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2012 Shades of Ungodliness: Satie, the , and the Flight from Reason Lindsey MacChiarella

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THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF MUSIC

SHADES OF UNGODLINESS:

SATIE, THE OCCULT, AND THE FLIGHT FROM REASON

By

LINDSEY MACCHIARELLA

A Thesis submitted to the College of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Music

Degree Awarded: Spring semester 2012

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Lindsey!Macchiarella!defended!this!thesis!on!March!30,!2012.! ! The!members!of!the!supervisory!committee!were:! ! ! ! ! ! !!!!! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Douglass!Seaton! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Professor!Directing!Dissertation!! ! !! ! !! ! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Michael!Bakan! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Committee!Member! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Denise!Von!Glahn! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Committee!Member! ! ! ! ! ! !! !!!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !!! The!Graduate!School!has!verified!and!approved!the!aboveInamed!committee! members,!and!certifies!that!the!thesis!has!been!approved!in!accordance!with! university!requirements.! !!! !!! !!! !

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! ! ! To!Haruki!Murakami!and!his!well.! !!

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.

I’d!like!to!thank!the!musicology!department!at!Florida!State!University! for!accepting!my!quirks!and!never!forcing!me!to!be!someone!I’m!not.!!You! guys!raised!me!right.!!! !!

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TABLE.OF.CONTENTS.

! LIST!OF!MUSIC!EXAMPLES!...... !vi! LIST!OF!FIGURES!...... !vii! ABSTRACT!...... !viii! CHAPTER!I:!FIN$DE$SIÈCLE+OCCULT!CULTURE!AND!THE!AVANTIGARDE!...... !1! The!Significance!of!Occult!Study!...... !1! Fin$de$siècle+France!...... !3! Crisis!of!Faith!...... !8! The!Irrational!...... !11! Satie,!the!Occult,!and!the!AvantIGarde!...... !13! CHAPTER!II:!L'ARTIDIEU!...... !21! !...... !21! "Péladanism"!...... !24! Salons!de!la!Rose+Croix!...... !33! CHAPTER!III:!OCCULT!MUSIC!...... !37! Satie's!"Rose+Croix!Period"!...... !37! Satie's!Early!Rose+Croix!Contributions!...... !38! Functional!Music!...... !40! Incidental!Music!...... !44! A!French!Gesamtkunstwerk?!...... !54! CHAPTER!IV:!FROM!OCCULT!!TO!REALISM!...... !57! BIBLIOGRAPHY!...... !61! BIOGRAPHICAL!SKETCH!...... !66! ! ! !

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LIST.OF.MUSIC.EXAMPLES.

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3.1! Leit$motiv+du+Panthée!...... !39!

3.2! Gnossienne!no.!3!...... !40!

3.3! Première+Pensée+Rose+Croix!...... !40!

3.4!!!!Melody!in!the!first!movement!of!Trois+Sonneries!...... !43!

3.5!!!!Melody!in!triplets!in!the!second!movement!of!Trois+Sonneries!...... !43!

3.6!!!!Air+du+Grand+Maitre!...... !44!

3.7!!!!First!verse!of!Salut+Drapeau!!...... !47!

3.8!!!!Les+Fils+des+étoiles,!Prelude!to!act!1,!“White!and!immobile”!motive!...... !49!

3.9!!!!Les+Fils+des+étoiles,+Prelude!to!act!1,!“Rising”!motive!...... !50!

3.10!!!!Les+Fils+des+étoiles,+Prelude!to!act!1,!“Star”!motive!...... !50!

3.11!!Les+Fils+des+étoiles.++Prelude!to!act!1,!“Questioning”!motive!...... !50!

3.12!!Les+Fils+des+étoiles!“Internally!Questioning”!motive,!act!2!...... !51!

3.13!!Les+Fils+des+étoiles+“Rising”!motive,!act!2!...... !52!

3.14!!Les+Fils+des+étoiles+“Very!good”!motive,!act.!3!...... !53!

3.15!!Les+Fils+des+étoiles+“Watching!Each!Other!from!Afar,”!act!3!...... !53!

3.16!!Les+Fils+des+étoiles+“Without!trembling,”!act!3!...... !53!

3.17!!Les+Fils+des+étoiles+“Unaware!of!His!Own!Presence,”!act!3!...... !53!

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LIST.OF.FIGURES.

1.1! Odilon!Redon,!Smiling+Spider+(1881)!...... !6!

1.2!!!!Felicién!Rops,!Untitled!Sketch!...... !7!

1.3! Morice’s!“Symboliste!pyramid”!reproduced!from!McGuinness,!,+ Decadence+and+the+Fin+de+siècle!...... !8!

2.1!!!!Rosicrucian!Cosmology.!!Reproduced!from!Max!Heindel’s!The+Rosicrucian+ Cosmo$Conception!...... !23!

2.2!!!!Alexandre!Séon,!Portrait+of+Joséphin+Péladan+(1891)!...... !25!

2.3!!!!Jean!Delville.!!Symbolisation+de+la+chair+et+l’esprit+(1890)!!...... !28!

2.4!!!!Fernand!Khnopff,!L’Art+(Les+caresses,+Le+sphinx)+(1896).!!Shown!at!the! 1897!Rose+Croix!Salon!...... !29!

2.5!!!!Concert!Advertisement,!Ordre+de+la+Rose+Croix+Catholique.++Reproduced! from!Weisberg’s!The+Documented+Image!...... !36!

3.1!!!!Form!of!Salut+Drapeau!!...... !46!

3.2!!!!Paul!Cézanne,!Monte+Sainte$Victoire+(c.!1885I1887)!...... !55!

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ABSTRACT!

! Faced!with!a!collapse!of!orthodox!religious!ideals!precipitated!by!the! technological!revolution!in!the!midInineteenth!century,!Satie!and!many!in!the! Western!world!took!refuge!in!unorthodox!occult!!during!the!fin$de$ siècle.+AvantIgarde!artists!and!composers!found!inspiration!in!these!irrational! and!imaginative!religions,!and!occult!groups!often!acted!as!artistic!patrons.!! The!Rose+Croix!Catholique,!with!whom!Satie!collaborated!for!two!years,!was! a!particularly!influential!supporter!of!new!Impressionist!and!Symbolist! movements.!!They!worshipped!“idealist”!art,!which!functioned!as!part!of!their! evolutionary!scheme!and!was!a!vital!aspect!of!their!religious!practice.!!In!light! of!Rose+Croix!religious!and!aesthetic!beliefs,!Satie’s!“Rose+Croix!period”! works!not!only!demonstrate!symbolic!references!to!Rosicrucian!cosmology,! but!their!atmospheric,!and!impressionistic!style!embody!the!Order’s!use!of! music!to!create!a!complete!art!world!by!combining!artistic!mediums.!!Satie’s! collaboration!with!occult!religions!during!this!period!formed!a!vital!part!of!the! context!of!his!works,!and!the!resulting!aesthetic!framework!of!his!oftenI overlooked!impressionistic!period!continued!to!shape!aspects!of!his!later! œuvre.!! !

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CHAPTER(I:((FIN$DE$SIÈCLE+OCCULT(CULTURE(( AND(THE(AVANT1GARDE( ( THE$SIGNIFICANCE$OF$OCCULT$STUDY$!

! From!approximately!1885!to!1910!Western!culture!experienced!a!massive! religious!crisis!that!in!some!quarters!manifested!itself!in!the!form!of!occult!study.!! Rejecting!orthodox!scientific!and!religious!beliefs,!as!the!West!entered!a!scientific,! modern!era,!some!simultaneously!embraced!shockingly!irrational,!superstitious! beliefs.!!From!the!bourgeoisie!to!the!bohemians,!cults,!séances,!hypnotism,! hermetism,!and!more!all!became!pursuits!of!the!inquiring!Western!mind.!!This! “collective!irrationalism,”!as!James!Webb!put!it,!at!the!dawn!of!the!technological! revolution,!exalted!art!and!had!a!significant!impact!on!the!formation!of!the!fin4de4 siècle!avantJgarde.1!! ! By!blurring!the!lines!between!fantasy!and!reality,!the!late!nineteenthJcentury! occult!scene!provided!a!stimulus!for!creative!imagination,!attracting!artists!of!all! mediums.!!The!occult!encompassed!the!intersection!of!potent!art!movements,!such! as!Symbolism!and!decadence.!!The!list!of!artists!who!participated!in!this!trend!is! immense,!including!the!writers!JorisJKarl!Husymans,!Edgar!Allen!Poe,!and!Oscar! Wilde;!painters!Puvis!de!Chavannes,!Alexandre!Séon,!and!Gustave!Moreau;!and! composers!Claude!Debussy,!Vincent!d’Indy!and!Maurice!Ravel.!!In!the!name!of! intellectual!curiosity!and!spiritual!advancement,!countless!fin4de4siècle!artists! celebrated!the!opportunity!to!assault!mainstream!,!scientific!rationalism,! and!oppressive!.!!! ! An!examination!of!the!social!factors!that!gave!rise!to!this!phenomenon,!the! potent!theories!advanced,!and!the!artists!involved!creates!a!context!in!which!to! place!many!early!avantJgarde!works.!!A!complete!study!of!the!occult!art!world!is! beyond!the!scope!of!this!study,!and!so!this!thesis!will!be!limited!to!one!country,! France,!one!composer,!Erik!Satie,!and!one!of!his!numerous!occult!affiliations,!the! Rose+Croix!Catholique.!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1!James!Webb,!The$Occult$Underground$(Illinois:!Open!Court,!1974),!1J7.!!!

