Sensing Satie is presented by contemporary classical pianist Tricia Dawn Williams and deejay Owen Jay and features 2 works by French composer Erik Satie – the first set of Pièces froides and Vexations.

The Pièces froides (Cold Pieces) are two sets of piano pieces composed in March 1897. Unpublished until 1912, they marked Satie’s break from the mystical-religious music of his ‘Rosicrucian’ period and were a harbinger of his humoristic piano suites of the 1910. Vexations consists of a short theme in the bass whose four presentations are heard alternatingly unaccompanied and played with chords above. The theme and its accompanying chords are written using strikingly eccentric and impractical enharmonic notation. The piece bears the inscription “In order to play the theme 840 times in succession, it would be advisable to prepare oneself beforehand, and in the deepest silence, by serious immobilities”. From the 1960s onward, this text has mostly been interpreted as an instruction that the page of music should be played 840 times, although this may not have been Satie’s intention. During this performance Williams will perform Vexations 6 times whilst alternating between Piano and Toy Pianos. The concept of this performance is for the artists to stay ‘away from the comfort zone’.

Jay will be using a Eurorack system using modules that may be considered adventurous for a live performance. One prime example of these modules is the Folktek Matter. In a nutshell, parts of the piano will be processed via the modular system and by means of envelope followers, effects and other sounds will be triggered by the pianist.

This project was conceived for Circuits, which has received the three-year Investment in Cultural Organisations grant from Arts Council Malta. It is further supported by Spazju Kreattiv, the German-Maltese Circle and Goethe Institute.

Musicians: Tricia Dawn Williams, Owen Jay.
Artistic Direction: Luc Houtkamp
Project Management: Tina Camilleri Stem
Mixing and Mastering: Andrej Ljatkovski
Filming and Editing: Sam Chetcuti – Cyberspace AV, Matthew Zammit Cordina – EVP.