Twenty-seven previously unheard works by Erik Satie, from playful cabaret songs to minimalist nocturnes, are to be premiered a century after the death of the notoriously eccentric and innovative French composer.
Painstakingly pieced together from hundreds of small notebooks, most of the new works are thought to have been written in the bohemian bistros of Montmartre in Paris where Satie worked as a pianist in the early decades of the 20th century.
James Nye, a British musicologist and composer, and Sato Matsui, a Japanese composer and violinist, tracked down the lost material in various archival collections, including the Bibliothèque Nationale de France.
0:37 Alexandre Tharaud performs ‘Valse inédite’ by Erik Satie – Video
They have now readied the sketches for performance by the acclaimed French pianist Alexandre Tharaud in a new recording to be released on Friday, in advance of the centenary of Satie’s death on 1 July.
Remarking on how unusual it was to find a single previously unknown Satie work, let alone 27, Nye said: “Most of us assumed that after all this time pretty much anything of any interest had already been published.”
Nye, who has had a “lifelong fascination with Satie”, added: “Anything previously unknown and unheard is a treat, and the idea of being the first for 100 years to properly set eyes and ears on this material is thrilling.
“It’s always good to have more Satie, and especially to widen people’s awareness of the variety of his output, his inventiveness and curiosity.”
Nye said Satie used to jot down ideas that came to him while walking to Paris from his lowly room in the suburb of Arcueil, then back again, often late at night, as well as in his favourite cafes and bistros. “He could compose anywhere really, but rarely at the piano,” Nye said.
Live Live Alexandre Tharaud and Nemanja Radulović perform ‘Mélodie’ by Erik Satie – Video
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