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! Satie’s!works!in!particular!have!suffered!from!a!lack!of!interpretation!from! this!perspective,!and!as!a!result!many!of!his!pieces!have!seemed!twoJdimensional! and!remained!underJappreciated.!!Recently,!Mary!Davis’s!biography!of!Satie!has! made!a!thorough,!though!concise,!exploration!of!this!period!in!Satie’s!life,!yet!many! scholars!before!her!have!dismissed!the!significance!of!Satie’s!occult!associations.!! James!Harding’s!biography!devotes!one!chapter!to!Satie’s!time!with!the!Rose+Croix! cult,!viewing!it!as!a!humorous!“adventure,”!and!Patrick!Gowers’s!analytical!work!on! the!Rose+Croix!pieces!leaves!them!nearly!entirely!divorced!from!their!context.!! Robert!Orledge’s!book!Satie$the$Composer$restricts!its!discussion!of!occult!subjects! to!one!chapter,!titled!“Satie!and!Debussy,”!in!which!he!briefly!discusses!the! connections!between!Satie’s!works!from!his!occult!period,!but!he!seems!to!conclude! that!the!“aloof”!style!and!“logical”!form!of!the!works!reveals!that!Satie!was!only! paying!lipJservice!to!the!Rose+Croix!faction;!he!implies!that!it!was!a!superfluous! phase.!!Nevertheless,!there!is!evidence!of!Satie’s!fascination!with!the!occult!that! spans!nearly!ten!years!of!his!young!life,!and!an!investigation!can!contribute! significantly!to!understanding!his!personality,!his!spiritual!beliefs,!and!his!works.!! ! I!suspect!that!music!historians’!avoidance!of!this!topic!is!spurred,!primarily,! by!a!disproportionate!interest!in!the!latter!half!of!Satie’s!career,!when!he!became! famous!for!his!musical!realism!and!mentorship!of!Les$Six.$$Secondly,!I!believe!this! period!of!Satie’s!life!has!been!ignored!due!to!a!lack!of!serious!research!on!social! occult!phenomena;!superstitious!beliefs!have!been!treated!disdainfully!in!academia.!! With!Satie,!especially,!musicologists!seem!driven!by!a!desire!to!validate!their! composer!as!a!serious,!intellectual!subject.!Though!the!occult!was!a!driving!force!in! the!formation!of!fin4de4siècle!culture,!fear!of!the!bizarre!and!sacrilegious!has!skewed! our!view!of!Satie!and!the!artistic!culture!of!early!modern!France.!! ! The!formation!of!fin4de4siècle$avantJgarde!music!and!the!explosion!of!occult! philosophies!are!not!unrelated.!!I!propose!a!new!perspective!on!Satie’s!music!from! the!early!1890s!that!takes!into!account!the!potent!occult!and!artistic!theories! surrounding!the!works.!!While!this!study!will!illuminate!aspects!of!Satie’s!character! and!works!in!ways!that!have!not!previously!been!considered,!it!is!more!broadly!

! 2! ! important!as!an!example!of!the!artisticJoccult!movement!and!its!role!in!the!creation! of!the!modern!avantJgarde!aesthetic.!! !

FIN4DE4SIÈCLE$FRANCE!

! James!Webb!describes!Rationalism!as!“a!method!of!thought!supremely! adapted!to!the!tangible,!material!problems!of!existence.”2!!This!materialistic,! rationalist!mentality!both!indulged!and!plagued!the!fin4de4siècle,!hurtling!France! into!a!previously!unimagined!luxury!but!eradicating!mystery!and!miracle!in!the! process.!!The!world!was!changing,!with!technology!as!the!means!of!metamorphosis,! but!as!!gained!ever!greater!mastery!of!the!material!world,!their!intangible! relationships!to!the!universe!decayed.3!!!! ! The!second!industrial!revolution!in!France,!which!began!around!the!midJ nineteenth!century,!drastically!changed!the!face!of!the!country,!instigating!rapid! commercial!development.!!A!sharp!population!growth!in!the!first!half!of!the! nineteenth!century!forced!the!economy!to!adapt.!!Following!England’s!example,! French!entrepreneurs!capitalized!on!the!latest!technological!innovations!in! communications,!metallurgy,!steam!power,!textiles,!and!transport,!and!they! industrialized!the!economy.!!Cheaper!transport!and!production!lowered!the!cost!of! material!goods,!and!for!the!first!time!the!country!was!exposed!to!assembly!lines,! advertisements,!and!department!stores.!!The!ensuing!economic!growth!led!to!a! sharp!rise!in!the!middle!class,!and!a!massive!migration!from!the!country!to!the!city! resulted!in!extensive!urbanization.!!!As!manufacturing!slowly!replaced!agriculture! as!the!livelihood!of!the!laboring!class,!a!diminishing!percentage!of!the!population! was!able!to!grow!their!own!food.!!For!lowerJclass!families!from!rural!areas;!normal! social!life!dissolved,!as!the!town!replaced!the!village.4!! ! Within!the!space!of!a!generation!novel!comforts!such!as!bathrooms,!central! heating,!telephones,!typewriters,!and!telegraphs!became!available!to!the!average! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 2!James!Webb,!The$Occult$Establishment$(Illinois:!Open!Court,!1976),!491.!!! 3!James!Webb,!The$Occult$Underground,!6J7.!!! 4!Roger!Price,!A$Concise$History$of$France$(Cambridge:!Cambridge!University!Press,! 1993),!143.!!!

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French!citizen.!!Factories!and!assembly!lines!standardized!clothing,!just!as!progress! in!communications!and!printing!codified!common!knowledge!and!manners.!! Household!comforts!came!thick!and!fast,!bringing!with!them!new!problems!such!as! overJcrowding,!pollution,!and!inescapable!advertising.5!! ! For!many,!free!time!became!a!daunting!vacuum!to!fill,!and!cheap! entertainment!was!sought!after!nightly,!popularizing!the!new,!rowdy!,!and! extravagant,!showy!operas,!such!as!Offenbach’s.6!!Offenbach’s!numerous!operettas,! which!were!often!comical!and!sometimes!vulgar,!reflect!the!growing!demand!for! nightly!public!entertainment.!!With!the!rising!wealth!of!the!middle!class,!frivolous! hobbies!such!as!fashion,!bicycling,!and!gambling!became!popular.7!!However,!the! quest!for!diversions!also!resulted!in!destructive!tendencies!among!the!country’s! youth;!for!the!first!time!alcoholism!and!drug!addiction!were!recognized!as!major! problems.8!! ! Advances!in!communications!changed!the!nature!of!social!and!political!life.!! As!daily!newspapers!became!commonplace,!journalists!exploited!the!appeal!of! scandalous!stories.!!While!the!media!encouraged!popular!participation!in!politics,! their!emphasis!on!crime!and!slander!distorted!the!reputation!of!the!modern!world.9!! World!exhibitions!encouraged!cultural!and!scientific!exchange.!!The!1889!! exhibition!brought!Javanese!dancers!and!a!Cairo!street!scene!to!France,!and! occasioned!the!construction!of!the!Eiffel!tower,!a!monument!to!engineering!and! .10!! ! Politically,!conservative!republican!presidents!were!elected!in!the!French! Third!Republic!from!1870!through!1898.!!!Though!the!Catholic!Church!tended!to!ally! itself!with!the!dominant!republican!leaders,!it!could!not!halt!the!continuing! separation!between!church!and!state!authority.!!The!secularization!of!the!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 5!Ibid.,!5.! 6!Roger!Shattuck,!!The$Banquet$Years:$The$Origins$of$the$Avant4Garde$in$France$1885$ to$World$War$I$(New!York:!Books!for!Libraries,!1972),!8.!!! 7!Shattuck,!The$Banquet$Years,!12.! 8!Weber,!France:$Fin$de$Siècle,!5.!!! 9!Weber,!France:$Fin$de$Siècle,!27.! 10!Shattuck,!The$Banquet$Years,!18.!!!

! 4! ! government!had!repercussions!in!nearly!all!aspects!of!social!life,!resulting!in!new! freedoms!such!as!the!secularization!of!public!education!and!the!option!to!divorce! one’s!spouse.11!!France!was!torn!between!staunch,!conservative!political!factions,! who!called!for!reinstatement!of!the!monarchy,!and!radical!progressives,!who! demanded!anarchy.!!In!defiance!of!the!hierarchical!and!now!presumed!corrupt! government,!libertarian!theories!became!popular.!!In!1892!Paris!was!shocked!by!a! series!of!anarchist!bombings,!which!killed!several!government!officials.!!Many! citizens,!especially!students,!were!sympathetic!to!such!terrorist!acts,!and!tension! between!Parisian!police!and!students!led!to!gunfire!in!the!streets!of!Paris!on!several! occasions.12!!! ! The!combination!of!a!comparatively!indulgent!life,!strange!new!evidence!of! corruption,!anarchy,!and!standardization!created!a!sinister!feeling!of!decadence! throughout!the!country.!!Many!pessimists!believed!that!society!would!progress!and! degenerate!(for!artists,!an!irresistible!paradox)!into!something!nervous,!mediocre,! and!tortured!by!ennui.!!With!the!continuous!emergence!of!new!leisure!technologies,! progress!seemed!to!be!spiraling!out!of!control,!and!everything!from!sexuality!and! religion!to!art!appeared!to!have!fallen!into!a!fated!decay.!!!! ! The!artists!of!the!age!saw!their!society!standing!at!the!peak!of!a!civilization! that!would!soon!crumble!like!that!of!the!ancient!Romans.!!The!concept!of!decadence! became!a!type!of!leitmotif!for!French!artists,!particularly!writers,!who!seemed!to! find!the!gross!idea!of!a!wealthy!yet!degenerating!society!both!an!invigorating!break! from!standardized,!mediocre!materialism!and!proof!that!!reason!could!not! solve!all!of!mankind’s!problems.13!!!!! ! Literature!of!the!time!is!permeated!with!stories!of!the!bizarre,!the!perverse,! and!the!monstrous!in!works!of!authors!such!as!Stéphane!Mallarmé,!Charles! Baudelaire,!JorisJKarl!Huysmans,!and!Rachilde!(pseudonym!of!Marguerite!ValletteJ Eymery).!!Their!style!intentionally!shocked!their!readers,!consumed!as!it!was!with!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 11!Price,!A$Concise$History$of$France,!155,!197.!!! 12!Shattuck,!The$Banquet$Years,!20J21.!!! 13!A.!E.!Carter,!The$Idea$of$Decadence$in$French$Literature$183041900!(Toronto:! University!of!Toronto!Press,!1958),!vii.!!!

! 5! ! themes!such!as!paradox,!irony,!exoticism,!and!decay.14!Baudelaire’s!famous!Les$ Fleurs$du$mal,!a!paragon!of!the!decadent!movement,!described!the!heinous! debauches!of!drugged!characters!in!a!hothouse!of!monstrous!flowers,!all!in!poetic! prose.15!!Typical!decadent!painters!Gustave!Moreau,!Odilon!Redon,!and!Félicien! Rops!portrayed!their!subjects!darkly,!twisted!and!full!of!perverse!insinuations.!! Rops’s!works!in!particular!were!often!full!of!horrors!that!probably!would!not!have! even!been!imagined!sixty!years!earlier!(see!Figures!1J1,!1J2).!!!!! !

