Various Composers - French Piano Music [Ousset]
Another clever disc of music, not advocating any Composer inparticular, or really any work, or types of work, but basically it's six French Composers, concentrating on the late 1800's to the early 1900's, it gives a good range of piano styles, and is now a disc that is no longer available, i'm thankful for Ebay, and being able to get hold of such a disc.
Cecile Ousset is French, now 75 years old, and this disc was recorded in 1983.
Gymnopedie 1 - if i could use one word to describe this piece, it would be 'dreamily, it's certainly soothing, a regular tolling / chanting in the bass left hand, almost mimics the slow ticking away of the clock, as if life has been slowed down to a static dream, and time becomes irrelevant, this is the most 'happiest' of the three Gymnopedies, even though the title clue 'douloureux' [dolorous] means sad, i feel really soothed and free when i hear this piece, sort of like a soaking in a hot 'musical' bath!.
Gymnopedie 2 - the second piece is so similar, but given the title 'triste' [sad], and here there's sadder keys, as well as a slight agitation, certain keys are hit harder, and there's slightly more variety of execution, but it's so similar in most ways to the first Gymnopedie, i liked this the best.
Gymnopedie 3 - the third Gymnopedie is given the title 'grave', i wouldn't call it serious, or even funeral, it's almost an inbetween of the first two Gymnopedies, and unlike the first two which finish open ended, this last one has a finality to its last note, capping and closing the work.
If i were to put Cecile Ousset in a certain camp, it would be the staccato camp, especially in the Debussy Estampes, i find her jumpy, and there's at times awkward transitions from section to section, on the other hand, her interpretations of the Satie Gymnopedies are supple and dreamy, and it's these three pieces i would like to focus on, they are very similar of course, but also have significant differences, at first it might seem [and sound] like Satie is playing the same piece of music, but in a different key each time, each Gymnopedie has an overall written instruction, number one is 'dolorous', number two 'sad', and number three 'grave', the first Gymnopedie has become the most popular, but on this listen i enjoyed the other two much more, and it's good to hear them as a set, i feel they actually grow on you if you hear them one after another, and maybe that's why i liked number two and three better, here's a short synopsis of each one,
Gymnopedie 2 - the second piece is so similar, but given the title 'triste' [sad], and here there's sadder keys, as well as a slight agitation, certain keys are hit harder, and there's slightly more variety of execution, but it's so similar in most ways to the first Gymnopedie, i liked this the best.
Gymnopedie 3 - the third Gymnopedie is given the title 'grave', i wouldn't call it serious, or even funeral, it's almost an inbetween of the first two Gymnopedies, and unlike the first two which finish open ended, this last one has a finality to its last note, capping and closing the work.
The word Gymnopedie comes from two words, Gymnos = Naked, and Paed = children, hmmm?, draw your own conclusions as to what Satie was trying to say with these pieces, the YouTube links are by the Pianist Andreas Pfaul.
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