What Makes Erik Satie’s Gymnopédie SO GENIUS?!

Produced and edited by Nahre Sol

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As always, thank you so much for watching, and thank you to all of you that leave comments.

[jackieking]

35 years ago my oldest said "I heard this. Do you know it?" and played. " Its Satie." says I, " Gymnopedie No 1." then " I don't know the rest." and started wondrous, better than Satie and even yours. A fortnight later her teacher died, and that spark in my daughter died with her. She just stopped playing.

[matt_phistopheles]

This is one of the rare cases where the repeat is absolutely essential part of the music. In the first round our mind is taken on a mysterious journey without a clear harmonic direction. In the second round the mind has accepted the absence of a harmonic center as the new normality and it really starts to feel at home. Listening to a 'conventional' piece of music right after this one feels uncomfortably in your face. At least this is how I feel about this piece and that is one reason why I really love the music of Satie.

[hawkbirdtree]

This was written in a time when music was becoming more about the performer than the music itself. Satie was a true artist

[michaeltagor]

I LOVE how his music is never not relevant, every few months/weeks I found people talking about Erik's music on the internet and it warms my heart, he's a legend and should always be remembered as one

[jameslovelady]

So happy to find a pianist who appreciates quiet beauty as well as virtuosity. Thank you.

[Balleehuuu]

Thank you for give someone like me with no background in music an insight on why I may love this piece so much, without knowing why.

[usageunit]

I'm a piano beginner and literally just made a recording of this a few days ago. Learning the notes is easy enough, but making it sound good is a lot harder. It's definitely a piece that makes you appreciate dynamics and perfect the synchronization of your key presses.

[shelterit]

Love your version. Been a Satie nut my whole life, got countless versions of all his music, and I swear his music is the one that I find people most often get wrong; there's a tenderness to it that needs to be coupled with madness, where madness is allowing the notes to breathe and sing, madness for the player in particular. Thanks! Loved it, including your own piece that has that Satie spirit.

[adamjacksonmedia]

Satie is like Ringo from the Beatles.

He’s not interested in displaying his instrumental athleticism.

But what he composes as a piece of music is perfection.

And holy smokes… that was one of the most moving renditions of Gymnopedie I’ve ever heard!!

[gohangoku]

I only play piano as a hobby and have zero idea about notes & co., but taught myself to play by "listening" (no idea how else to describe it).

What I want to say is: When I played Satie for the first time, even I as a layman thought "something is different here. something is so mysterious here that I can't describe it".

The melodies just somehow go into the subconscious and nudge something there. It's just indescribable.

[ivankolobov]

Satie is by far my favorite. He has so much to offer, his nocturnes are something out of this world.

[myriamdeclercq]

It strikes me that your goal is to write background music for your dogs... Wonderful! Three years ago I used the first minute of this gentle melody as a background to a short video I had recorded of my old Spanish greyhound who meanwhile had died. To me it was the only music I could have used because of her tender and poised nature. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge!

[soilmanted]

Satie may have claimed that he was trying to create "background music, " but this particular piece is something that pulls me in, and has me listening more intently, and focused, than anything else I can think of. It produces a feeling of wonderment: just what is it that I am hearing? Especially those dotted half notes from the left hand, sometimes just speaking "all by themselves, " that draw me into listening to the timbre of the piano strings that have been struck to produce them, all the harmonics produced by those 2 or 3 unison-tuned strings producing the "note." I can't explain exactly what it is that I am trying to communicate, but those single tones function for my "inner ear" the way that chords usually do, and awaken my "internal sound;" my "internal sound" resonates with the tone produced by the piano strings. It is kind of as if, by listening to this "background music" one is directed to listen to one's self (notice I did not write _oneself)_ and not so much to the music. So yes, "meditative." Part of the enjoyment of listening to this pieces is this particular piano, the timbre of this piano that Nahre Sol is using. The lower register seems very nice, even on my inexpensive little speakers.

[ikibaru]

Back then when I was still teenager, this is the only classical music that I really enjoyed listen to, as it could take my mind wondering. It evokes a peculiar feeling like missing someone/something that I never met - in a loving kinda way. It's right in the feels. Isn't that the true magic of music? Underrated, indeed. Thank you for this video!

[tommonk]

I'm not a musician and can't play anything, but I really love this piece. I've got a number of recordings of it. One thing I notice that pianists seem to have trouble with is varying the tempo of the piece. I think the tempo is really hard to get right. It's "simplicity" sets it apart from much of classical music, as you pointed out. It's just so relaxing and contemplative.... Lovely homage.

[Steinmetal]

"Not ambitious"... great way to put it and why I kinda slept on this one in my younger years. You only really learn that "life is about just being, not trying to be anything" stuff until later. Incidently, that's when this song starts to have appeal.

[LYLEWOLD]

To my ear, Satie sounds like a hint of Jazz and Ragtime that would follow. I love this piece, and everything Satie I've ever heard. My favorite pianist to play Satie is Klara Kormendi (she plays on many of Naxos' Satie recordings). I think your version captures the pathos and wistfulness the way hers does, and is equally good. Thanks for adding to my love for Satie.

[mabdub]

Your inspired addition at the end is extremely beautiful I wish you would expand where you were going. I'm sure that Satie would have loved your development because it makes so much sense and isn't over done, you've respectfully kept the true flavor of the original music. You play with such grace.

[oneirdaathnaram]

Dear Nahre,
You have such a great gift of explaining hidden functionalities of music in such an understandable way. The elegance by which you propagate the secrets of music always touches me.
Thank you so much.
A.

[DaveTexas]

I absolutely adore your postlude! It truly fits the mood and tone of Satie’s piece while also being original and different.