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Figure!1J1.!!Odilon!Redon,!Smiling$Spider$(1881).!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 14!Ellis!Hanson,!Decadence$and$Catholicism!!(Cambridge:!Harvard!University!Press,! 1997),!2.!! 15!Carter,!The$Idea$of$Decadence$in$French$Literature,!13.!!!

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! Figure!1J2.!!Felicién!Rops,!Untitled!Sketch.!!

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Wagner,!whose!music!dramas!were!riddled!with!shame,!paradox,!and!the!decline!of! the!gods,!was!considered!by!critics!and!authors!of!the!time!to!be!the!great!decadent! composer!for!his!convoluted!stories!and!unsettling!tendency!to!push!the!limits!of! tonality.!!These!morbid!and!apocalyptic!artistic!trends,!more!than!anything!else,! reinforced!the!myth!of!civilization’s!decay.!!!!!!!! ! The!Symbolist!art!movement,!overlapping!in!many!ways!with!the!decadent! aesthetic,!also!represented!a!pervasive!fin4de4siècle!aesthetic.!!Comprised!of!artists! who!were!often!also!considered!“decadent,”!it!focused!on!paradoxes!of!multiple! meaning,!ambiguity,!and!subjective!interpretation.16!!Symbolist!works!rejected! concrete!topics!and!showed!a!distinct!preference!for!artifice!over!nature!and! !over!the!logical.17!!Among!this!group,!too,!Wagner!was!considered!a! leader!because!of!the!layers!of!meaning!entwined!in!his!leitmotifs!and!his! philosophies!of!totality!and!unity.!!“La!Pyramide!Symboliste”!from!Charles!Morice’s! La$Littérature$de$tout$à$l’heure!(1889)!places!Wagner!at!the!center!of!a!web!of! Symbolist!artists!(see!Figure!1J3).18!! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 16!Patrick!McGuinness,!Symbolism,$Decadence$and$the$fin$de$siècle:$French$and$ European$Perspectives$(Exeter:!University!of!Exeter!Press,!2000),!2.!!! 17!Ibid.,!218.!!! 18!Ibid.,!4.!!!

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Figure!1J3.!!Morice’s!“Symboliste!pyramid,”!reproduced!from!McGuinness,! Symbolism,$Decadence$and$the$Fin$de$siècle.$! $

CRISIS$OF$FAITH!

! William!Lecky!summed!up!the!scientific!community’s!attitude!towards! religion!in!his!History$of$Rationalism$(1865),!writing!that!“superstitions!purchase! peace!at!the!expense!of!truth,!turn!away!from!the!path!of!knowledge,!and!are!fatal! obstacles!of!inquiry.”19!!As!a!new!age!of!scientists!applied!method!and!reason!to! myths,!ritual,!and!tradition,!the!teachings!of!the!Catholic!Church!were!discredited,!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 19!Webb,!The$Occult$Underground,!8.!!

! 8! ! making!traditional!religious!observances!seem!like!social!conventions.20!!From!the! midJnineteenth!century!on,!rationalism,!in!the!form!of!evolutionary!theory!and!later! the!invention!of!psychology,!dealt!several!crippling!blows.! ! Twenty!years!after!Darwin’s!Origin$of$Species$was!published!in!1859,!his! theory!of!evolution!was!common!knowledge!throughout!.21!!His!later! publication,!The$Descent$of$Man$(1871),!was!taken!seriously!in!the!academic! community;!it!clearly!connected!humans!to!apes!in!his!evolutionary!scheme,! explaining!inherited!traits,!variation,!behavior,!sexual!preferences,!and!language.22!! Such!blasphemous!theories!went!directly!against!Catholic!teachings!and!were!a! catalyst!for!a!battle!between!Catholics!and!evolutionists.!!In!1863!Ernest!Renan’s!Vie$ de$Jésus!applied!scientific!scrutiny!to!even!the!most!sacred!of!topics.23!!Renan! treated!the!Bible!as!he!would!any!other!historical!document!and!portrayed!! just!as!he!would!any!other!historical!figure.!!In!1890!the!budding!field!of!psychology! explored!the!relationship!between!behavior,!sexuality,!and!religion.!!William!James,! author!of!Principles$of$Psychology$(1892),!treated!religious!experiences!like!a! “microscope!of!the!mind,”!examining!faith!as!a!facet!of!human!nature.24!!! ! With!the!advent!of!anticlerical!governments!after!1877!the!state!no!longer! funded!the!costs!of!new!parishes!and!churches.!!The!Catholic!Church!was!forced!to! rely!on!corporations!and!wealthy!politicians!for!capital.25!!In!turn,!the!Church! sanctioned!industrialists!by!preaching!that!social!ambition!was!a!result!of!modern! times,!that!poverty!was!a!result!of!sin,!and!that!the!poor!should!be!content!with! their!lot.26!!Though!they!preached!the!value!of!poverty!to!the!poor,!the!clergy!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 20!Ibid.,!32.!!! 21!Jonathan!Howard,!Darwin:$A$Very$Short$Introduction!(Oxford:!Oxford!University! Press,!1982),!75.!!! 22!Ibid.,!84.!!! 23!Webb,!The$Occult$Underground,!8.!!! 24!William!Inge,!Christian$Mysticism:$Considered$in$Eight$Lectures$Delivered$before$the$ University$of$Oxford!(:!Methuen,!1948),!vii.!!! 25!Ralph!Gibson,!A$Social$History$of$French$Catholicism$178941914!(London:! Routledge,!1989),!202.!!! 26!Ibid.,!205.!!!

! 9! ! attempted!to!reassert!itself!in!France!by!building!more!elaborate!churches,27!a! strategy!which!only!made!them!appear!hypocritical.!!By!involving!itself!in!matters!of! state,!the!Church!associated!itself!with!the!apparently!corrupt!government.!!Radical! groups!within!the!clergy!such!as!the!Christian!Democracy!broke!away!to!become! Catholic!liberal!voices,!adding!to!the!turmoil.28!! ! In!response!to!a!society!that!appeared!to!take!more!interest!in!sexual! pleasure!and!vulgar!entertainment,!the!Church!overJemphasized!moral!behavior.!! Catholicism!became!less!about!love!and!faith!than!about!rules!and!punishment!for! moral!transgressions.29!!In!1864!Pope!Pius!IX!issued!the!oppressive!Syllabus$of$ Errors,!which!condemned!pantheism,!naturalism,!absolute!rationalism,! indifferentism,!lauditarianism,!communism,!socialism,!secret!societies,!biblical! societies,!and!liberal!clerical!societies.30!!!! ! The!layJpublic!of!France,!who!could!hardly!grasp!the!intricacies!of!most! scientific!theories,!found!themselves!faced!with!the!collapse!of!established!ideals,! mistrust!of!the!oppressive!orthodox!religion,!and!a!society!consumed!by! materialism.31!!The!French!(and!many!others!in!the!Western!world)!developed!an! acute!nostalgia!for!mystery!and!the!.!!They!abandoned!orthodox!forms! of!worship!and!began!to!appreciate!faith!for!the!sake!of!faith.32!!Catholicism!no! longer!applied!to!modern!life!or!progressive!tastes,!leaving!a!gaping!void!in!the! spiritual!lives!of!the!people.!!In!the!harsh!light!of!rationalism,!some!sought!to!unite! science!and!faith,!while!others!sought!shelter!in!arcane!beliefs.!!In!most!cases,! French!occult!beliefs!that!arose!during!this!tumultuous!period!were!very!similar$to! Catholicism.!!They!did!not!abandon!the!Catholic!God!but!reJinterpreted!the!bible!and! traditional!dogma,!shaping!orthodox!religion!to!fit!the!spiritual!void!left!by! rationalism.!! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 27!Webb,!The$Occult$Underground,!114.!!! 28!Gibson,!A$Social$History$of$French$Catholicism,!206.!!! 29!Ibid.,!203.!!! 30!Ibid.,!133.!! 31!Weber,!France:$Fin$de$Siècle,!32.!!! 32!Ibid.,!32.!!!

! 10! !

THE$IRRATIONAL$

! Occultists!saw!orthodox!religions!as!incomplete!and!criticized!science!for! accounting!for!humans!only!as!biological!organisms.!Occult!religions!tried!to!better! humanity!through!evolving$the!spirit!and!releasing!the!creative!imagination,!which! they!felt!“induced!knowledge.”33!!Viewing!materialism!as!corrupt,!spiritualists! strove!to!become!like!the!Catholic!God!themselves!by!expanding!their! consciousness.34!!The!individual!was!granted!the!power!to!learn!and!better!herself! or!himself,!and!thus!France!found!itself!teeming!with!spiritual!“masters”!and! “gurus.”35!!Followers!of!the!occult!responded!to!Darwin’s!theory!of!natural!selection! in!a!surprisingly!optimistic!way.!!Humans!may!have!descended!from!apes,!but!that! meant!that!they!could!continue!to!evolve.36!!And!in!reaction!to!science,!“if! radioscopy!works,!why!shouldn’t!crystal!balls?!!If!crystal!balls,!why!not!devil! worship?”37! ! As!Catholicism!was!suffering!from!a!crisis!under!scientific!scrutiny,!occultists! reached!for!mystical!spiritualism,!which!was!too!personal!and!obscure!to!be!proved! or!disproved.!!Many!sought!to!combine!faith!and!science!in!order!to!imbue!their! experiences!with!meaning!and!create!a!realistic,!interpretive!framework.38!!In!doing! so,!they!modernized!their!beliefs!and!found!them!to!be!rational,!proven,!and! trustworthy!(unlike!the!Catholic!Church).39! ! The!word!“occult”!literally!means!“hidden.”!!Along!with!the!concepts!of! evolution!and!selfJimprovement,!a!key!element!that!ties!all!occult!religions!together! is!the!idea!that!followers!belong!to!an!exclusive!group,!trusted!with!knowledge!that! has!been!sheltered!from!the!profane.40!!Researching!sources!from!the!Bibliothèque$ Nationale,$as!well!as!contemporary!archeological!finds,!occultists!revived!and! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 33!Ibid.,!513.!!! 34!Inge,!Christian$Mysticism,!229.!!! 35!Webb,!The$Occult$Underground,!93.!!! 36!Ibid.,!90.!!! 37!Weber,!France:$Fin$de$siècle,!35.!!! 38!John!Monroe,!Laboratories$of$Faith:$Mesmerism,$Spiritualism,$and$Occultism$in$ Modern$France!(London:!Cornell!University!Press,!2008),!4.!!! 39!Ibid.! 40!Webb,$The$Occult$Underground,!191.!!!

