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The ''Gnossiennes'' () are several piano compositions by the French composer
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 ...
in the late 19th century. The works are for the most part in
free time
Free time, traditionally usually called ''leisure time'' or ''leisure'', refers to the time when one is not working. It may also refer to:
* Free time (music), a type of musical meter free from musical time and time signature
* ''Freetime'' (album ...
(lacking time signatures or bar divisions) and highly experimental with form, rhythm and chordal structure. The form as well as the term was invented by Satie.
Etymology
Satie's coining of the word ''gnossienne'' was one of the rare occasions when a composer used a new term to indicate a new "type" of composition. Satie used many novel names for his compositions (''
vexations
''Vexations'' is a musical work by Erik Satie. Apparently conceived for keyboard (although the single page of manuscript does not specify an instrument), it consists of a short theme in the bass whose four presentations are heard alternatingly ...
'', ''
croquis et agaceries'' and so on). ''
Ogive
An ogive ( ) is the roundly tapered end of a two-dimensional or three-dimensional object. Ogive curves and surfaces are used in engineering, architecture and woodworking.
Etymology
The earliest use of the word ''ogive'' is found in the 13th c ...
'', for example, is the name of an architectural element which was used by Satie as the name for a composition, the ''
Ogives
The ''Ogives'' are four pieces for piano composed by Erik Satie in the late 1880s. They were published in 1889, and were the first compositions by Satie he did not publish in his father's music publishing house.
Satie was said to have been ins ...
''. ''Gnossienne'', however, was a word that did not exist before Satie used it as a title for a composition. The word appears to derive from ''
gnosis
Gnosis is the common Greek noun for knowledge ( γνῶσις, ''gnōsis'', f.). The term was used among various Hellenistic religions and philosophies in the Greco-Roman world. It is best known for its implication within Gnosticism, where it ...
''. Satie was involved in
gnostic
Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish and early Christian sects. These various groups emphasized pe ...
sects and movements at the time that he began to compose the ''Gnossiennes''. However, some published versions claim that the word derives from
Cretan
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, an ...
"
knossos
Knossos (also Cnossos, both pronounced ; grc, Κνωσός, Knōsós, ; Linear B: ''Ko-no-so'') is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and has been called Europe's oldest city.
Settled as early as the Neolithic period, the na ...
" or "gnossus"; this interpretation supports the theory linking the ''Gnossiennes'' to the myth of
Theseus
Theseus (, ; grc-gre, Θησεύς ) was the mythical king and founder-hero of Athens. The myths surrounding Theseus his journeys, exploits, and friends have provided material for fiction throughout the ages.
Theseus is sometimes describ ...
,
Ariadne
Ariadne (; grc-gre, Ἀριάδνη; la, Ariadne) was a Cretan princess in Greek mythology. She was mostly associated with mazes and labyrinths because of her involvement in the myths of the Minotaur and Theseus. She is best known for havi ...
and the
Minotaur. Several archeological sites relating to that theme were famously
excavated around the time that Satie composed the ''Gnossiennes''.
Characteristics
The ''Gnossiennes'' were composed by Satie in the decade following the composition of the ''
Sarabandes'' (1887) and the (1888). Like these and ''Gymnopédies'', the ''Gnossiennes'' are often considered
dances. It is not certain that this qualification comes from Satie himself – the
sarabande and the
gymnopaedia
The Gymnopaedia was an annual festival celebrated exclusively in ancient Sparta, helped to define Spartan identity. It featured generations of naked Spartan men participating in war dancing and choral singing, with a large emphasis placed on age a ...
were at least historically known as dances.
The musical vocabulary of the ''Gnossiennes'' is a continuation of that of the ''Gymnopédies'' (a development that had started with the 1886 ''Ogives'' and the ''Sarabandes'') later leading to more harmonic experimentation in compositions like the ''
Danses gothiques'' (1893). These series of compositions are all at the core of Satie's characteristic late 19th century style, and in this sense differ from his early salon compositions (like the 1885 "Waltz" compositions published in 1887), his turn-of-the-century cabaret songs (''
Je te veux''), and his post-
Schola Cantorum piano solo compositions, starting with the ''
Préludes flasques (pour un chien)
The ''Préludes flasques (pour un chien)'' – ''Flabby Preludes (For a Dog)'' – is a set of four piano pieces composed in July 1912 by Erik Satie. In performance it lasts about 5 minutes.
The work demonstrates Satie's attempts to reconcile the ...
'' in 1912.
A year after the
Gnosticism
Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish and early Christian sects. These various groups emphasized pe ...
had been re-established in 1890, Satie was introduced to the
Rosicrucian sect by his friend
Joséphin Péladan.
The work is influenced by
occultism and
esotericism
Western esotericism, also known as esotericism, esoterism, and sometimes the Western mystery tradition, is a term scholars use to categorise a wide range of loosely related ideas and movements that developed within Western society. These ideas ...
, which spread in France at the end of the 19th century.
'' Gnossiennes''
These ''Three Gnossiennes'' were composed around 1890 and first published in 1893. A revision prior to publication in 1893 is not unlikely; the 2nd ''Gnossienne'' may even have been composed in that year (it has "April 1893" as date on the manuscript). The piano solo versions of the first three ''Gnossiennes'' are without time signatures or bar lines, which is known as
free time
Free time, traditionally usually called ''leisure time'' or ''leisure'', refers to the time when one is not working. It may also refer to:
* Free time (music), a type of musical meter free from musical time and time signature
* ''Freetime'' (album ...
