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Letter(s) to Erik Satie

Bertrand Chamayou, piano

French pianist Bertrand Chamayou’s latest album features works by two musical mavericks, Erik Satie and John Cage.

“Erik Satie and John Cage are UFOs in the world of music, because they envisioned music through a completely different prism,” says Chamayou. “They are pioneers in the sense that, for many people, they changed the very idea of what music must be.” With this album ‘Letter(s) to Erik Satie’ – named after a 1978 work by John Cage, conceived for voice and tape loops – Chamayou pays tribute to these two idiosyncratic, innovative and influential composers, one born in Normandy in 1866, the other in Los Angeles in 1912.

Satie is best known for his otherworldly Gymnopédies and the hypnotic Gnossiennes; Cage for his works for prepared piano and the infamous 4’33”. Both composers challenged tradition and received wisdom in composition, and their influence and legacy is very present today. Cage admired Satie, to the extent that he put on a festival devoted to Satie’s music and was responsible for the first performance of Vexations, where a short piano piece has to be repeated 840 times, over the course of 18 hours.

There is nothing vexatious about this collection: it is dreamy and haunting, intimate and intriguing. The album opens with a rarity, John Cage’s All Sides of the small Stone, for Erik Satie, which was rediscovered in 2015 among the papers of the late composer and Cage pupil James Tenney (whose piece Three Pages in the Shape of Pear is included on this album). It’s a very Satie-esque work, recalling the serenity and harmonic simplicity of the Gymnopédies, with a bass line pattern that is a direct nod to Gymnopédie No. 1. It provides the perfect opener, setting the tone of the entire album in which short works gently segue into one another. And while none of the other works by Cage on this album come quite as close to Satie’s soundworld, pieces like In a Landscape and Dream share Satie’s contemplative, introspective character, his beguiling harmonic language and hypnotic metres.

The challenge of these deceptively simple miniatures and enigmatic musical aphorisms lies in creating balance and weight, contrast and continuity, with a clear sense of the melodic line and pulse. Chamayou, a master of the intimate, achieves this brilliantly, bringing poise and poetry to music that is both very well-known (the Gymnopédies) and that which is not. He avoids cliché in his performance of the most well-known of Satie’s works and is not afraid to bring a more robust clarity of tone to the Gnossiennes, highlighting the idiosyncrasies and nuances of this fascinating music. We find a similar sparkling clarity in Cage’s In A Landscape, where bell-like motifs in the upper register chime like gamelans over an ethereal soundscape which takes the listener to another place and time.

There is one of Cage’s works for prepared piano too, in which the instrument is given a curious, otherworldly sound – something which I am sure would have intrigued and amused Satie.

The juxtapositions between the Cage pieces and those by Satie creates an organic, intriguing homage from one composer to another, sensitively and imaginatively curated by Chamayou. The album works beautifully as both a recital disc but also as a continuous loop of music where new and different aspects of the music are revealed on repeated listenings.

Letter(s) to Erik Satie is released by Erato and is available on CD, vinyl and streaming

John Cage preparing a piano
Bertrand Chamayou
Erik Satie

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It has, as they say, been a bumper year for Weymouth Lunchtime Chamber Concerts. We have seen record audiences (consistently around the 80-90 people mark) and a wonderful range of music and musicians. In keeping with the founding ethos of the series, our programmes mix well-known repertoire with rareties and lesser-known works. This year we were introduced to the music of Jessie Reason in an atmospheric piece for cello and piano, performed by Joseph Spooner and Duncan Honeybourne. We were also treated to a new work for piano by composer Ben Gaunt, inspired by The Sand House in Doncaster. The piece was masterfully performed by Matthew Schellhorn, with accompanying film which gave the audience a tour of The Sand House and illustrated the music.

In addition to our monthly lunchtime concerts, we also presented a Young Artist Showcase featuring students of Duncan Honeybourne from the Royal Academy Junior Department. It was wonderful and inspiring to see these talented young people perform with so much maturity, poise and professionalism, and we look forward to more concerts of this type in the coming seasons. We will also broadening the remit of the series, with a rebrand, to enable us to present more varied concerts and related activities.

