sheet details

  Original / Pdf (1 pages)

Added by teledyn 4989d ago

Description
"In order to play the theme...(more) 840 times in succession, it would be advisable to prepare oneself beforehand, and in the deepest silence, by serious immobilities"

(Pour se jouer 840 fois de suite ce motif, il sera bon de se préparer au préalable, et dans le plus grand silence, par des immobilités sérieuses)

According to the Wikipedia, from the 1960s onward, this text has mostly been interpreted as an instruction that the page of music should be played 840 times, though this may not have been Satie's intention. John Cage did present a performance of the work using a rotation of pianists; John was among the very few who stayed (and stayed awake) through the entire performance, and remarked that once the piece was completed, there was a remarkable clarity of silence that followed.