Vexations is a mysterious composition by Erik Satie, which takes on another dimension when the instructions at the top of the score are followed. Satie asks the performer to play the piece 840 times without a break, very slowly, which can take as long as 24 hours. Satie offers the following advice: "In order to play the theme 840 times in succession, it would be advisable to prepare oneself beforehand, and in the deepest silence, through serious immobility."
For Lockdown Vexations, audio-visual artist Kathy Hinde has invited pianists and keyboardists of all walks of life to record one cycle of Vexations to add to an ever-growing bank of videos which combine in a collaborative online rendition of the complete piece.
840 repetitions will live-stream using software to generate a randomised playlist... which may take as long as 24 hours.
Contributors include conductor Charles Hazlewood, Hazel Mills (Goldfrapp, Florence and the Machines), composer and improviser Maja Ratkje, accordionists Frode Haltli and Andreas Borregaard, and
James Murphy (CEO of The Royal Philharmonic Society). Instruments played include 20 pianos, two pump organs, two accordions, two prophet synths, one juno synth, one marimba, one 'borealis' synth, one casio keyboard, one wurlitzer, one harpsichord, one melodica and one choir.
As Kathy Hinde says "it somehow feels particularly appealing to play this piece together and apart, during this time."
More about Vexations here -
https://satievexations.art/about/
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