Gymnopédie No. 1 (Satie)

General Info

Composer: Erik Satie
Arranger: David Ratliff
Year of Published: 2022
Publisher: Tapspace
Difficulty: Elementary
Duration: 00:02:00

Instrumentation

Voice 1

Player 1: Glockenspiel
Player 2: Xylophone 1
Player 3: Vibraphone 1

Voice 2

Player 4: Vibraphone 2
Player 5: Xylophone 2
Player 6: Marimba 1

Voice 3

Player 7: Marimba 2
Player 8: Marimba 3

Voice 4

Player 9: Timpani
Player 10: Bass Guitar

Optional

Player 11: Crotales
Player 12: Chimes
Player 13: Marimba 4
Player 14: Piano
Player 15: Wind Chimes & Triangle

Description

The piano solo Gymnopédie No. 1 by French composer Erik Satie is a familiar classic. The piece struck me as a great candidate for a percussion ensemble arrangement. The melancholy feeling the piece evokes translates so well to the melodic percussion instruments and makes this an arrangement that is enjoyable for the audience and performers.

Performance Notes

1. The Voice 2 parts are all written for three mallets. If players are not experienced with this, they can use two mallets by omitting one of the existing pitches. Depending on what other chordal instruments are playing, you can direct students on which notes to omit. Otherwise, have them play the bottom two notes.
2. The Marimba 4 part would be a good vehicle for any students who are starting to learn 4-mallet technique. As an additional option, this part could be performed with any Voice 1 part as a duet!
3. Careful mallet selection is important in maximizing ensemble balance and blend. For xylophone, a softer rubber or cord mallet will keep the tone and volume more characteristic of the piece.
4. The optional piano part is written to combine Voices 1,2,3 and 4 and closely resembles the original piano solo.

Arrangements for Percussion b this Arranger

Gymnopédie No. 1 (Satie)