Gymnopédies

I love part 1 of the Gymnopédies by Erik Satie. I just can’t get enough of it. Midis and MP3’s are available on pianomidi.org. These are a bit slower than a lot of the other performances I’ve heard, but still a little fast for my liking. (I like my Gymnopédies performances to have pauses where you almost wonder if the pianist has stopped).

This piece also sounds good on classical guitar, but tends to be played even faster (blech!). I’m not big of performances that integrate a flute or violin, and I haven’t heard an orchestration that I felt didn’t massacre it. Lately, I find myself wanting music to sound much less “musical”. I’ll probably dislike this piece in a few months because it sounds too deliberate and has too much flair. (I already mostly feel that way about parts 2 and 3.)