Unlike certain other concert venues and promoters, we have never felt the need to do audience satisfaction surveys, tell the audience when they should clap, how they should listen, or what they should wear to our concerts…. Instead, we make everyone feel welcome and maintain a high level of trust between audience and artistic director (read more here). The pre-concert lunches, provided by a small team of volunteers, undoubtedly contribute to the Weymouth Lunchtime Chamber Concerts experience!

We are looking forward to 2024 with an exciting roster of performers, including Helen Kuby (French horn), Joseph Tong (piano), Lewis Kingsley-Peart (piano), Ruth Henley (cello), Marie-Louise Taylor (piano), with our season finale given by Artistic Director Duncan Honeybourne.

A big thank you to our guest artists, our friends at St Mary’s Church who help to make our concerts run smoothly and enjoyably for all, our volunteers, and of course our audience, without whom there would be no concerts.

Find full details of Weymouth Lunchtime Chamber Concerts here

Frances Wilson (AKA The Cross-Eyed Pianist), Concerts Manager, WLCC

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I have written before about how some repertoire is considered “off limits” to amateur pianists, and should remain the preserve of the professional. I think what such an attitude demonstrates is how the “core canon” of piano repertoire is held in high regard, almost to the point of zealotry, and that certain pieces should remain on their exalted pedestals, accessible only of a chosen few. My view has always been that the music is there for the many not the few, that it was written to be played, whether you are a world-famous professional musician or a “Sunday pianist” who enjoys playing in the privacy of your own home. We forget that many of the pieces which now regularly grace concert programmes around the world were intended for a more intimate salon or domestic setting – music to be played for friends and amongst friends, or at home. One piece which seems to reside on the Mount Olympus of piano repertoire is Bach’s Goldberg Variations. Revered by musicians, students, critics, teachers, academics and audiences, the Goldbergs represent music of highest order of complexity, invention, technical challenge, expression and – if one is playing the entire set – stamina One of the foremost reasons for the Goldberg Variations’ esteemed reputation is the sheer technical and artistic mastery the work demands of the pianist. Comprising an intricate series of 30 variations upon a simple bass line, this music presents a seemingly formidable challenge to even the most accomplished pianist. Each variation presents its own unique set of technical hurdles, from rapid hand crossings to intricate ornamentation and virtuosic passages. In addition, the Goldberg Variations are celebrated for their intellectual depth, requiring an understanding of counterpoint, harmony, and structure. Then there is the emotional and expressive depth of this music: each variation is infused with a distinct character and mood. From playful, witty and cheerful to melancholic and introspective, the variations traverse a wide emotional spectrum. Of course these aspects are true of many other pieces, not just those by Bach, but the piano sonatas of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert, for example; Chopin’s Nocturnes; Brahms’ Intermezzi, and much, much more. These are universal aspects which make music interesting and engaging, challenging and satisfying. While the amateur pianist may not be able to tackle the entire Goldberg Variations, individual variations are within reach of the intermediate to early advanced player: the Aria, and Variations 1, 2, 4, 7, 13, 18, 19, 21 and 25 – and all can be played and enjoyed as stand-alone pieces. (The Aria appears in the 2024 Trinity College London Grade 8 piano syllabus, thus bringing this wonderful music to students of all ages, and, perhaps, encouraging further exploration of Bach’s mighty achievement.)
As a starting point for tackling some of the Goldberg Variations, it is worth exploring some of Bach’s other keyboard music, both as a player and a listener. For example, the two- and three-part inventions are a useful lesson in his use of counterpoint; while the 48 Preludes and Fugues demonstrate a wide range of moods and colours. Within the suites, there are movements which recall the Aria of the Goldbergs (for example, the Sarabande from the fifth French Suite). In addition, all of Bach’s keyboard music offers insight into his invention and imagination, his harmonic language and his use of ornamentation to enhance the melodic line.
Learning the Goldberg Variations, whether in its entirety or single variations, is an absorbing, long-term endeavour for any pianist. Be patient and embrace the journey, but never ever believe that as an amateur pianist, you shouldn’t be playing this glorious music! There will be moments of frustration, but perseverance will lead to growth as a pianist, a sense of personal achievement, and a deeper understanding of Bach’s wonderful music.

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