4eme Gnossienne - Erik Satie

Details

Description

Lent. Composition date on the manuscript: 22 January 1891.

A facsimile of the four manuscript pages of this composition can be seen on this page of Nicolas Fogwall's Satie website.

Composed tonally in D minor even though its key signature is empty, the piece features a bass line centred on its minor key, sounding D, A, D, F, A, D, F, D, A, F, D, A, D. The bass part then transposes into a C minor chord I ostinato, following the pattern C, G, C, E♭, G, C, E♭, C, G, E♭, C, G, C. Section B, usually considered a very inspired section, uses semiquavers to contrast the minor melody of Section A.

Wikipedia