About this Piece

The quirky names Erik Satie (1866-1925) invented for his compositions suggest a certain dismissive cynicism, but there is no aural hint of that in the four pieces heard here. Drawn from his two sets of pieces called Pièces froides, literally “cold pieces,” are two Danses de travers or Crooked Dances. The first is titled En y regardant à deux fois – “Look at it twice” or “Give it a good look.” The second is simply called Passer, “Pass” or “Go on.” These dances, composed in 1897 but only published 15 years later, have none of the remoteness of the Gnossiennes. Just 90 seconds long, to our ears they sound invitingly contemporary more than a century on.