! 11! ! revered!ancient!and!eastern!religions,!most!of!which!were!still!unfamiliar!to!the! Western!world!and!had!yet!to!be!challenged!by!rationalism.!!To!many!occultists! ancient!times!seemed!like!the!golden!ages!of!spiritualism,!when!people!were! unfettered!by!modern!materialism.!!Decadent!author!Théophile!Gautier!wrote!of! ancient!times,! We!accept!civilization!as!it!is,!with!its!railroads!.!.!.!its!machines,!its! tube!chimneys!.!.!.!the!antique!world!can!be!balanced!by!a!new!world! altogether!radiant!with!steel!and!gas,!as!beautiful!in!its!activities!as! the!other!is!in!its!serene!reverie.41!! ! ! France,!like!much!of!Europe,!was!influenced!by!several!occult!groups!that! defined!the!general!flavor!of!modern!occultism.!!Madame!Helena!Blavatsky’s! Theosophical!Society,!formed!in!1875,!became!particularly!wellJknown!through!her! book!Isis$Unveiled,!which!promised!spiritual!evolution!through!ancient!Egyptian! knowledge!of!:! Many!are!those,!who!infected!by!the!mortal!epidemic!of!our!century!–! hopeless!materialism!–!will!remain!in!doubt!and!mortal!agony!as!to! whether,!when!man!dies,!he!will!live!again,!although!the!question!has! been!solved!by!longJgone!generations!of!sages.!!The!answers!are! these.!!They!may!be!found!on!the!timeJworn!granite!pages!of!caveJ temples,!on!sphynxes,!propylons!and!obelisks!.!.!.!except!the!initiates,! no!one!has!understood!the!mystic!writing.42!! !!!! !! One!Abbé!Boullan,!an!eccentric!Catholic!priest,!scandalized!Paris!with!his! group!the!Oeuvre!de!la!Réparation!des!âmes,!a!group!originally!approved!by!the! Bishop!of!Versailles.43!!Boullan!cured!“diabolical”!diseases!with!black!magic!and!the! help!of!nuns,!employing!sexual!rites!and!sacrifice.44!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 41!“Nous!acceptons!la!civilization!telle!qu’elle!est,!avec!ses!chemins!de!fer!.!.!.!ses! machines,!ses!tuyaux!de!cheminée!.!.!.!Le!monde!antique!peut!être!balancé!par!un! monde!nouveau!tout!resplendissant!d’acier!et!de!gaz,!aussi!beau!dans!son!activité! que!l’autre!dans!sa!rêverie!sereine.”!!Quoted!in!Carter,!The$Idea$of$Decadence$in$ French$Literature,$8.!! 42!Webb,!The$Occult$Underground,!83.!!! 43!Ibid.,!155.!! 44!Boullan!was!excommunicated!and!imprisoned!for!the!suspected!murder!of!a!child! he!had!conceived!with!a!nun,!sister!Adèle!Chevalier.!!After!being!defrocked!by!the! Church,!he!retired!to!Lyon,!where!he!tried!to!discover!the!elixir!of!life.!!After! Boullan’s!death!the!French!writer!Huysmans!accused!Stanislas!de!Guaïta!(an!

! 12! !

! Even!in!fashionable,!aristocratic!society!openJminded!scientists!formed! associations!to!study!paranormal!phenomena.!!Dedicatees!of!Mesmerism,!a!scientific! occult!pursuit,!considered!themselves!experts!in!the!study!of!the!human!brain!and! the!forces!exuded!by!its!magnetic!fluids.!!One!French!group!of!Mesmerists,!the! Société!philanthropicoJmagnétique!de!Paris,!devoted!much!of!their!lives!to!the!study! of!the!field!of!the!magnétisme$animal,!a!magnetic,!primal!fluid!supposedly!present!in! the!mind,!which!accounted!for!many!intricacies!of!human!nature.!!Their!commission$ d’enquête!gathered!regularly!for!séances!with!Paris’s!most!gifted!medium,!Madame! Honorine!Huet,!and!they!published!scientific!reports!on!their!findings.45!!!!!! !Connected!as!the!occult!was!to!the!intangible!and!internal,!it!is!no!surprise! that!it!attracted!famous!artists.!!Opposed!to!the!establishment,!occult!philosophies! lay!at!the!intersection!of!the!fin4deJsiécle’s!most!potent!art!movements.!!Romantic! intensity,!which!invested!each!action!with!oppressive!significance,!gave!way!to!the! new!occult!fantasy.46!!The!occult!world!was!a!surreal!form!of!inspiration!for!French! artists,!an!escape!from!reality!in!the!form!of!mysticism.!! !

SATIE,$THE$OCCULT,$AND$THE$AVANT4GARDE$!

! Erik!Satie,!born!in!1866,!was!raised!and!baptized!Catholic!in!the!city!of! Honfleur.!!As!a!child!Satie!learned!the!basics!of!music!from!Gustave!Vinot,!the!local! organist,!teacher,!and!composer.!!Vinot!had!recently!graduated!from!the!Swiss! Niedermeyer!school,!an!institute!devoted!to!restoring!church!music!to!its!former! glory.!!It!is!likely!that!through!Vinot,!Satie!would!have!been!exposed!to!chant,!as!well! as!to!the!works!of!Palestrina,!Bach,!and!Handel.47!!His!early!education!in!medieval! and!Renaissance!church!music!would!have!a!profound!effect!on!his!first! compositions,!and!he!would!remain!a!devout!Catholic!throughout!his!life.!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! associate!of!Joséphin!Péladan)!of!his!magical!murder.!!Webb,!The$Occult$ Underground,!156.! 45!Monroe,!Laboratories$of$Faith,!64J65.!!! 46!Webb,!The$Occult$Underground,!10.!!! 47!James!Harding,!Erik$Satie!(New!York:!Praeger,!1975),!12.!!!

! 13! !

! Satie!moved!to!Paris!with!his!father!at!age!twelve!and!entered!the!Paris! Conservatoire!soon!after.!!Though!he!felt!committed!to!a!career!as!a!composer,!he! despised!school,!and!his!weak!performance!there!led!his!teachers!to!describe!him!as! “the!laziest!student!at!the!Conservatoire.”48!!He!studied!at!the!school!for!five!years! only!to!reduce!his!military!obligation,!which!he!minimized!further!by!purposely! contracting!bronchitis.49!!After!leaving!the!military!in!1887,!Satie!returned!to!Paris! and!secured!his!first!job!as!a!pianist!in!the!famous!Chat!Noir$café,!the!heart!of! Parisian!Bohemia.!! ! The!café,!decorated!with!an!eccentric!mashJup!of!posh,!courtly!furniture,!was! considered!“humorously!grotesque”!by!its!patrons.50!!Guests!were!entertained!with! witty!or!enigmatic!solo!or!group!performances!of!shadow!puppet!theater,! recitations!of!Symbolist!poetry,!or!music!recitals,!usually!incorporating!political!or! social!.51!!French!cafés!had!come!to!be!places!for!sharing!and!integrating!art,! replacing!the!more!reserved!and!aristocratic!salons!of!the!first!half!of!the!century!in! significance.!!The!distinctive!atmosphere!of!the!Chat!Noir!in!particular!became!a! symbol!of!the!new!avantJgarde!and!popular!culture.52!!At!the!café!Satie!found!an! attentive!audience!for!his!selfJdescribed!mysticJliturgical!music,!and!he!was!able!to! immerse!himself!fully!in!a!subculture!that!catered!to!his!outlandish!tastes.!!The! atmosphere!had!a!profound!effect!on!him,!and!Satie!fully!embraced!the!Bohemian,! artistic!lifestyle,!despite!the!povertyJstricken!future!it!entailed.53!! ! As!Satie!established!his!extravagant!personality,!he!opened!his!mind!to!the! multitude!of!newly!thriving!occult!philosophies!that!suffused!the!French!cafés,! bookstores,!and!salons!of!his!time.!!When!his!close!friend!Debussy!returned!from!his! trip!to!Rome!in!1887,!the!two!became!regulars!at!the!Librairie!d’Art!Indépendant,54! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 48!Mary!Davis,!Erik$Satie$(London:!Reaktion,!2007),!22.!!! 49!Ibid.,!25.!!Satie!claimed!he!got!sick!by!sitting!outside!all!night!in!the!cold,!though! bronchitis!is!caused!by!a!virus.!!! 50!Armond!Fields,!Le$Chat$Noir:$A$Montmarte$$and$Its$Artists$in$Turn4of4the$ Century$Paris!(Santa!Barbara:!Santa!Barbara!Museum!of!Art,!1993),!12.!!! 51!Ibid.,!14.!!! 52!Ibid.,!20.!!! 53!Davis,$Erik$Satie,!32J33.!!! 54!Ibid.,!38.!!!

