''Danses gothiques''. On March 24, 1893, the day after its completion, he registered the music with SACEM with an eye towards future publication. But after Valadon left him in June he put it aside to gather dust. Three other compositions have been linked to the Satie-Valadon affair and its end: the brief song ''

Bonjour Biqui, Bonjour! ''Bonjour Biqui, Bonjour!'' is an 1893 song for voice and piano with words and music by Erik Satie. At a mere four bars - less than half a minute in performance, and that due to its slow tempo - it is the shortest of his complete compositions. Its ...

'' (1893), the notorious piano piece '' Vexations'' (c. 1893), and the ''

Messe des pauvres The ''Messe des pauvres'' (''Mass for the Poor'') is a partial musical setting of the mass for mixed choir and organ by Erik Satie. Composed between 1893 and 1895, it is Satie's only liturgical work and the culmination of his "Rosicrucian" or "mys ...

'' (1893-1895). Virtually none of this material was published in Satie's lifetime. In 1911, when Parisian audiences belatedly began to embrace his music, Satie allowed No. 1 of the ''Danses gothiques'' to appear in the March issue of the

Société musicale indépendante The French société musicale indépendante (SMI) was founded in 1910 in particular by Gabriel Fauré, Maurice Ravel, Charles Koechlin and Florent Schmitt. When the SMI was founded, the Société nationale de musique was the main Parisian compan ...

's journal ''Revue musicale''; but he made no further effort to promote a piece that could have held painful memories for him. After Satie's death Darius Milhaud arranged to have the complete score published by Rouart, Lerolle & Cie.

Recordings

Frank Glazer Frank Glazer (February 19, 1915 – January 13, 2015) was an American pianist, composer, and teacher of music. Career details Glazer was born in Chester, Wisconsin on February 19, 1915, the sixth child of Benjamin and Clara Glazer, Jewish emig ...

(Vox, 1970) Aldo Ciccolini (twice for EMI, 1971 and 1988) Reinbert de Leeuw (Harlekijn, 1975, reissued by Philips, 1980)

Jean-Pierre Armengaud Jean-Pierre Armengaud (born 17 June 1943) is a French music educator, musicologist, researcher and pianist. Career Armengaud was born in Clermont-Ferrand. From 1967 to 1974, he seconded Germaine Arbeau-Bonnefoy in the presentation of the , pedagogi ...

(Circé, 1990) Klára Koermendi (Naxos, 1993) Bojan Gorišek (Audiophile Classics, 1994) John White (Ars Nova, 1995) Olof Höjer (Swedish Society Discofil, 1996) Jean-Yves Thibaudet (Decca, 2002)

Steffen Schleiermacher Steffen Schleiermacher (born Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Halle, 3 May 1960) is a German composer, pianist, and conducting, conductor.Compositions by Erik Satie Compositions for solo piano 1893 compositions