Erik Satie completed his five Nocturnes for solo piano
between August and November 1919. They were his last
piano works. These are oddly humorless works, but after
the passing of Debussy in the previous year, Satie's
mood remained less than light. His musical focus seemed
more strained as well. While his Nocturnes are
successful, beautiful pieces, alert listeners can hear
the effort the composer put into them, which was not
the case for his works from the 1890s. By the end of
World War I, Satie'...(+)
Erik Satie completed his five Nocturnes for solo piano
between August and November 1919. They were his last
piano works. These are oddly humorless works, but after
the passing of Debussy in the previous year, Satie's
mood remained less than light. His musical focus seemed
more strained as well. While his Nocturnes are
successful, beautiful pieces, alert listeners can hear
the effort the composer put into them, which was not
the case for his works from the 1890s. By the end of
World War I, Satie's musical language had achieved a
perfect union of almost-mechanical gesturing and French
fluidity. Satie has included none of the qualities of
Chopin or Field's nocturnes in his music, but the
nocturnal effect is clearly there. There is something
reductive about Satie's Nocturnes that gives them a
specific value. One could say that they sound overheard
rather than heard; there is no attempt to woo the
listener, who is forced to listen closely to hear the
striking, macabre pace of each movement that defines
their unique qualities. What can be heard and
appreciated by almost anyone in this music is an
audible transformation of character of the composer
that comes through in these works. Most mature people
have seen those prone to humor come to an apex in their
own thinking and develop a seriousness that cannot
completely conceal their formerly humorous selves. This
is what happened to Satie, and he became more
interested in causing riots in theatrical venues than
having attentive listeners in concert halls. His
Nocturnes were his last pieces of pure music. They are
a sort of swan song, featuring dedications to Marcelle
Mayer, Valentine Hugo, and Jean Cocteau's mother.
At the end the war Satie had no money and was severely
depressed. His own sort of stoicism was the sort that,
when it gave way, permanent emotional damage was
lurking underneath. Though a sudden change of fortune
came his way, he did not fully recover. A young Belgian
painter named Mesens somehow rejuvenated his spirits.
Though Satie was more than a generation older, he
seemed to enjoy the painter's company as if he were an
old friend. From this rapport the composer found
another burst of creative energy and wrote his
Nocturnes. They are conventionally notated, using bar
lines, which he eschewed in his earlier pieces. They
demonstrate no joy, but have an eerie intimacy, saying
goodbye not to music or to life but to something. Their
sadness and focus combine for a quality that is not
easily surmised in English, but they are among the
undiscovered masterpieces of the twentieth century.
Although originally written for Solo Piano, I created
this interpretation for String Quartet (2 Violins,
Viola & Cello).
SHEET MUSIC