GNOSSIENNE No. 4 for viola & piano (1891)

GNOSSIENNE No. 4 for viola & piano (1891)
Erik Satie (1866-1925) arr. Lucian Moraru
SonArt Publications SON-18-7, 2017
Source manuscript: http://www.af.lu.se/~fogwall/gnoss4.html

The original late 19th century piano work, which was only published relatively recently, is in key D minor. This version is in G minor, and the piano takes quite a prominent role throughout, with the viola often playing rippling semiquaver ostinato figures, or louré-paired quavers. In the link to the source manuscript, we can see that this work, written in a day, has no bar lines, and therefore even though it does work well as set in this edition in compound duple, this needs to be kept in mind. My review copy had some pencilled-in minor rhythmic corrections with rest groupings, which no doubt will be ironed out. There are many inspirations for this type of work, including Satie’s interest in Gnosticism and other spiritual practices that were being explored in France during this period. One possibility is that it
was inspired by the story of a ritual labyrinth dance created by Theseus to celebrate his victory over the Minotaur. A special treat for violists who are Satie fans!

Stringendo (Australian Strings Association’s magazine) - October, 2023