! 14! ! a!bookshop!run!by!Edmond!Bailly,!who!was!also!an!active!publisher!of!esoteric!and! occult!literature.!!The!establishment!was!patronized!by!mystics,!especially!those! from!Bailly’s!own!circles,!such!as!the!members!of!the!Hermeneutic!Order!of!the! Golden!Dawn!and!the!Cult!of!Isis.!!Like!most!French!occultists!of!the!time,!Bailly!and! his!associates!believed!in!both!the!superior!wisdom!of!the!ancient!east!and!the! power!of!modern!science!to!revolutionize!human!consciousness.55!!As!a!musician! and!writer,!Bailly!had!no!difficulty!connecting!his!two!interests.!!He!wrote! prolifically!on!numerical!musical!correspondences!in!nature,!specifically!musical! reflections!of!Bode’s!law.56!!!He!believed!that!by!incorporating!Pythagorean!theory,! modern!music!would!evolve!and!surpass!the!music!of!the!ancients:57!! It!is!the!law!of!analogies,!of!correspondences;!it!is!the!universal!serial! system,!of!which!nature!furnishes!us!examples!at!every!turn,!from! which!one!must!demand!the!key!to!all!things.58! ! Satie!and!Debussy!were!both!undoubtedly!influenced!by!Bailly’s!theories!of! musical!correspondences!in!nature,!and!the!Golden!Section!appears!in!their! early!compositions.59!!! ! From!1892!to!about!1895!Satie!began!working!closely!with!writer!Jules!Bois,! whom!he!likely!met!in!Bailly’s!bookshop.60!!Bois!was!the!head!of!the!Parisian!Cult!of!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 55!Joscelyn!Godwin,!Music$and$the$Occult:$French$Musical$Philosophies$175041950$$ (Rochester,!New!York:!University!of!Rochester!Press,!1995),!151.!!!!! 56!Bode’s!law!is!a!mathematical!equation!that!predicts!the!spacing!of!planets!in!the! solar!system.!!Much!of!Bode’s!law!corresponds!to!the!Fibonnaci!series.!!! 57!Godwin,!Music$and$the$Occult,!151.!!! 58!Ibid.,!154J155.!!! 59!Satie’s!Trois$Gymnopédies$correspond!to!Golden!section!analysis,!since!the! measures!of!all!three!movements!totals!203,!and!first!piece!has!78,!the!short!Golden! Section!of!203.!!This!proportion!could!have!only!been!produced!when!Satie! composed!the!final!Gymnopédie$(no.!2)!in!1895,!though!nos.!1!and!3!were!composed! in!1888.!!Though!her!Golden!section!calculations!for!the!Gymnopédies$are!the!most! straightforward!of!her!article,!Adams!seems!to!doubt!that!Satie!could!have!applied! Golden!Section!so!early!in!his!career,!and!she!suggests!that!he!may!have!done!so! instinctively.!!I!disagree;!it!is!difficult!to!imagine!that!Bailly’s!musicJmathematical! publications!on!Bode’s!law!could!have!failed!to!influence!Satie,!considering!his! interest!in!numerology!and!the!appearance!of!Golden!Section!in!his!works!as!early! as!1991,!as!will!be!demonstrated!later!in!the!present!study.!!!!! 60!Godwin,!Music$and$the$Occult,!172.!!!

! 15! !

Isis,!another!pseudoJCatholic!and!EgyptianJinfluenced!religion.!!The!cult!replaced! the!Holy!Ghost!of!the!Christian!trinity!with!the!Egyptian!goddess!Isis.!!For!Bois’s! play!Les$noces$du$Satan!(1890)!Satie!wrote!incidental!music,!for!which!only!the! Prélude$pour$la$porte$héroïque$du$ciel!(1992)!survives.61!!! ! It!was!in!Bois’s!journal!Le$Coeur!(the!title!a!reference!to!the!Egyptian!goddess! Isis),!that!Satie!announced!in!1893!the!formation!of!his!own!religious!artistic!cult,! the!Eglise!Métropolitaine!d’Art!de!Jesus!Conducteur,!of!which!he!was!the!only! member.62!! We!live!in!a!troubled!hour,!when!Western!society,!daughter!of!the! Apostolic!Roman!Catholic!Church,!is!overcast!by!the!shades!of! ungodliness,!a!thousand!times!more!barbarous!than!in!Pagan!times,! and!seems!about!to!perish!.!.!.!We!shall!make!a!refuge!where!the! Catholic!faith!and!the!Arts,!which!are!indissolubly!bound!to!it,!shall! grow!and!prosper.63!!!! !!! Satie!mostly!used!his!position!as!bishop!of!his!own!Church!to!condemn!and! excommunicate!those!who!criticized!his!work!(despite!the!fact!that!the!critics!were! not!members!of!his!church).64!!He!genuinely!adhered!to!the!fin4de4siècle!subjective! view!of!religion,!however,!which!produced!spiritual!and!personal!art.!!Two!major! works!came!out!of!this!period!of!his!life,!the!Messe$des$pauvres,!his!most!ambitious! work!to!that!point,!and!Uspud,!his!Christian!ballet.!!!!!!!!!! ! Satie!came!to!the!Rose+Croix!Catholique!through!Joséphin!Péladan,!whom!he! met!in!1890!at!the!Auberge!du!Clou!cabaret,!while!Satie!was!working!there!as!a! pianist.65!!The!full!extent!of!their!early!relationship!remains!a!mystery,!though!Satie! had!apparently!been!familiar!with!Péladan’s!work!before!meeting!him,!having!read! Péladan’s!Le$Vice$suprême$from$the!twentyJvolume!Décadence$latine$series!while! recovering!from!(his!selfJinduced)!bronchitis!several!years!earlier.66!!Both!men! shared!a!fascination!with!gothic!style,!ancient!and!medieval!history,!and!the!Mother! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 61!Ibid.,!52.!!!! 62!Davis,!Erik$Satie,!52.!!! 63!Erik!Satie,!A$Mammal’s$Notebook:$Collected$Writings$of$Erik$Satie,!ed.!Ornella!Volta! (London:!Atlas!Press,!1996),!97.!$ 64!Ibid.!!! 65!Ibid.,!40.!!! 66!Harding,!Erik$Satie,!23.!!!

! 16! !

Church.67!!Their!meeting!in!1890!was!particularly!auspicious!for!Satie,!since!Péladan! had!just!crowned!himself!Sâr!of!his!own,!fairly!influential!religiousJartistic!cult.!!! Satie!quickly!found!himself!with!the!weighty!title!of!Musician$du$Tiers$Ordre$ Esthétique$de$la$Rose+Croix$catholique$du$Temple$et$du$Graal.68!!While!he!was! genuinely!affected!by!Rose+Croix!beliefs,!his!acceptance!of!a!position!in!the!cult!was! also!a!pragmatic!career!move!that!resulted!in!the!first!major!performances!of!his! works!and!the!publication!of!his!Trois$Sonneries!with!paintings!by!Puvis!de! Chavannes.!! ! Though!Satie!was!engaged!in!several!occult!ventures!during!his!early!years,! he!was!most!active!while!he!was!the!official!Rose+Croix!composer.!!The!cult’s!main! purpose!was!to!host!salons!promoting!Symbolist!works!that!corresponded!to!the! Sâr’s!extensive!artistic!theories.!!The!salons,!which!combined!concerts,!paintings,! and!lectures,!catered!to!the!public’s!taste!for!the!occult!and!could!draw!a!crowd!of! up!to!15,000!viewers!a!day.69!!As!the!representative!composer!of!the!Order,!Satie! had!the!responsibility!of!creating!music!that!would!“impart!the!noble!ideals!of!the! Sâr!during!a!soirée!to!join/recognize!the!Rose+Croix!almost!without!noticing!it”70!! He!wrote!four!works!for!the!order!during!his!two!years!with!them:!Les$Fils$des$ étoiles$and!Salut$drapeau,!both!in!1891,!for!Péladan’s!plays!Les$Fils$des$étoiles$and!Le$ Prince$du$Byzance,$respectively.!!The!Première$Pensée$Rose+Croix,$(1891),!and!Trois$ Sonneries!du$Rose+Croix$(1892)!were!written!as!functional,!processional!music!for! the!salons.71!!!! ! Satie!only!stayed!with!the!order!from!1890!to!1892,!but!his!music! contributed!to!the!order’s!“art!world”!of!shared!experiences,72!and!he!was!partially!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 67!Davis,!Erik$Satie,!47.!!! 68!Ornella!Volta,!L’Ymagier$d’Erik$Satie$(Paris:!Van!de!Velde,!1979),!29.!!! 69!Gabriel!Weisberg!and!Laurinda!S.!Dixon,!The$Documented$Image:$Visions$in$Art$ History!(Syracuse:!Syracuse!University!Press,!1987),!166.!!! 70!“Partager!les!nobles!idéaux!du!Sár!pendant!une!soirée!pour!retrouver!Rose+croix! Presque!sans!s’en!apercevoir.”!!Volta,!L’Ymagier$d’Erik$Satie,!29.! 71!Volta,!L’Ymagier$d’Erik$Satie,!29.!!! 72!An!“art!world,”!as!described!by!Howard!Becker,!is!a!network!of!cooperative! patrons!and!distributors,!as!well!as!a!web!of!influential!art!mediums,!that!make!it! possible!for!an!artist!to!create!and!circulate!art.!!A!study!of!art!worlds!is!incidental!

! 17! ! responsible!for!designing!the!order’s!mystical!identity.!!Conversely,!he!shaped!his! music!according!to!the!Sâr’s!theories,!which!included!the!avantJgarde!taste!for! decadence!and!Symbolism!alongside!esoteric!Rosicrucian!philosophies!of!dualism! and!androgyny.!!! ! The!works!of!Debussy,!d’Indy,!Fauré,!and!Dukas!represented!the!budding! French!avantJgarde!music!of!the!1880s!and!90s.!!Their!musical!style!developed!from! the!rebellious!fin4deJsiècle!musical!aesthetic!developed!from!the!nonconformist! inclinations!of!the!late!Romantic!movement.73!!Their!music!did!not!escape!the! ubiquitous!influence!of!French!Symbolism,!which!especially!impacted!the!works!of! Debussy!and!d’Indy.!!Both!composers!took!the!step!of!integrating!literary!and! artistic!content!into!their!music!during!the!1880s!and!early!90s,!when!they!attended! Mallarmé’s!weekly!Symbolist!salons.74!!The!step!from!Symbolist!literature!to! Symbolist!music!was!a!natural!one,!but!not!a!simple!one.!!Though!music!is!free!of!the! semantics!of!language,!the!Symbolist!composers!determined!that!“colorful”!music! can!suggest!natural!experiences,!which!are!interpreted!through!memories!and! associations.75!!According!to!Debussy,!“music!is!not!confined!to!reproducing,!more! or!less!exactly,!nature,!but!the!mysterious!correspondences!which!link!Nature!with! Imagination.”76!!The!sentiment!that!Debussy!shared!with!the!Symbolists!was!that! images!and!sensations!cannot!be!exactly!reproduced!but!are!subjective!for!the! listener.77!!! ! Nationalism!was!an!important!factor!in!the!creation!of!an!avantJgarde! musical!style.!!Though!Wagner’s!philosophies!were!highly!regarded!by!artists!of!the! time,!particularly!by!the!Symbolists,!antiJGerman!sentiments!left!over!from!the!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! to!this!thesis,!but!I!use!the!term!several!times!in!this!study!to!describe!the!world! that!is!created!by!the!Rose+Croix’s!activites!collecting!art!and!funding!artists.!! Howard!Becker,!Art$Worlds$(Berkeley:!University!of!California!Press,!1982).!!! 73!Shattuck,!The$Banquet$Years,!24.!!! 74!Roger!Nichols,!The$Life$of$Debussy!(Cambridge:!Cambridge!University!Press,! 1998),!68.!!! 75!Stefan!Jarocinsky,!Debussy:$Impressionism$and$Symbolism!(London:!Eulenburg! Books,!1976),!vii.!!! 76!Ibid.,!96.!!! 77!Ibid.!

