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| VIDEO: Satie's Vexations Arranged for C Flute and Alto Flute, Digitally Slowed 25% |
By defying the logic of social and musical conventions within which he was steeped, Erik Satie apparently intended his short piece "Vexations" to nudge both player and listener into new ways of thinking.
Unlike the constant state of vexation many of us are currently experiencing as a result of the grim state of the world, Satie's contained, self-inflicted version contains an element of almost slapstick humor...a rug is pulled out from under us again and again...expectation is questioned and revealed to have been an absurdity...the mind finds satisfaction in being teased, and in the challenge to find alternatives.
In Silence: Lectures and Writings by John Cage, the composer writes:
Unlike the constant state of vexation many of us are currently experiencing as a result of the grim state of the world, Satie's contained, self-inflicted version contains an element of almost slapstick humor...a rug is pulled out from under us again and again...expectation is questioned and revealed to have been an absurdity...the mind finds satisfaction in being teased, and in the challenge to find alternatives.
In Silence: Lectures and Writings by John Cage, the composer writes:
In Zen they say: If something is boring after two minutes, try it for four. If still boring, try it for eight, sixteen, thirty-two, and so on. Eventually one discovers it's not boring at all, but very interesting.In this instance, we might try replacing the word "boring" with "vexing." Vexations was discovered posthumously, so we may never know what exactly Satie had in mind when he included the inscription:
In order to play the theme 840 times in succession, it would be advisable to prepare oneself beforehand, and in the deepest silence, by serious immobilities.
(Pour se jouer 840 fois de suite ce motif, il sera bon de se préparer au préalable, et dans le plus grand silence, par des immobilités sérieuses).
While, due to circumstances beyond our control, many of us may have become inadvertently prepared, perhaps the point is that no single one of us needs to play (or listen to) all 840 repetitions alone...
On the occasion of the 154th anniversary of Satie's birth (May 17, 1866), musicians around the world have taken on the challenge to realize Vexations collaboratively. My contribution to Lockdown Vexations, organized by multi-media artist Kathy Hinde, is an arrangement for alto flute and C flute.
On the occasion of the 154th anniversary of Satie's birth (May 17, 1866), musicians around the world have taken on the challenge to realize Vexations collaboratively. My contribution to Lockdown Vexations, organized by multi-media artist Kathy Hinde, is an arrangement for alto flute and C flute.
Inspiration for the video comes from Satie's 1912 "Memoirs of an Amnesiac":
My only nourishment consists of food that is white: eggs, sugar, shredded bones, the fat of dead animals, veal, salt, coconuts, chicken cooked in white water, moldy fruit, rice, turnips, sausages in camphor, pastry, cheese (white varieties), cotton salad, and certain kinds of fish (without their skin). I boil my wine and drink it cold mixed with the juice of the Fuchsia. I have a good appetite, but never talk when eating for fear of strangling myself.
