Album guide
The Minimalism Of Erik Satie
- Composer
- Satie
- Released
- 1984
- Label
- Hat Hut Records
- Forces
- Big band
- Personnel
- Mathias Rüegg leader and conductor, with the Vienna Art Orchestra: woodwinds, brass, tuba, vibraphone, percussion and voice
The final three tracks spend nearly forty-two minutes circling Vexations, Satie’s tiny, enigmatic fragment that bears an instruction to repeat it 840 times.
Mathias Rüegg divides those reflections among different members of the orchestra, spinning one spare page of music into almost half the album.
Hear both
The classical side contains only the source pieces used on the album, in album order. The jazz side presents the complete album whenever a dependable copy can be embedded.
One performance of Vexations covers the three tracks drawn from it. Every other source is played once, in album order, and one track is the orchestra’s own with no classical source.
Spotify’s player is here for convenience; the full track listing below remains available to everyone.
Source works
The album’s complete track listing, with each classical source identified and original compositions marked plainly.
- Reflections on Aubade“Aubade”, No. 2 of Avant-dernières pensées
- Reflections on Méditation“Méditation”, No. 3 of Avant-dernières pensées
- Reflections on Sévère Réprimande“Sévère réprimande”, No. 1 of Véritables préludes flasques (pour un chien)
- Reflections on Idylle“Idylle”, No. 1 of Avant-dernières pensées
- Gnossienne No. 3Gnossienne No. 3
- Reflections on Gnossienne No. 2Gnossienne No. 2
- Reflections on Gnossienne No. 1Gnossienne No. 1
- Satie Ist Mir Im Traum 3 X Nicht ErschienenVienna Art Orchestra original; no classical source
- Vexations 1801Vexations
- Vexations 1611Vexations
- Vexations 2105Vexations