Erik Satie ~1913~ Embryons Desséchés

In introduction to this score, Satie writes: “This work is absolutely incomprehensible, even to me. Of a singular depth, it always amazes me. I wrote it in spite of myself, driven by destiny. Maybe I wanted to be humorous? It would not surprise me and would be quite in my way. However, I will have no mercy for they who would ignore. May they know it.“ The first dryed-up embryo is about a sea cucumber observed in the Bay of Saint-Malo, and Satie parodies here a 1830 French song “Mon rocher de Saint-Malo“ (“my rock of Saint-Malo“, The parodic final cadence is “grandiose“ and deliberately pompous. The second embryo does not parody, “famous Schubert Mazurka“, as written in the score, but the famous funeral march from Chopin’s sonata . Elements of his posthumous funeral march (1837, No. 2) can also be found. The third embryo quotes the French song “Good King Dagobert“ (“has put his culottes on backwards...“), written in the eighteenth century to mock the figure of the King ( The final cadence “mandatory, by the author“, parodies again grandiose “ad libitum“ optional cadences, found in certain virtuoso romantic piano works. 0:00 Embryon Desséché d’Holothurie 2:33 Embryon Desséché d’Edriophthalma 4:55 Embryon Desséché de Podophthalma pf: Jean-Yves Thibaudet