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Spectator
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Spectator
Instantly captivating: the mysterious harmonies of Erik Satie
The first time I heard a piece of music by Erik Satie it was on the B-side of a Gary Numan single. Played on a synth that sounds like a theremin sucking on a dummy, 'Gymnopédie #1' is so saccharine sweet it actually makes the music seem sorry for itself. And yet. It got me hooked on Satie's catchy yet sombre ironies. Par for the course, says Ian Penman in this dazzling study. People who know nothing about music beyond the top tens of their teens can be so 'instantly beguiled, captivated and transported' by Satie that his 'pop single length' works are 'now part of some collective audio memory'. For all that, there is no mention of Numan here. Nothing strange, you're thinking – but get a load of those who do turn up in the book. Ravel, Debussy and Poulenc are present and correct, of course. And since he studied composition under Satie's pal Darius Milhaud, I guess Burt Bacharach was a shoo-in for a look-in. But how about Stevie Wonder and Elton John? The Keiths, Jarrett and Emerson? The Evanses, Bill and Gil? It's Sunday Night at the Penman Palladium! Bring on those stars of stage and screen! Satie's double act with Francis Picabia in René Clair's comic silent Entr'acte ushers in a reverie on Morecambe and Wise, Pete and Dud and Vic and Bob. Satie came from Normandy and was rarely seen without an umbrella – give a big hand to Jacques Demy's Les Parapluies de Cherbourg. Yet none of this scattershot name-dropping is facetious, much less otiose. Even Penman's recollection of Les Dawson's version of 'Feelings' serves to point up the wit that underlies so much of Satie's music. You'll have gathered that this book, which is being published to mark the centenary of Satie's death, is no garden-variety monograph. Indeed, since it really does have three parts – a vaguely conventional essay on Satie's life and times; an A-Z of all things Satie; and a diary of the last few years in which Penman has jotted down Satie-stimulated hunches and hypotheses – we might do better to call it a triograph. But there's no way of shelf-marking a book like this. Dismissing the conventional biography for being 'too linear – as if modernity never happened', Penman is trying, like his film director hero Nicolas Roeg, to engender a whole new form. The result is something that looks more like a screenplay than a critical tract, with as much white space as black ink. Aphorisms and apophthegms – many of them so brief they occupy only a line or two – ladder the page like a John Coltrane chart. No attempt is made at logical, step-by-step argument. Penman's points rarely relate to one another and certainly don't flow in any order. Not that he's being lazy and making his readers do the work for him; he wants to get 'people… out of the habit of explaining everything'. Satie's minimalist phrases, shimmering, impressionist harmonies and cubist rhythms play havoc with convention – he wrenches time about in just the way the canvases of his chums Picasso and Braque reconfigure space. Similarly, Penman wants to undermine the commonplace that criticism must cohere to convince. Satie's aesthetic was so influential, Penman believes, that it gave us the sound of the contemporary world. He invented the ambient music that Michael Caine loves (Satie called it 'household music'); the industrial music of Lou Reed and Kraftwerk; and full-on muzak (an insulting name that is somehow outdone by Satie's original idea of 'furniture music'). Whatever the truth of these claims – and surely the bombast and braggadocio of what Penman calls 'big puffed-up symphonies', 'self-important concertos' and 'sweaty drama-queen conductors' have had some sway on rock and pop, too – they licence some stunning aperçus. Satie makes us 'attend to the forgotten realm of quiet moments'; an encyclopaedia is 'a largely successful attempt to keep chaos at bay'; Harold Budd's 'Luxa' is 'lift music for a lift that never goes up or down'. No, I haven't heard of that either. But then, if nothing else, this book leaves you with a playlist that will take weeks to work through. And be in no doubt: you'll want to hear what Penman's heard. His bibliography is brief to the point of pointlessness, and some reproductions of the images he is so fond of discussing would have been nice. But really, what more can one ask of criticism than that it turn you on to stuff you've never seen or heard?
