Is anyone else studying the Grade 6 piano piece Gnossienne No. 3 by Satie? I've just started playing it, and fallen in love with it!

But I have a question. In the version I am using, in the ABRSM Exam Pieces book, there are markings in some of the chords to show whether you should use the right or left hand for the higher notes. But I am not sure how many chords they are intended to apply to.

As an example (he doesn't use bars, so counting semi-breves instead) just after 40 there is a marking that says to use the right hand for the C and F in an F minor chord. I assume it applies to the minim and the following crotchet. And then to the next pair. But does it also apply to the D and F of the following D minor chords? Before being reversed (into the left hand) for the next F minor chord?

Sorry if this is a bit boring, detailed and technical for people who aren't learning this piece.

Nick

I don't have the music but won't it depend on what you can reach?
I know that's not always the reason.

I don't think it does apply to the next pair - if you look, the sign is round the other way so I'm supposing they are in the right hand. Sorry if I am completely wrong - I haven't actually played it yet!

I am tackling this piece, and would take it to mean that the upper notes of the chord are played according to the markings, that is, (3rd line from the bottom, 2nd page) the first two C / F chords are left hand, the second two right hand, and then stick with right hand until the last semibreve of that line where the sign indicates left hand again. So (to put it more simply) I think it means to play as indicated until an alternative indication is given.

I read that the RH should be a little above the LH (in terms of emphasis and volume).
So I suppose those markings are to give emphasis to the middle voices/notes.

But when I listened to the recording, I can't seem to hear much difference between chords with different markings. And I have seen editions without such markings.

Does that mean this pieces is open for interpretation, with regards to the middle voices/notes?

I have at last come back round to this piece (having been battling away with the list A and B pieces) and am ashamed that I've not replied for so long. Your approach - "play as indicated until an alternative indication is given" - does seem to be exactly right, and now of course seems obvious. Thank you - the piece is taking much better shape now.

Good luck with your exam if you've not already taken it.

Nick

No - not done it yet. I really wanted to get Grade 5 flute out of the way first, but everything got put on the back burner over the winter. But it's a nice piece. Have you heard it on TV, accompanying the ad about fires in the home?

What are your A and B list choices? And have you settled on an exam session?

No not heard the TV ad. Sounds like a strange topic to associate the piece with!

A2 Courante - Mozart. I'm finding this one tough. Difficult running thirds and sixths and a lot of independent movement of voices.

B1 Adagio - Beethoven. Picked this one up most recently and it's going well so far. It's a fun piece and not too too hard.

Not settled on an exam session yet - probably be June this year. Like you I was slowed down in the autumn, in my case with G8 singing.

I'm learning this gnossienne at the moment. I was wondering how other people have interpreted Satie's weird and wonderful performance directions. Some of them sort-of make sense to me, others not so much.

In particular, Ouvrez la tete, which the book translates as 'open up your head'. Do you think that is a dodgy translation of something along the lines of 'open your mind' (which would sort of make sense), or does it mean something else?

Also there's enfouissez le son (translated as 'bury the sound'). How might you go about doing that?

Ooh, and there's the tres perdu, which clearly means 'very lost', but what does that really mean? I thought it probably meant to play it like you're not sure where you're going (that's not explained very well, but along those sort of lines...) whereas my teacher thought it probably indicated that you should hold back a bit.

Any advice on any of the directions would really be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Sarah

At least I'm not doing the 6th one, which has the direction 'pale as a corpse'

Have you got a different edition? In the selected exam pieces book they translate "ouvrez la tete" as "open your mind", and "enfouissez le son" as "muffle the sound" - and the Teaching notes suggest use of the una corda pedal there. I think the French often use "tete" to mean mind as well as head (you'd have to check this, though - I'm not a fluent speaker!)