Philip Corner - "Satie Slowly" CD, Album, 2014 (Unseen Worlds)

Erik Satie is very much in my DNA.  I was raised with his music due that my parents played the Aldo Ciccolini recordings of Satie's music, especially volume one, that was released by Angel Records, with the Picasso portrait of Satie on its cover.   There are many other versions by different pianists making Satie's piano music, but I was devoted to only the Ciccolini recordings.  Due that they are the best?  Or just out of brand loyalty?  For whatever reason, I could never get fully behind other's interpretations of his piano music, I think at the time 'why bother?'  Recently I got Philip Corner's collection of Satie piano music called "Satie Slowly," and it enchanted me from the very first note to the last in this double CD set.

"Satie Slowly" can mean Corner is playing the notes and melody in a steady slow pace, or it can expect to enjoy the music on one's own natural slow pace.  Nevertheless, there is something organic about Corner's approach to Satie's music, that is never fussy, and the melodies ring out slowly like peeling a juicy orange and making sure not to have any moisture from the fruit land on your white pants.  Each cord he plays on the piano has a slight echo that rings to the next note, and it's a subtlety that is small in comparison of playing something significant, but the spacing allows the essence and beauty to come out of its music. 

A mixture of nightclub cabaret and reflection, this is where Satie lives, and Corner plays his music in the sense of grace, humor, and the essence of everyday life coming and going.   It makes sense that Corner is also a visual artist as well as a member of Fluxus, an art movement that is hysterical and serious at the same time.   These piano recordings, at this moment, are my favorite Satie performances.  I want to thank Alejandro Cohen of The Dublab Creative Cultivation for turning me on to this double-CD set.  It's marvelous. 

Erik Satie / Aldo Ciccolini - "Piano Music of Erik Satie, Vol. 3" Vinyl, LP, Album, 1968 (Angel Records)

The composer, Erik Satie, was a goof-ball.  On the other hand, his music isn't.  Probably one of the most enjoyable music from the 20th century has come from this eccentric figure.  Again, this was music that was married to our family wall paper.  I was pretty much raised by the album cover with the portrait of Satie by Picasso.   Perhaps one of the great album covers of all time!  The trio of recordings performed by Aldo Ciccolini of him doing Satie's music is a landmark recording.  Volume one is very much the hits.  Volume 2 is the b-sides, and Volume 3 is for the fans.   This is a great collection, for one, it's the more obscure music by Satie.   In a sense, it's going to the closet and cherry picking the pieces.  

Satie was fortunate to be in the right place and history.  His contemporaries from Debussy to Francis Picabia were his partners in crime.  The music on Volume 3 is from 1887 to 1913.  One of the great things about this album, besides the music (of course), are the liner notes.  François Lesure had put together specific writings by Satie on some of the pieces here.  As well as commentary by Lesure which puts the whole package into a perspective of time and place. 

One can take one work by Satie, which is fine and dandy, but it's a better ride to get all of his music.  Such an exceptional artist, and a witty and of course, a bizarre sense of humor.  Satie had one foot in the 19th century, but his other foot was clearly planted on the 20th side of the world.  Aldo Ciccolini does the great composer extremely well. 

Aldo Ciccolini / Erik Satie - "Piano Music of Erik Satie, Vol 2"

Aldo Ciccolini / Erik Satie – Piano Music of Erik Satie, Vol 2

Vinyl LP, Stereo

Angel Records

Some of this music on this album sounds very music hall. I imagine a lot of drinking and drunks dancing around the piano and its piano player. Specifically “Le Belle Excentrique.” Erik Satie is so one with his melodic writings that it's kind of scary. Aldo Ciccolini is also very much in Satie's skin while playing his music. He captures the humor but also understands the specific beauty of the work as well. Dreamy, but dreamy in a world where one doesn't or can't dream. There is tension between the two worlds and I am not sure if its Satie or Ciccolini driving us to that entrance way. Nevertheless beautiful.

Aldo Ciccolini /Erik Satie - "Piano Music of Erik Satie, Vol 1" Vinyl Album

Aldo Ciccolini / Erik Satie – Piano Music of Erik Satie, Vol. 1

Vinyl LP Stereo, 1968

Angel Records

There are a handful of records (and we will get to all of them in this blog) that I was raised up with. So in a sense Aldo Ciccolini's recordings of Erik Satie's music are very much part of my DNA. I remember lazy warm afternoons at Beverly Glenn house and having this album at full volume in my parents' mono one huge speaker system. The house was basically a shack in the canyon between the Valley and Beverly Hills. The fact that this particular album had a Picasso portrait on its cover and a Jean Cocteau drawing on the back, pretty much made this album the soundtrack of my parents1960's boho life. 

 The melodies are so seductive, it has reached a large audience in the mid- to late 20^th century. It is the sound of reflection, even though Satie was a total nutter with an incredible sense of humor. Nevertheless I can't help to think of my childhood when I hear this album. Or when I see the Angel record label I immediately think it is this album. One time in my life I thought Angel Records only issued one title in their catalog and this is it! Alas, I was wrong, but whenever I play this album I do think of the past.