! 18! !

FrancoJPrussian!war!of!1870J71,!and!Fétis’!disparaging!remarks!about!Wagner!in! the!Gazette$from!the!1850s!on,!led!composers!like!Satie!and!Debussy!to!break!away! from!the!predominantly!German!canon!of!composers!and!strive!to!establish!a! distinctly!French!style.78!! ! Satie’s!early!pieces!of!the!1880s,!though!deceptively!simple,!contain!the! conceptual!seeds!of!the!avantJgarde!aesthetic!just!as!it!was!beginning!to!take!shape.! Satie’s!four!$(“ogives”!being!the!technical!term!for!the!pointed!arches!of!gothic! architecture)79!imitate!medieval!chant!with!a!modern!twist.!!The!basic!theme!of! each!movement!is!first!presented!with!open!octaves,!similar!to!chant!intonation!by!a! soloist,!which!is!then!followed!by!the!“choir”!in!a!chordal!texture.80!The!mysterious! and!ancient!mood!of!the!piece!is!further!derived!from!his!use!of!the!Greek!chromatic! modes!and!“impressionist!sonorities,”!chains!of!unresolved!seventh!and!ninth! chords.81!!In!Satie’s!next!major!piece,!Trois$,!he!continued!his! experiments!with!historical!references!and!experimental!modality,!producing! another!characteristic!“atmosphere!piece.”82!!Sarabandes$owes!much!of!its! atmosphere!to!the!Symbolist!and!apocalyptic!poem!La$Perdition,!handwritten!on!the! manuscript!by!poet!Contamine!de!Latour:!!! Suddenly!all!was!revealed!and!the!damned!fell! Shrieking!and!jostling!in!a!whirl!as!they!were!thrown;!! And!when!in!starless!night!they!found!themselves!alone! They!thought!each!other!black,!so!began!to!blaspheme.83! ! ! In!a!time!rife!with!spiritual!crisis!and!antiJestablishment!sentiments,!the! openJminded!decadent!and!Symbolist!composers,!writers,!and!painters!who!made! up!the!fin4de4siècle$avantJgarde!gathered!around!cults!for!support!and!inspiration.!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 78!Katharine!Ellis,!Music$Criticism$in$Nineteenth4Century$France:$La$Revue$et$Gazette$ musicale$de$Paris,$1834480$(Cambridge:!Cambridge!University!Press,!1995),!210J 216.! 79!Davis,!Erik$Satie,!24.!!! 80!Ibid.,!25.!!! 81!Patrick!Gowers,!“Satie’s!Rose!Croix!Music!(1891J1895)”!Proceedings$of$the$Royal$ Musical$Association$92!91965J1966),!23.!!Gowers!explains!that!the!term! “impressionist”!applied!to!Satie’s!harmonies!is!common,!but!vague!and!misleading.!!! 82!Davis,!Erik$Satie,!26.!!! 83!Ibid.,!25J26.!!!

! 19! !

Artists!and!occultists!found!solidarity!in!their!common!antiJestablishment! sentiments.!!In!turn,!many!of!the!cults!idolized!art!as!a!mediator!between!man!and! God,!and!the!Rose+Croix!was!possibly!the!most!fervent,!and!certainly!the!bestJ known!of!the!artJworshippers.!! (

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! 20! !

CHAPTER(II:((L’ART1DIEU(

! In!many!ways,!Satie’s!experiences!with!the!Rose+Croix!adherents!and!their! artistic!beliefs!were!a!catalyst!for!occult!musical!concepts!in!which!Satie!had!already! shown!an!interest,!such!as!numerology,!antiquity,!and!mysticism.!!Josèphin!Péladan,! the!leader!of!the!order,!with!whom!Satie!had!a!personal!relationship,!was!a!prolific! author!on!the!topic!of!art!and!music,!and!he!exercised!considerably!more!influence! on!the!avantJgarde!art!world!than!Satie’s!biographers!have!realized.!!Péladan’s!work! gave!Satie’s!compositions!a!complex!theoretical!foundation!that!the!present!chapter! will!explore.!! !

ROSICRUCIANISM!

! Inspired!by!seventeenthJcentury!literature!from!public!libraries!and!archives! in!Paris,!the!Rose+Croix!Catholique!claimed!to!have!learned!arcane!knowledge!from! the!medieval!order!of!the!Rosicrucians.84!!Due!to!the!“secret”!nature!of!the!cult’s! teachings,!however,!centuries!of!doctrines!by!anonymous!writers!who!claimed!to!be! members!of!the!cult!have!obscured!the!details!of!the!religion.!!In!fact,!there!may! have!been!no!such!medieval!religion!at!all;!many!modern!scholars!consider!the! founding!father!of!Rosicrucianism,!Christian!Rosencreutz,!to!have!been!only!an! allegorical!prophet.!!Nevertheless,!throughout!the!centuries,!believers!in!the!religion! have!maintained!an!established!cosmoJconception!and!a!common!purpose:!to!seek! out!truth!and!become!like!God.!! ! Christian!Rosenkruetz!was!reportedly!born!to!a!German!noble!family!in!the! fourteenth!century.!!He!was!an!educated!man!and!a!devout!Catholic!who!traveled!to! Egypt!and!the!Middle!East!to!unearth!the!ancient!secrets!of!,!with!which!he! hoped!to!reform!the!“Latin!races.”85!!Rosencreutz!discovered!that!all!physical! substance!was!made!of!a!“virgin!matter”!that!could!be!manipulated!through!the! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 84!Laurinda!S.!Dixon,!!“Art!and!Music!at!the!Salons!de!la!Rose+Croix,!1892J1897,”!in! The$Documented$Image!(Syracuse,!New!York:!Syracuse!University!Press,!1987),!166.! 85!F.R.!Wittemans,!A$New$&$Authentic$History$of$the$Rosicrucians!(London:!Rider,! 1938),!17.!

! 21! ! science!of!alchemy.86!!His!followers!became!conscious!of!all!the!secrets!of!the! physical!world,!giving!them!the!key!to!everlasting!life,!as!well!as!the!power!to!heal! the!sick!and!turn!iron!into!gold.!!Having!mastered!the!science!of!the!physical!realm,! they!turned!to!theology!and!became!spiritual!alchemists!who!sought!to!abandon! their!physical!bodies!and!transform!themselves!into!supreme!and!GodJlike!beings.87!! They!vowed!to!keep!their!discoveries!secret!and!limit!themselves!to!one!hundred! members,!each!of!whom!would!initiate!a!replacement!before!his!death.88!!!! ! The!Order!and!its!founder!remained!unknown!until!the!publication!of!the! Fama$Fraternitais$Rosae$Crucis!in!the!seventeenth!century!by!an!anonymous! author.89!!Sparked!by!a!wave!of!anonymous!manifestos!written!by!supposed! members!of!the!order!who!sought!to!unite!“seekers!of!truth,”!eighteenthJcentury! central!Europe,!especially!Bohemia,!experienced!a!revival!of!interest!in!Rosicrucian! alchemy!of!the!soul.90!!NineteenthJ!and!twentiethJcentury!initiates!were!captivated! by!the!suggestion!of!spiritual!evolution,!likely!as!a!result!of!Darwin’s!recent!work!on! biological!evolution.!!! ! Because!of!the!decentralized!nature!of!the!religion,!there!is!no!single! authoritative!Rosicrucian!text,!though!Max!Heindel’s!work!The$Rosicrucian$Cosmo4 Conception!(1909)!is!the!most!detailed!compilation!of!Rosicrucian!knowledge!and! practices!from!the!turn!of!the!nineteenth!century.91!!According!to!modern! Rosicrucians,!the!universe!is!divided!into!seven!states!of!matter.!!Between!the! physical!world,!where!humans!reside,!and!the!world!of!God,!there!stretches!the! superJphysical!universe:!the!desire!world,!the!world!of!thought,!the!world!of!the!life!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 86!Ibid.,!20.! 87!Arkon!Daraul,!A$History$of$Secret$Societies!(New!York:!Citadel,!1962),!192J93.! 88!As!far!as!I!know,!women!were!not!accepted!into!the!original!Rosicrucian!Order.! 89!Wittemans,!A$New$&$Authentic$History$of$the$Rosicrucians,!33.!!! 90!Frances!Yates,!The$Rosicrucian$Enlightenment!(London:!Routledge!&!Kegan!Paul,! 1972),!xiii.!!! 91!Max!Heindel!published!The$Rosicrucian$Cosmo4Conception$after!travelling! throughout!Europe!in!the!last!quarter!of!the!nineteenth!century!and!studying!with! the!famous!German!Rosicrucian!Rudolph!Steiner.!!Max!Heindel,!The$Rosicrucian$ Cosmo4Conception:$Or$Mystic$Christianity,!19th!ed.!(Indiana:!W.B.!Conkey,!1944),!3.!

! 22! ! spirit,!the!world!of!divine!spirit,!and!the!world!of!virgin!spirits!(Figure!2J1).92!! According!to!Heindel,!the!vital!body,!also!known!as!the!spirit,!is!trapped!in!the! physical!body,!weighed!down!by!dense!matter.!!The!uninitiated!are!unable!to! perceive!or!control!their!vital!body’s!actions.!!Rosicrucian!initiates,!however,!strive! to!exercise!their!latent!clairvoyant!powers!through!meditation!and!are!edified! through!knowledge!of!the!true!nature!of!the!spirit!and!the!composition!of!the! cosmos.93!!A!Rosicrucian’s!mental!training!allows!one!to!see!into!the!superJphysical! world,!beyond!the!tangible!and!into!the!realm!of!thought,!where!only!concepts! exist.94!!Man,!like!the!universe,!is!also!divided.!!The!threefold!human!is!composed!of! the!mind,!body,!and!soul.95!!!

