Erik Satie - Vexations

Les Disques du Crepuscule
(TWI1245-1: 708527190401/TWI1245-2: 708527190418)
Release date: 11/22/2019
Genre: Avant garde, Surrealist




The vinyl edition is limited to 500 copies and is pressed on crystal clear vinyl.

Les Disques du Crepuscule is pleased to announce new CD and vinyl editions of landmark avant-garde composition Vexations by Erik Satie, originally written in 1893.

The extraordinary score for Vexations is just three lines long, yet a complete performance (840 repetitions) may last for anything between 14 and 28 hours. First performed under the supervision of John Cage in 1963, this radical, enigmatic,  proto-Surrealist work is now recognised as a significant milestone in the avant-garde canon.

Some credit Vexations with occult numerical meaning; others discern Satie’s greatest musical prank, or a “poor man’s Ring of the Nibelung”. Curiously, despite the almost infinitely repetitive nature of the piece, the central 18 note motif is notoriously hard to remember. Few solo pianists have been able to negotiate a complete performance of all 840 repetitions, although in 2012 a non-stop performance lasting 35 hours was undertaken in Tokyo.

This meditative 70 minute recording features 40 repetitions of the motif, performed by Alan Marks on piano. The recording was produced by Thomas Wilbrandt. Both the CD and vinyl versions include detailed liner notes by Marks and musicologist Stephen Whittington.

CD tracklist:

  1. Vexations  69.42

 LP tracklist:

  1. Vexations (Pt 1)  22.25
  2. Vexations (Pt 2)  22.34

Related Items

Marine - Same Beat
Marine - Same Beat from $10.00 - $22.00
Quick Shop
Josef K - It's Kinda Funny (The Singles)
Josef K - It's Kinda Funny (The Singles) $14.99
Quick Shop
Erik Satie - Art Works 1892-1924
Erik Satie - Art Works 1892-1924 $28.00
Quick Shop
Minimal Man - The Shroud of
Minimal Man - The Shroud of from $8.00 - $13.99
Quick Shop
Campbell, Mallinder, Benge - Clinker (CD Expanded Edition)
Campbell, Mallinder, Benge - Clinker (CD Expanded Edition) $13.99
Quick Shop
Piscine et Charles - Quart de Tour, Mon Amour
Piscine et Charles - Quart de Tour, Mon Amour $22.50
Quick Shop
Gina X Performance - Nice Mover + Voyeur
Gina X Performance - Nice Mover + Voyeur from $14.99 - $27.00
Quick Shop
23 Skidoo -  The Culling Is Coming
23 Skidoo - The Culling Is Coming $13.99
Quick Shop