Feel-Good
****
The French composer Erik Satie (1866–1925) was something of an eccentric. Throughout his life, he lived in a secret room in Montmartre, owned hundreds of umbrellas, and mostly earned a living by playing piano in local cafés and the famous cabaret Chat Noir. Anecdotes and myths about him abound. His peculiarities left their mark on his music, which today is well-known and popular among many — even outside classical circles. The contrast between the beautiful musical expression and the often absurd titles ("Three Pieces in the Shape of a Pear", "Foot Gymnastics", etc.) gave him a reputation as mentally unstable, but when the respected composer Ravel arranged for Satie’s ballet music to be performed, opinions began to change.
There are countless recordings of a score of Satie’s 150 piano "salon pieces", especially the three Gymnopédies, but the Danish pianist Christina Bjørkøe has released a CD featuring 27 of the lesser-known works, some lasting as little as 44 seconds. The title Surprise may refer to the fact that the Gymnopédies are notably absent from the selection. But it could also allude to the fact that surprise itself is a fundamental element in Satie’s exceptional and personal musical language. Since Satie’s time, many compositional "schools" have dealt with simplicity — often ending up in a kind of anemic feel-good mush. Satie never fell into that trap – and you can recognize his music within seconds.
Bjørkøe captures Satie’s universe of melancholy storytelling laced with subtle humor with great finesse. It’s imaginative and free within form, with surprises built into the performance and phrasing, and the characteristic unexpected dynamics are well-placed and thoughtfully interpreted. A very beautiful and relevant release. A comprehensive and insightful booklet essay by Torben Enghoff on Satie complements the CD nicely, which is released to mark the 100th anniversary of Satie’s death on July 1st. Evanthore Westergård Kulturen.Nu 29.05.2025

Original dansk tekst
Feel good
****Stjerner Af Evanthore Vestergaard
Den franske komponist Eric Satie (1866–1925) var noget af en excentriker. Livet igennem boede han på et hemmeligt værelse på Montmartre, han havde paraplyer i hundredvis og han levede mest af at spille klaver på de lokale caféer og den kendte kabaret Chat Noir. Anekdoter og myter om ham står i kø. Særhederne satte sig spor i hans musik, som i dag er kendt og populær hos mange, også uden for klassiske kredse. Modsætningen mellem det smukke udtryk og titlerne ("Tre pæreformede stykker", "Fodgymnastik" etc.) gav ham ry som sindsforvirret, men da den anerkendte komponist Ravel foranledigede Saties balletmusik opført, fik piben en anden lyd.
Der findes utallige indspilninger af en snes af Saties 150 "salonstykker" for klaver, især de tre "Gymnopédies", men den danske pianist Christina Bjørkøe har udsendt en CD med 27 af de mindre kendte med varigheder helt ned til 44 sekunder. Titlen "Surprise" hentyder muligvis til at netop "Gymnopédies" ikke er at finde i udvalget. Men titlen kan også henvise til, at overraskelsen er et bærende element i Saties exceptionelle og personlige tonesprog. Siden Satie har mange kompositoriske "skoler" beskæftiget sig med enkelhed og det ender ofte i en amorf feel good-grød. Den grød faldt Satie aldrig i, og man kan efter sekunder identificere musikken som hans.
Bjørkøe rammer meget fint Saties univers af sørgmodig fortælling tilsat underfundig humor. Det er fabulerende og frit indenfor rammerne, overraskelserne bygges ind i foredrag og frasering og de karakteristiske uventede dynamikker er velplacerede og fint tænkt. En meget smuk og relevant udgivelse. En omfangsrig og begavet booklet-artikel af Torben Enghoff om Satie supplerer ganske godt CD’en, der udgives i anledning af Saties 100 års dødsdag 1. juli. Af Evanthore Vestergaard