!

Figure!2J1.!!Rosicrucian!Cosmology.!!Reproduced!from!Max!Heindel’s!The$Rosicrucian$ Cosmo4Conception.!!! ! ! ! Modern!Rosicrucianism!gives!the!power!of!evolution!to!the!individual.!!A! man’s!salvation!is!not!determined!by!God’s!judgment!but!achieved!by!the!educated! initiate.!!Rosicrucians!believe!that!the!vital!body!could!be!reborn,!and!once!begun,!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 92!Max!Heindel,!The$Rosicrucian$Cosmo4Conception,!29.!!! 93!Ibid.,!24.!!! 94!Ibid.,!28.!!! 95!Ibid.,!95.!!!

! 23! ! the!process!of!attaining!godlike!status!could!take!several!lifetimes.!!A!clairvoyant!is! conscious!of!past!lives!and!is!able!to!reform!his!or!her!character!with!each! resurrection.96!! !!

PÉLADANISM$

! Joséphin!Péladan!(1858J1918)!came!from!a!wellJknown!and!educated!family! of!occultists.!!His!father!was!a!regular!contributor!in!the!Annales$du$surnaturel,!who! frequently!predicted!possible!dates!for!the!apocalypse,!and!his!brother!was!a! professor!of!the!Orient!and!a!student!of!alchemy.97!!!Joséphin!himself!was!an! established!art!critic!and!a!passionate!supporter!of!the!Symbolist!movement! throughout!the!1880s.!!In!the!midJ1880s!Péladan!and!his!colleague!Stanislas!de! Guaïta98!founded!the!Rose+Croix!Kabbalistic!brotherhood,!a!group!dedicated!to!the! pursuit!of!spiritual!evolution!and!to!studying!the!secrets!of!the!Kabbalah.!!They! combined!the!teachings!of!Rosicrucianism!with!Judaism,!Freemasonry,!and! Buddhism!to!create!a!school,!which!bestowed!baccalaureates,!licenses,!and! doctorates!on!students!of!the!occult.99!!Péladan,!however,!was!displeased!with!his! subordinate!position!as!a!mere!high!mage!on!the!supreme!council!of!the! brotherhood,!and!he!was!disturbed!by!Guaïta’s!stance!with!regard!to!Catholicism.!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 96!Ibid.,!112.!!Though!Heindel!is!accepting!of!female!Rosicrucian!practitioners,! Péladan!expresses!misogynistic!sentiments!in!his!writings!and!probably!not!as! accepting!of!women!clairvoyants.! 97!Joséphin’s!brother,!Adrien!Péladan,!died!from!drinking!one!of!his!own!magical! concoctions.!!Webb,!The$Occult$Underground,!168.!!! 98!The!writer!JorisJKarl!Huysmans!accused!Guaïta!of!magically!murdering!the!Abbé! Boullan!in!1889!(the!satanic!priest!described!in!the!previous!chapter).!!This!caused! both!Boullan’s!and!Guaïta’s!followers!(who!included!Péladan!at!the!time)!to!enter!a! magical!war.!!When!neither!side!was!affected!by!the!other’s!sorcery,!Huysmans!and! Guaïta!eventually!dueled!with!pistols,!but!once!again,!neither!was!injured.!Webb,! The$Occult$Underground,!156.!!!! 99!Christopher!McIntosh,!The$Rosicrucians:$The$History,$Mythology,$and$Rituals$of$an$ Esoteric$Order!(York!Beach:!Samuel!Weiser,!1998),!94.!

! 24! !

Whereas!Péladan!considered!the!Bible!to!be!the!highest!spiritual!authority,!Guaïta! regarded!Kabbalah’s!mysticism!and!symbolism!as!far!superior.100!!

!

Figure!2J2.!!Alexandre!Séon,!Portrait$of$Joséphin$Péladan!(1891).!!!

!

! With!financial!backing!from!art!collector!Antoine!de!la!Rochefocauld,!Péladan! created!his!own!Rosicrucian!cult,!the!Rose+Croix!Catholique,!which!he!described!as! being!“reunited!with!the!mother!church.”!!The!rift!between!the!two!leading! members!of!the!order!led!to!the!infamous!“war!of!the!roses,”!in!which!the!two!rival! Rosicrucian!factions!insulted!each!other!in!occult!periodicals!throughout!1890!and! made!claims!of!religious!superiority!and!independence.101!!“You!come!from!free! thinking!toward!faith,”!Péladan!wrote!to!Guaïta,!“I!leave!the!Vatican!towards!the! occult.”102!!Their!public!dispute!received!a!considerable!amount!of!attention!from! the!popular!press,!though!it!was!mostly!in!the!form!of!ridicule.!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 100!Robert!PincusJWitten,!Occult$Symbolism$in$France:$Joséphin$Péladan$and$the$ Salons$de$la$Rose+Croix!(New!York:!Garland,!1976),!70J77.!!! 101!PincusJWitten,!Occult$Symbolism$in$France,!78J81.!!The!Rose+Croix!Cabbalistique! accused!Péladan!of!being!a!“sidewalk!Assyrian.”!!! 102!Ibid.,!79.!

! 25! !

! Péladan!began!referring!to!himself!as!the!“Sâr”!of!the!Rose+Croix!Catholique,! using!a!title!given!to!Babylonian!kings.!!He!envisioned!a!far!more!ambitious!purpose! for!his!own!order!than!bestowing!occult!doctorates.!!He!considered!it!his!personal! task!to!reform!contemporary!aesthetics,!which!he!believed!had!succumbed!to! spiritual!degradation!and!moral!decay.!!The!“Latin!race,”!he!claimed,!was!doomed!to! fall!short!of!its!true!potential!if!it!did!not!accept!his!tenets!of!beauty.!! All!is!rotten,!all!is!finished,!decadence!cracks!and!makes!the!Latin! edifice!tremble!.!.!.!pitiful!moderns,!your!race!towards!annihilation!is! fatal;!you!fall!then!under!the!weight!of!your!unworthiness.103! ! The!Rose+Croix!Catholique!set!out!to!expose!the!world!to!true!spiritual!beauty! according!to!Péladan’s!theories,!which!incorporated!Rosicrucian!beliefs.!!The! group’s!main!purpose!became!the!organization!of!salons.!!This!religious!approach!to! art!made!art!itself!a!religion.104!!Péladan’s!Doctrine$de$l’Ordre$et$du$Salon$Annuel$des$ Rose+Croix!bestows!spectacular!spiritual!authority!upon!the!artist:!! ! Artist,!you!are!priest!.!.!.!Artist,!you!are!king:!Art!is!the!true!empire;! when!your!hand!draws!a!perfect!line,!the!cherubs!themselves!descend! and!take!pleasure!in!it!as!if!in!a!mirror!.!.!.!almighty!ArtJGod,!I!adore! you!on!my!knees,!last!reflection!from!On!High!on!our!putrescence!.!.!.! Jesus!did!not!curse!this!world,!Jesus!receives!the!worship!of!Art.105!!! ! ! The!Rose+Croix!doctrine!maintained!the!concept!of!a!universe!subdivided! into!the!physical!and!metaphysical,!but!it!asserted!that!contemplation!of!art!was!the! vehicle!through!which!humans!could!reach!a!godlike!state.!!Artists!reside!in!the! conceptual!world!between!Man!and!God,!and!conceptual!art!has!the!potential!to! raise!its!audience!into!the!superJphysical;!the!soul!evolves!through!the!appreciation! of!the!ideal!aesthetic.106!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 103!“Tout!est!pourri,!tout!est!fini,!la!decadence!lézarde!et!fait!trembler!l’èdifice!latin!.!.! .!pitoyables!modernes,!votre!course!au!néant!est!fatale;!tombez!donc!sous!le!poids! de!votre!indignité.”!!Péladan,!L’Art$Idéaliste$&$Mystique:$Doctrine$de$L’Ordre$et$De$ Salon$Annuel$des$Rose+Croix,!19J20.!!!! 104!Dixon,!“Art!and!Music!at!the!Salons!de!la!Rose+Croix,!1892J1897,”!166.! 105!“Artiste,!tu!es!prêtre!.!.!.!artiste,!tu!es!roi:!L’Art!est!l’emire!veritable;!lorsque!ta! main!ècrit!une!ligne!parfait,!les!chèrubins!euxJmêmes!descendent!s’y!complaire! comme!dans!un!miroir!.!.!.!toutJpuissant!ArtJDieu,!je!t’adore!à!genoux,!dernier!reflet! d’En!Haut!sur!notre!putrescence!.!.!.!Jésus!n’a!pas!maudit!ce!monde,!Jésus!recoit! l’adoration!de!Art.”!!Péladan,!Doctrine$de$L’Ordre,!17J19.!!!!! 106!Péladan,!Doctrine$de$L’Ordre,!36.!

! 26! !

