The second of the three Gymnopédies: the same slow sway as the first, with a melody that drifts between keys.
The story
Satie wrote the three Gymnopédies in 1888, while he was playing piano in the cabarets of Montmartre. The second is marked Lent et triste: slow and sad.
It was the last of the three to be published, in 1895; Debussy orchestrated the first and third, but not this one.
Two things to know
- There is no key signature: the melody floats between modes.
- The left hand plays a bass note and a chord in every bar, like the first Gymnopédie.
How to play it
Keep the pulse perfectly steady and quiet, so the melody seems to hover above it.