Gymnopédie No. 2

Background

The second of Erik Satie's three Gymnopédies, written in 1888, is the least familiar of the set. Its marking is Lent et triste, "slow and sad". The first and third pieces were published in 1888, but the second is usually said to have reached print only in 1895, and when Claude Debussy orchestrated two of the Gymnopédies in the 1890s he left this one out. As a result it has often been overshadowed by its neighbours, even though it is just as beautiful.

It shares their plan, a slow sway of bass note and chord with a melody floating above, but its melody is more restless, winding up and down instead of drifting downwards, and its middle section sinks into darker harmony full of flats.

How to practise it

The first four bars are accompaniment only. They rock between two chords: a low G with B, E and G above it, then a low D with a four-note chord above it.

As in all three Gymnopédies, pianists usually play both the bass note and the chord with the left hand. The second chord spans a full octave, so practise it on its own first: shape the hand over A, C, F and A, then press all four keys together without stiffening. Then practise the leap from the low bass to each chord, moving early so you arrive before beat 2.

In bar 5 the melody comes in on the first beat of the bar, not the second as in the first Gymnopédie:

Keep the quarter notes smooth and equal, and let the long notes at each end of the phrase fade naturally. The same phrase returns at bar 9 with a different ending, so compare the two and notice where they part company.

From around bar 15 the bass moves to low C and then to F, and flats appear in the chords and melody. The music feels heavier here. Keep the touch just as light, and let the change of colour do the work. The opening material returns later, and the piece settles quietly on a chord of C.

A plan:

1. Left hand alone, bars 1 to 8, at 44 beats a minute.
2. The melody alone, phrase by phrase.
3. Hands together at 44, then 56, then the full 66.
4. The darker middle section, hands separately and then together.

Change the pedal on every beat 1, as the new bass note sounds, so each bar is clear but never dry. Keep the melody slightly louder than the chords, and let the whole piece stay soft.

The best-known piece of the set is Gymnopédie No. 1, and the most solemn is No. 3.