Erik Satie

"The Writer's Almanac" appears in my email inbox early every morning. I love to listen to Garrison Keillor recite poetry and read tidbits of literary, musical and cultural history every day. Today's edition contained this: "It's the birthday of composer Erik Satie...." I'm immediately transported back to March 2006. I'm enjoying the last full day of my solo trip to Paris. A light dusting of snow lingered in Montmarte, but the morning skies were brilliant blue as I wandered the streets beyond the Sacre Coeur. My destination was the Musee de Montmarte where I hoped to find more information about my favorite painter, Modigliani. That hope was not realised, but I did discover Erik Satie at the museum which at one time was his home. The portrait shown here was painted by Suzanne Valadon, his lover, and an artist in her own right. She was the mother of Maurice Urtillo; she and Satie were part of the cadre of bohemian artists that included Picasso, Andre Derain, Georges Braque, Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec, and Edgar Degas. Satie considered himself a child who ..."came into the world very young in an age that was very old." His music was radically different from that of this 'old age.' As I wandered the museum, it played in the backgound, and I was haunted by its beauty. When I returned home, I bought a collection of 4 CD's to remind me of my serendipitous discovery of this complicated composer on that brisk and beautiful snow-dusted Paris morning. Let me share it with you...click here and enjoy.