List of Works » Arrangements » Sports et Divertissements (Satie Arrangement)

Sports et Divertissements (Satie Arrangement) by DAVID BRUCE

Instrumentation	fl (dbl pic+alto)), cl (dbl bass cl), bsn, hrn, tp, tb,pn,perc,2vlns, vla, vlc,db
Duration	12 mins
World Premiere	T.B.C.
Score	Available
Programme Note Satie's Sports et Divertissements presents itself in such a deliberately humble, almost self-depricating manner that it's easy to overlook the quality of Satie's inventiveness. Indeed I think I only really appreciated the true depth and subtlety of Satie's art once I began the process or orchestration. I tried to pick an orchestral palette which resonated with the subject matter of the individual pieces, (ranging as it does from circus clowns to and octopus in its cave) and in doing felt a sense of polishing up a tiny gem to reveal an extraordinary richness and strangeness. The tiniest of fragments which might whizz past in the piano piece and which might seem unremarkable, suddenly jumped into life - its true significance seeming stronger than ever. Most notable were a wealth of connections with Satie's Parisian contemporaries - particularly Debussy and Stravinsky - connections which had only been marginally apparent to me in listening to the piano version. What we now think of as a Stravinskian orchestral sound is particularly evident in the pieces that evoke the circus or the comedia del' arte characters - the combination of 'earthy' circus music sounds with the particular kinds of harmony and repetitive patterns Satie uses bring out the Stravinsky connection especially strongly - and makes one reconsider the extent of the influence Satie exerted on the great Russian composer.