Eric Sati: a genius or a madman?

One of the most amazing and controversial composers in the history of music is Eric Sati. Biography of the composer is full of facts, when he could shock his friends and admirers, first violently defending one statement, and then refuting it in his theoretical works. In the 90s of the nineteenth century, Erik Sati met with Charles Debussy and denied adherence to the creative work of Richard Wagner - he advocated the support of Impressionism in music only, which was the beginning of the reincarnation of the national art of France. Later composer Eric Sati led an active squabble with imitators of the Impressionism style. In contrast to the ephemeral and elegant, he put the clarity, sharpness and certainty of linear notation.

Sati had a tremendous influence on the composers, who made up the so-called "Six". He was a real restless rebel who tried to refute the patterns in the minds of people. He led a crowd of followers who liked Sati's war with philistinism, his bold statements about art and music in particular.

Young years

Eric Satie was born in 1866. His father worked as a port agent. Even from a young age, young Eric reached out to music and showed remarkable abilities, but since none of his relatives were involved in music, these attempts were ignored. Only at the age of 12, when the family decided to change their place of residence to Paris, Eric was awarded the honor of permanent music lessons. At the age of eighteen, Erik Sati entered the Conservatoire in Paris. He studied a complex of theoretical subjects, among which was harmony. He also studied piano. Education in the conservatory did not satisfy the future genius. He quits classes and goes into the army as a volunteer.

A year later Eric returns to Paris. He earns money in small cafes as a tavern. In one such institution in Montmartre, a fateful meeting with Carl Debussy took place, which was impressed and intrigued by an unusual choice of harmonies in simple, seemingly improvised young musician. Debussy even decided to create an orchestration for the piano cycle Sati - "Gymnopedia." The musicians became friends. Their opinion meant so much to each other that Satie was able to take Debussy away from his young hobbies with Wagner's music.

Moving to Arkay

At the end of the nineteenth century, Satie left Paris for the suburb of Arquei. He rented an inexpensive room over a small cafe and stopped anyone there. Even close friends could not come there. Because of this, Saty received the nickname "Archaean hermit". He lived completely alone, did not see the need for meetings with publishers, did not take large and profitable orders from theaters. Periodically, he appeared in the fashionable circles of Paris, introducing a fresh musical work. And after all the city discussed it, repeated the jokes of Sati, his words and witticisms about the music celebrities of that time and about art in general.

Twentieth century Sati meets studying. From 1905 to 1908, when he was 39 years old, Eric Sati studied in the Schola cantorum. He studied the composition and counterpoint in A. Roussel and O. Seryo. Early music by Eric Sati dates back to the end of the nineteenth century, in the 80-90s. This is the "Mass of the poor" for choir and organ, the piano cycle "Cold plays" and all known "Gymnopedias".

Cooperation with Cocteau. Ballet "The Parade"

Already in the 1920s, Sati published a selection of piano pieces that had a strange structure and an unusual name: "In Horse Skin," "Three Pieces in the Form of a Pear," "Dried Embryos," and "Automatic Descriptions." At the same time he wrote several expressive, extremely melodic songs in the rhythm of the waltz, which fell in the soul of the public. In 1915, Saty expected a fateful acquaintance with Jean Cocteau, playwright, poet and music critic. From him came the proposal to create, together with Picasso, a ballet for the famous troupe of Diaghilev. In 1917 their offspring - the ballet "Parade" - was published.

Intentional, emphatic primitivism and deliberate contempt for the euphony of music, addition to the score of alien sounds, such as a typewriter, car sirens and other things, was the cause of loud condemnation of the public and attacks of critics, which, however, did not stop the composer and his associates. The music of the ballet "Parade" had a response to the music hall, and the motifs resembled melodies that were sung in the streets.

Drama "Socrates"

In 1918 Sati wrote a radically different work. Symphonic drama with the singing of "Socrates", for which the original dialogues of Plato's authorship were used, reserved, crystal clear and even strict. There are no frills and games for the public. This antipode "Parade", although between their writing was only a year. At the end of "Socrates" Eric Sati promoted the idea of furnishing, accompanying music, which would serve as a backdrop to ordinary affairs.

last years of life

The end of his busy life Satie met living in the same suburb of Paris. He did not meet with his old friends, including the "Six". Eric Sati gathered around him a new circle of composers. Now they called themselves the "Arke School". There were Clike-Pleyel, Soge, Jacob, as well as conductor Desormer. The musicians discussed a new art of a democratic nature. Almost nobody knew about Sati's death. It was not covered, they did not talk about it. The genius went unnoticed. Only in the middle of the twentieth century, once again became interested in his art, his music and philosophy.