TheGymnopédies (French pronunciation:[ʒim.nɔ.pe.di]), orTrois Gymnopédies ('Three Nude Dances"), are three piano compositions written by French composer and pianistErik Satie. He completed the whole set by 2 April 1888, but they were at first published individually: the first and the third compositions were published in 1888, while the second would not be published until 1895.[1]
The work's unusual title comes from the French form ofgymnopaedia, the ancient Greek word for an annual festival where young men danced either naked or, perhaps figuratively, simply unarmed. The source of the title has been a subject of debate. Satie and his friendAlexis Roland-Manuel maintained that he adopted it after having readGustave Flaubert's novelSalammbô, while others see a poem byJ. P. Contamine de Latour as the source of Satie's inspiration,[1][2] since the firstGymnopédie was published in the magazineLa Musique des familles in the summer of 1888 together with an excerpt of Latour's poemLes Antiques, where the term appears.[1][3]
Oblique et coupant l'ombre un torrent éclatant | Slanting and shadow-cutting a bursting torrent |
It remains uncertain, however, whether the poem was composed before or after the music. Satie could have picked up the term from a dictionary such as Peter Lichtenthal'sDictionnaire de Musique (1839), wheregymnopédie is defined as a "nude dance, accompanied by song, which youthful Spartan maidens danced on certain occasions",[4][a] following a similar definition fromJean-Jacques Rousseau'sDictionnaire de Musique.[1]
In November 1888, the thirdGymnopédie was published. The secondGymnopédie did not appear until 1895, and its impending publication had been announced in several editions of theChat Noir andAuberge du Clou magazines. The three pieces were not published together until 1898.[1]
Pierre Puvis de Chavannes'symbolist paintings might have been an inspiration for the atmosphere Satie wanted to evoke with hisGymnopédies.[5]
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These short, atmospheric pieces are written in3
4 time, with each sharing a common theme and structure.[citation needed]
The melodies of the pieces use deliberate, but mild, dissonances against the harmony, producing a piquant, melancholy effect that matches the performance instructions, which are to play each piece "painfully" (douloureux), "sadly" (triste), or "gravely" (grave). The first few bars ofGymnopédie No. 1 (shown below) consist of an alternating progression of two major seventh chords, the first on the subdominant, G, and the second on the tonic, D.[citation needed]
By the end of 1896, Satie's popularity was waning and his financial situation deteriorating.Claude Debussy, a friend of Satie's whose popularity was on the rise, helped draw public attention to Satie's work. In February 1897, Debussy orchestrated the third and firstGymnopédies.[b]
Since the second half of the 20th century, theGymnopédies have often been erroneously described as part of Satie's body offurniture music, perhaps because of howJohn Cage has interpreted them.[6] Collectively, theGymnopédies are regarded as an important precursor to modernambient music.[7]
The first and secondGymnopédies were arranged byDick Halligan for the groupBlood, Sweat & Tears under the title "Variations on a Theme by Erik Satie" on the group'seponymous album, released in 1968. The recording received aGrammy Award the following year for Best Contemporary Instrumental Performance.[8]
In 1980,Dame Cleo Laine andSir James Galway released a version for jazz vocalist and flute entitled "Drifting, Dreaming (Gymnopédie No.1)", with lyrics by Don Read.[9]
Also in 1980,Gary Numan produced a track called "Trois Gymnopedies (First Movement)", which appeared on the B-side of the single "We Are Glass".[10]
The post-Jane's Addiction band,Deconstruction, covers a portion ofGymnopédie No. 1 on the track "Wait for History" on their 1994self-titled album.
A sample ofGymnopédie No. 1 is featured in theJanet Jackson single "Someone to Call My Lover" (2001), which peaked at number 3 on theBillboard Hot 100.[11]
Gymnopédies have been heard in numerous movies and television shows, such as the documentaryMan on Wire,[12]Wes Anderson'sThe Royal Tenenbaums,[13] andCommunitySeason 2 Episode 19 "Critical Film Studies".[14]
TheWoody Allen filmAnother Woman (1988)[15] and theLouis Malle filmMy Dinner with Andre (1981) both useGymnopédie No. 1 in their soundtracks.[16]
The Japanese animated drama filmThe Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya (2010) prominently features all threeGymnopédies, and they are included in the film's soundtrack release as a bonus disc, including Satie'sGnossiennes and his composition "Je te veux".[17]
Mother 3 featuresGymnopédie No. 1 in its soundtrack asLeder's Gymnopedie.[18]
In 2007,Wilhelm Kaiser-Lindemann [de] arranged the first and the thirdGymnopédie forThe 12 Cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic.[19]Jack DeJohnette included a tribute toGymnopédies in his 2016 albumReturn.[20]
In 2018,Fernando Perdomo included a portion ofGymnopedie No. 1 on his albumOut to Sea.[citation needed]
In 2021, violinistFenella Humphreys released an arrangement ofGymnopédie No.1 for violin.[21] Stephan Koncz, cellist in theBerlin Philharmonic and the Made in Berlin quartet, wrote a string quartet piece calledA New Satiesfaction (aportmanteau of "Satie" and "satisfaction"), based onGymnopédie No.1, which was recorded by the quartet for their first violinistRay Chen's albumThe Golden Age.[22]
It appeared as the first track on the album.
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