Wavecloud Sunset

Gymnopédie #1 - Erik Satie

Music Title: Gymnopédie #1                                    

Recording by: Randy Wilson

Composer: Erik Satie

Details of Passage Depicted

This is a Landscape layout. This view is actually from the ending, looking back at the beginning of the piece.

Two parts have been portrayed separately.

The melody, played by an oboe is portrayed in orange and white rock.

The keyboard accompaniment is portrayed in blue gray moon rock.

The smaller rocks on the left side are overtones of the fundamental notes in the middle and on the right.

A synthesizer joins in on the last chord and was portrayed above as clouds made of sound waves.

The ground plain does not represent the analyzed music. Only the three dimensional shapes represent the music.

Notes about the Music and the Portrayal

Gymnopédie #1 is Erik Satie’s most famous piece. From a collection based on the Greek modes, #1 has a melody that is beloved around the world. In this portrait, that melody has been separated from the accompaniment to show the contours of each instrument more clearly. The overtones of both instruments blend and meld in different sections of the music, creating very unusual formations.