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Jorge Torres, associate professor of music, recently published an arrangement of Six Gnossiennes by Erik Satie. Originally written for piano, Torres transcribed the work for guitar and flute with the help of Rebecca Stuhr, who plays modern and baroque flute and serves as a collection development librarian at Grinnell College.
The publication by the Trillenium Music Company is unique because this music has never been arranged before, particularly not for these instruments. Found after Satie’s death, all six gnossiennes have never been published together.
“Satie is a familiar name, but since the pieces were found after his death, it’s relatively new music,” says Torres. “As musicians we are challenged by the music, yet it remains enjoyable and understandable for the listeners.”
Born in 1866, Satie anticipated most of the advances of 20th century music. He created music that was “anti-German,” or opposite of the style used by famed German composer Richard Wagner. He also became the personification of the wartime esprit nouveau in France.
“Satie’s music is beautiful. He gets back to the tonal basics in musical and lyrical ways,” says Torres.
Satie’s sense of humor can also be seen in his guidelines for the performer written in the score. Originally written in French, Torres’ arrangement translates these idiosyncratic performance instructions to English. Satie mocked his fellow composers who used extensive instructions in their music. For example, one of Satie’s instructions tells performers to play a section “As White as a Ghost,” an instruction that is abstract, requesting a style that no person would be able to define.
The arrangement has been well-received by audiences. Torres and Stuhr have played the work at numerous colleges in the Midwest as well as in the local area, including Lafayette, Muhlenberg College, and Shippensburg University.
Torres has been arranging music for himself and student ensembles for years. It is something that he enjoys doing. He chose to arrange Satie’s music for guitar and flute because it is a standard chamber ensemble and, by arranging the piece, he expanded the repertoire that he and Stuhr can perform.
In June, Torres and Stuhr released a CD entitled Music for Flute and Guitar with Centaur Records. The album focuses on French and Latin American music by Napoleon Coste, Emile Desportes, Radames Gnattali, Heitor Villa-Lobos, and Antonio Carlos Jobim. A CD release event is being planned for sometime in October.
Torres and Stuhr will also be performing for the Friends of the William Center at the Chateau Chavaniac on Oct. 26.
Torres earned his Ph.D. in musicology from Cornell University. His research examines 17th century French lute performance, the Latin American bolero romantico, and primary sources for Latin American big band music. His publications have appeared in Journal of the Lute Society of America, American Music, Notes, and Symposium. He has taught at St. Lawrence University, where he directed the Caribbean and Latin American studies program, and at Grinnell College where, along with teaching courses in music history and world music, he founded the Latin American Performance Ensemble.