Erik Satie was an influential composer of the Parisian avant-garde in the early 20th century. His most treasured works for piano are found here in one book. Each of the three Gymnopédies is written in two sections, with a melodic line formed from a modal scale placed over a rhythmically static accompaniment. There is no motivic or harmonic development. The three Gnossiennes are experimental in form, rhythm, and chordal structure. All are notated in “free time” (i.e., lacking time signatures and bar lines), although each can easily be considered metric (4/4 time signature).
