When presenting himself to the director of a well-known cabaret in Paris, Erik Satie, a man not lacking a sense of humor, declared himself as a “gymnopaedist”, not quite being sure of what it meant exactly but leading the cabaret owner into a bit of a stupor. This small event happened much earlier than the three genius piano compositions titled “Gymnopedies” got written and saw world in 1888. The word itself did not quite exist this way, but versions are that it may signify either dance or antiquity or warfare or even nudity – still no accurate explanation. This way or another, but as unique as the title was, was the nature of these compositions. They are considered to be the predecessors of the modern ambient genre, though not to be confused with Satie’s ‘furniture music’ that was quite similar in essence.
Like mentioned above, there were three gymnopedies but the first and the third one really ‘caught up’. The second one was published many years later and was omitted by Debussy who made orchestration for the first two. And between those ones, number one is a definite leader. Gymnopedie No. 1 was featured by Gary Numan, Vladimir Cosma, Charles Fox, Lana Del Rey, also in numerous films and video games. Due to its soft ‘ambient’ nature, Gymnopedie No. 1 is often associated with autumn. For me, although composed for piano, this piece sounds wonderfully when arranged for cello. Here’s a lovely arrangement for cello quartet by Sheryl Smith.
