Today we hear from pianist Jackson Farho, a senior in Countryside’s youth group. He will be playing two Gnossiennes (the first and second) by Erik Satie.
Erik Satie (1866-1925) was a French composer who was very much ahead of his time and laid the groundwork for many of the modern composition techniques of the twentieth and twenty-first century. He is worth a google search if you are interested in learning more – a very fascinating individual. He is known mostly as a Dadaist, but he flirted with many schools of thought throughout his life.
One of these schools of thought was Gnosticism (a fascinating topic in and of itself). He was involved in a Gnostic sect when he composed these pieces. Gnosticism was a big deal in the first century. They emphasized personal spirituality over orthodoxy and tradition. The spiritual journey to enlightenment was more important than repentance. They were oppressed out of existence for the most part in the second century, but Gnostic movements have popped up over time.
These pieces are highly experimental for the time, and while they have a structural sense of form (minimalist in nature), are ethereal fluid – in other words, not suggesting a form to the listener, inspiring contemplation.