Associated Press
14-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
Castle Gillian: World Premiere of new Irish Musical Based on the novel by Maurice Walsh
On April 25-26, the new Irish musical, Castle Gillian: An Irish Tale will have its world premiere at the Smock Alley Theatre, Dublin, presented by Entr'acte. 'We are privileged to have been permitted to bring this incredible story to life on the stage by the author's estate.'— Kevin Purcell NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, April 14, 2025 / / -- On April 25-26, the new Irish musical, Castle Gillian: An Irish Tale will have its world premiere at the Smock Alley Theatre, Dublin, presented by Entr'acte in association with Quill & Quaver Associates. Entr'acte is Irelands's newest and most dynamic young musical theatre society. To coincide with this world premiere, the producers have created a worldwide singing competition (#singcastlegillian) the winners of which will be featured on a second album release as a follow up to the original film soundtrack of the musical, comprising the best cover renditions of 14 songs from the show as part of the show's creators' commitment to the discovery of global new musical theatre talent. Quill & Quaver Associates today announced a worldwide singing competition on TikTok, IG, FB and YouTube Shorts of 14 songs from the musical, including singing duets with the original film cast members. This coincides with the public release of the extraordinary 360˚ film version of the musical which, to date, has garnered 7 international film festival awards including two awards at the 2024 Cannes World Film Festival. Directed by British Director and screenwriter, Victor Kazan, Castle Gillian: An Irish Tale brings to life the classic Irish story by famed Irish Novelist, Maurice Walsh (The Quiet Man) of Gillian Morris, a renowned Irish trainer and owner of the once-famous racing stable, Castle Gillian, who has retreated from the world since the death of his wife. Gill, his son, recently returned from the War, has lost his way in life grieving the death of his greatest friend lost in battle, leaving responsibility for running the racing stable to his sister, Mary, to keep the stable heavily in debt to the bank from wrack and ruin. A cunning and sadistic local landowner, Garret Ward, offers to settle the family's debt in return for a controlling interest in Castle Gillian; however, marrying Mary is also part of his conniving deal. Complicating matters further, the relationship between Gill and his childhood sweetheart, Sylvia, has been profoundly affected by Gill's wartime experiences. Featuring a remarkable Irish music score and a book infused with sublime Irish sensibilities, this is a family drama of cinematic proportion. 'You can't possibly imagine the sheer delight of having our Irish musical premiere in Ireland' said Kevin Purcell, the composer of the score. 'Castle Gillian is a novel by Maurice Walsh, Ireland's famed author of The Quiet Man. We are privileged to have been permitted to bring this incredible story to life on the stage by the author's estate.' This competition will officially debut on Monday 14th April 2025. The judges of the singing competition are Sue Drew (GM, Creative & Acquisitions, Kobalt Music, USA) and Michael A. Kerker. (Director of Musical Theatre, American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) along with composer, Kevin Purcell. Creative Team Victor Kazan – Director / Book & Lyrics International librettist and director with a 50-year career across theatre, film, and opera; co-creator of Castle Gillian. Kevin Purcell – Composer Multi award-winning Australian composer and conductor; known for musical theatre (Rebecca (2004); To Catch A Thief (2025), symphony and opera work. For more information on the cast and creative team, including biographies, visit the website: About Quill & Quaver Associates With offices in New York and Melbourne, Australia, Quill & Quaver Associates is one of the world's leading executive producers of extended reality (XR) musicals. Quill & Quaver Associates provide unparalleled expertise in reimagining how to relocate musical theatre storytelling into the digital space by creating memorable and transformative 360˚extended reality experiences for audiences everywhere ALL MEDIA REQUESTS TO: [email protected] The writers, Kevin Purcell and Victor Kazan will be available for interviews in Ireland between April 19 – 26 upon request. Julie Merrett Reach Social Media [email protected] Visit us on social media: Facebook Instagram YouTube TikTok Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content 'as is' without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