.
These ''Gnossiennes'' were first published in ''Le Figaro musical'' No. 24 of September 1893 (''Gnossiennes'' Nos. 1 and 3, the last one of these then still "No. 2") and in No. 6–7 of September–October 1893 (''Gnossienne'' No. 2 printed as
facsimile, then numbered "No. 6").
The first grouped publication, numbered as known henceforth, followed in 1913. By this time Satie had indicated 1890 as composition date for all three. The first ''Gnossienne'' was dedicated to
Alexis Roland-Manuel
Alexis Roland-Manuel (22 March 18911 November 1966) was a French composer and critic, remembered mainly for his criticism.
Biography
He was born Roland Alexis Manuel Lévy in Paris, to a family of Belgian and Jewish origins. He studied composi ...
in the 1913 reprint. The 1893 facsimile print of the 2nd ''Gnossienne'' contained a dedication to
Antoine de La Rochefoucauld
Antoine de la Rochefoucauld, the second of this name, Seigneur de Chaumont-sur-Loire, served Louis I de Bourbon, prince de Condé as a knight (''chevalier de l'ordre du Roi'') and his chamberlain. On 7 October 1552, he married Cécile de Montmir ...
, not repeated in the 1913 print. This de La Rochefoucauld had been a co-founder of
Joséphin Péladan's Ordre de la Rose-Croix Catholique et Esthetique du Temple et du Graal in 1891. By the second publication of the first set of three ''Gnossiennes'', Satie had broken already for a long time with all
Rosicrucian
Rosicrucianism is a spiritual and cultural movement that arose in Europe in the early 17th century after the publication of several texts purported to announce the existence of a hitherto unknown esoteric order to the world and made seeking it ...
type of endeavours.
Also with respect to the
tempo
In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (ofte ...
these ''Gnossiennes'' follow the ''Gymnopédies'' line: slow tempos, respectively (French for Lento/slow), ("with astonishment"), and again .
A sketch containing only two incomplete bars, dated around 1890, shows Satie beginning to orchestrate the 3rd ''Gnossienne''.
The first and third Gnossiennes share a similar chordal structures, rhythm and share reference to each other's thematic material.
''Gnossiennes'' Nos. 4–7
The ''Gnossiennes'' Nos. 4–6 were published only in 1968, long after Satie's death. None of these appear to have been numbered, nor even titled as "Gnossienne" by Satie himself. The sequence of these three ''Gnossiennes'' in the 1968 publication by
Robert Caby does not correspond with the chronological order of composition. It is extremely unlikely that Satie would have seen these compositions as three members of a single set.
''Gnossienne'' No. 4
''Lent''. Composition date on the manuscript: 22 January 1891.
A facsimile of the four manuscript pages of this composition can be see
on this page of Nicolas Fogwall's website
Composed tonally in D minor even though its key signature is empty, the piece features a bass line centred on its minor key, sounding D, A, D, F, A, D, F, D, A, F, D, A, D. The bass part then transposes into a C minor chord I ostinato, following the pattern C, G, C, E, G, C, E, C, G, E, C, G, C. Section B, usually considered a very inspired section, uses semiquavers to contrast the minor melody of Section A.
''Gnossienne'' No. 5
''Modéré'' (French for
Moderato). Dated 8 July 1889, this was probably Satie's first composition after the 1888 ''Gymnopédies'': in any case it predates all other known ''Gnossiennes'' (including the three published in 1893). The work is somewhat uncharacteristic of the other Gnossiennes not only in its upbeat style, rhythms and less exotic chordal structures but also in its use of time signatures and bar divisions.
''Gnossienne'' No. 6
("with conviction and with a rigorous sadness"). Composed nearly eight years after the first, in January 1897.
–
The ("The son of the stars") incidental music (composed 1891) contains a ''Gnossienne'' in the first act. For this one the naming as "Gnossienne" is definitely by Satie (as apparent from the correspondence with his publisher). As a result of that, this music is sometimes known as the 7th Gnossienne. That part of the music was re-used as ("A way to begin"), the first of the seven movements of the ''
Trois morceaux en forme de poire
''Trois morceaux en forme de poire'' (''Three Pieces in the Shape of a Pear'') is a 1903 suite for piano four hands by French composer Erik Satie. A lyrical compendium of his early music, it is one of Satie's most famous compositions, second in p ...
'' ("Three pieces in the shape of a pear").
References
Notes
Sources
*
Coppens, Claude, program notes to the integral execution of Satie's Piano work (
Ghent
Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...
, De Rode Pomp, 1–2 December 1995).
* Gillmor, Alan M., ''Erik Satie'' (Twayne Pub., 1988, reissued 1992; 387pp)
* G. Hengeveld edition of ''Gnossiennes'' published by
Broekmans & Van Poppel
Broekmans & van Poppel is a private company founded in 1914 by Mr. Broekmans and Van Poppel. The company focuses on music publishing and trade in sheet music.
Broekmans & Van Poppel is mainly known for its shops in Badhoevedorp (formerly in Amste ...
No. 1227 includes the minotaur etymology
* Todd Niquette of , , Vol. 8, No. 23, 1987) – the "Gnossiennes" chapter of this publication contains the facsimile of the 2nd ''Gnossienne'' as first published in 1893.
External links
*
{{Authority control
Compositions by Erik Satie
Compositions for solo piano
1890 compositions
1891 compositions
1893 compositions