Gnossienne No. 2

History

The scholarly account dates Gnossienne No. 2 to 1893, the year of the early journal appearances of the first three pieces. No. 2 already had verbal directions in that early publication. The group later appeared together in 1913, giving this piece a place in a triptych whose numbering is not a complete composition chronology.

Sources

• henle.de

What to listen for

1. 1

   Falling calls sit over held bass sound

   The opening calls fall through changing notes over long bass tones and inner chords. Hear the smaller upper movement against the sustained foundation.

2. 2

   A rising episode changes the contour

   The contrasting episode rises into held responses. Compare its upward direction with the opening’s falling calls.

3. 3

   The rising episode returns with a changed ending

   The rising material is written again but ends differently. Listen for the changed response instead of adding a repeat jump.

4. 4

   Inner harmony continues after the outer lines stop

   The opening calls return before the outer voices fall silent. Listen to the tied inner chord that carries the close beyond those rests.

How to practise it

Distinguish the tied upper arrivals from the delayed inner support.

1. Practise the D-to-E tie, then the following moving eighths.
2. Practise the first rest and two support positions before adding the melody.

How hard is it

About this piece

Collection

French piano colors

Licence

Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0

Source

mutopiaproject.org

Credit

“Gnossienne No. 2” by E. Satie (1866 to 1925). Mutopia edition maintained by Frédéric Duperray. Source: https://www.mutopiaproject.org/cgibin/piece-info.cgi?id=2130. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/. Changes to the supplied file: none; any later conversion or edit must be disclosed separately.

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