! Péladan!changed!the!Rosicrucian!notion!of!the!threeJfold!man!J!the!body,! soul!and!mind!J!into!the!three!“arts!of!personality,”!kaloprosopie,!diction,!and! elocution.107!!Kalosopropie,!Péladan’s!own!invention,!is!the!“relief!of!moral! character,”!or!the!clear!communication!of!religious!ideals!that!enlighten!the! initiated.108!!Diction!and!elocution!revive!rhetorical!concepts;!they!describe!the! cogent!disclosure!of!the!artist’s!will!and!the!projection!of!his!personality!as!if!in!the! form!of!a!speech.109!!!!!!!!! ! Péladan’s!Doctrine!of!the!Rose+Croix!described!his!seamless!connections! between!Rosicrucian!religion!and!avantJgarde!Symbolism.!!He!preached!that!the! individual,!subjective!nature!of!Symbolism!revealed!the!personality!of!the!soul,! allowing!the!spirit!to!enter!a!conceptual!world!exactly!like!that!of!the!superJphysical! world!of!Rosicrucianism.110!!The!Doctrine$villianized!realism!in!art,!naming!it!the! third!great!revolution!against!theocracy!after!“pantsJless”!Protestantism!and! socialism.111!!Whereas!symbolism,!fantasy,!and!allegory!appealed!to!the!mind!and! the!imagination,!realist!painters!presented!life!in!the!lowly!physical!world.!!Nature! was!not!considered!artistic,!because!its!messages!were!too!ambiguous!to!stir! emotion.!!The!ideal!art!would!be!mystical,!“a!work!made!of!unreality,!normally! produced.”112!!! ! Péladan’s!theories!in!L’Androgyne!(1890)!were!just!as!important!to!the! Order’s!aesthetic!as!those!of!Symbolism!in!the!quest!for!GodJlike!art.!!After!the! passing!of!the!ancient!world,!Péladan!was!convinced!that!centuries!of!art!and! literature!had!wrongfully!associated!beauty!with!the!feminine,!which!sexualized!art,!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 107!Ibid.,!54.!!! 108!Ibid.! 109!Ibid.,!84,!89.!!! Péladan!did!not!condone!female!artists,!and!he!wrote!at!the!end!of!his!“Rules!of!the! Salons!of!the!Rose+Croix,”!“P.S.!!According!to!magical!law,!no!woman!will!ever!be! exhibited!or!executed!by!the!Order.”!!PincusJWitten,!Occult$Symbolism$in$France,! 216.!!! 110!Dixon,!“Art!and!Music!at!the!Salons!de!la!Rose+Croix,!1892J1897,”!168.!!! 111!Péladan,!Doctrine$de$L’Ordre,!25.!!! 112!Ibid.,!39.!!!

! 27! ! making!it!a!symbol!of!instinct.113!!In!the!Rosicrucian!cosmology!instinct!resided!in! the!“desire!world,”!on!the!lowest!margin!of!the!world!of!thought,!practically!part!of! the!dense!physical!realm!and!suitable!only!for!animals.!!For!Péladan!and!many!other! nineteenthJcentury!Rosicrucians,!the!female!was!associated!with!the!flesh!that! constrained!the!male!spirit!and!prevented!him!from!joining!God!in!the!higher! worlds.!!Jean!Delville,!an!artist!who!was!exhibited!in!the!1892!Salon,!portrayed!this! struggle!in!Symbolisation$de$la$chair$et$l’esprit,$which!depicts!a!woman’s!body! holding!down!a!man’s!divine!spirit!(Figure!2J3).!!Though!spiritual!male!and!physical! female!are!antithetical!concepts,!according!to!Péladan!a!synthesis!of!the!two!sexes!is! man’s!true!and!morally!correct!form.114!!This!concept!played!a!major!part!in! Péladan’s!evolutionary!scheme.!!Just!as!man!and!woman!would!someday!be!again!in! their!original!unified!state,!so!would!Man!and!God!be!unified!as!the!next!stage!of! evolution.115!!

!

Figure!2J3.!!Jean!Delville.!!Symbolisation$de$la$chair$et$l’esprit$(1890).!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 113!Joséphin!Péladan,!De$L’Androgyne:$théorie$plastique!(Paris:!E.!Sansot,!1910),!13.! 114!Ibid.,!42.!!! 115!Ibid.,!25.!!!

! 28! !

! Péladan!drew!his!examples!of!the!plastic!synthesis!from!the!ancient!world! and!found!the!Ideal!in!the!ancient!Egyptian!monument!of!the!sphinx,!which!he!calls! “l’Androgynosphinx”!and!interprets!as!a!tribute!to!synthesis;!it!unites!the!masculine! lion!with!a!woman’s!head.116!!Equally!laudable!examples!were!to!be!found!in!Greek! sculpture.!!Unlike!contemporary!France,!which!viewed!the!body!in!sexual!terms,!the! Greeks!worshipped!the!body,!celebrating!both!its!feminine!grace!and!masculine! power!with!Olympic!festivals.117!!According!to!Péladan,!Greek!sculpture!existed!in!a! perpetual!sacred!state!and!created!a!canon!of!models!for!beauty!in!the!bodies!of! adolescents,!who!epitomize!the!miracle!of!androgyny!for!seven!years!of!their!life,! from!ages!thirteen!to!twenty:118!!! Statuary!has!but!one!theme,!the!human!body,!under!its!double!form!of! masculine!and!feminine.!!All!synthesis!is!a!ternary.!!What!then!is!the! plastic!result!of!man!and!woman?!!The!androgyne!.!.!.!I!propose!this! aesthetic!theory:!the!androgyne!is!the!plastic!ideal.”119!!!! ! !!

! ! Figure!2J4.!!Fernand!Khnopff,!L’Art$(Les$caresses,$Le$sphinx)!(1896).!!Shown!at!the!1897! Rose+Croix!Salon.! ! ! ! For!Péladan,!art!could!not!attain!perfection!without!a!synthesis!of!elements! that!exist!in!a!static,!meditative!state,!which!he!identifies!as!“plastic.”!!In!the!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 116!Ibid.,!20.!!! 117!Ibid.,!39.!!! 118!Ibid.,!52.!!! 119!PincusJWitten,!Occult$Symbolism$in$France,!44.!

! 29! ! hermaphroditic!condition!a!spirit!is!master!over!both!the!physical!world!of!the!flesh! and!the!conceptual!world!of!the!superJphysical.! ! Though!many!of!Péladan’s!theories!were!tropes!of!Symbolism!and! Rosicrucianism,!or!his!own!invention,!Satie!had!been!familiar!with!them!for!several! years!before!meeting!Péladan,!having!read!Le$Vice$suprème!in!1885.!!The!main! character!of!the!book!is!Mérodak,120!a!young!intellectual!magician,!tormented!by!the! decadence!of!modern!society,!who!must!overcome!his!human!desires!and!instincts.!! Mérodak!is!portrayed!as!an!outspoken!mystic,!a!superJhuman!who!overcomes! overwhelming!materialism!and!sexual!temptation.!!Conquering!his!natural!human! desires!enhances!his!magical!powers!and!intellectual!progress,!and!he!is!able!to!see! the!deteriorated!state!of!his!society,!unlike!the!others!around!him.121!!! ! Though!Péladan!was!not!a!musician!himself,!he!was!passionate!about!the! potential!of!music!to!unify!symbols!and!emotions!in!the!mind!and!enhance!the! experience!of!art:!!! [Music!is]!the!sonic!state!which!is!the!model!for!nervous!unification,! the!sensation!which!finds!its!essential!character!in!the!peripheral! faculty!.!.!.!from!the!point!of!view!of!the!occult,!music!is!the!aesthetic! kineticism,!ancient!electrification,!and!perhaps!the!artistic!form!of! pleasure.122!!! ! Because!movement!was!an!inherent!characteristic!of!music,!Péladan!considered! music!the!most!direct!and!immediate!experience!of!beauty;!the!other!arts!were! based!on!a!“once!found!expression.”123!!He!valued!the!intangible!quality!of!the! musical!symbol!and!its!ability!to!leave!the!listener!with!an!impression,!making!it!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 120!Mérodak!was!both!the!Assyrian!name!for!“king”!as!well!as!a!powerful!Babylonian! God.!!After!crowning!himself!Sâr,!Péladan!often!called!referred!to!himself!by!this! name.!!Webb,!The$Occult$Underground,!178.!!! 121!Ben!Fisher,!The$Pataphysician’s$Library:$An$Exploration$of$Alfred$Jarry’s$‘livres$ pairs’$(Liverpool:!Liverpool!University!Press,!2000),!174J177.!!! 122!“L’état!somnambulique!qui!est!le!modele!des!unifications!nerveuses,!la!sensation! retrouve!son!caractère!essential!de!faculté!périphérique!.!.!.!au!point!vue!occulte!la! musique!est!le!cynétisme!esthétique,!l’électrisation!antique!et!peutJêtre!la!forme! artistique!de!la!volupte.”!!Quoted!in!Péladan,!Doctrine$de$l’Ordre,$151,!154.!!! 123!“Sont!basés!sur!le!maintien!d’une!expression!une!fois!trouvée.”!Péladan,!Doctrine$ de$l’Ordre,!52.!!!

! 30! ! particularly!valuable!to!the!Rose+Croix!aesthetic.!!!Imaginative!music!appealed!both! to!the!emotions!and!to!the!mind,!whereas!as!“realist!music”!was!thoughtless:! Except!for!the!instrumental!timbres!of!which!some!are!nervously! associated!with!imaginative!categories,!such!as!the!English!horn,!the! oboe,!the!cymbals,!music!is!not!imitative.!!Compare!the!storm!of!the! Pastorale!with!the!storms!of!Berlioz:!!the!first!expresses!the!condition! of!the!heart!of!the!peasants!during!the!storm;!the!other!wants!to! express!the!storm!itself!.!.!.!all!imitation!of!natural!noise!is!an!error!in! music.!124!!!! ! ! Péladan!separated!music!into!three!categories.!!The!first,!music!“properly! speaking,”!included!the!chamber!works!of!Mozart,!Haydn,!and!Mendelssohn.!!The! second!was!emotional!music,!that!of!Chopin!and!Schumann,!and!the!late!sonatas!of! Beethoven.!!The!third!was!dramatic!music,!which!“contains!all!the!expressivity!of! the!poem.”125!!Other!than!Wagner,!Franck,!and!Satie,!Péladan!was!unimpressed!by! contemporary!composers,!preferring!more!formal!and!“ethical”!canonical! composers:!!! Humanity,!oh!citizens,!will!always!go!to!mass,!when!the!priest!will!be! Bach,!Beethoven,!Palestrina;!one!cannot!make!the!sublime!organist! atheist.126!! ! ! Péladan!was!horrified!at!the!state!of!modern!music!and!the!public’s!limited! appreciation!of!Wagner.!!He!identified!Jules!Massenet’s!Esclarmonde!as!the! quintessential!example!of!a!popular!piece!of!showy!and!ignorant!music.!!He!felt!that!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 124!“Sauf!les!timbres!instrumentaux!dont!quelquesJuns!sont!nerveusement!associés! avec!des!catégories!imaginatives,!telles!que!le!cor!anglais,!le!hautbois,!les!cymbales,! la!musique!n'est!pas!imitative.!!Comparez!l'orage!de!la!Pastorale!aux!orages!de! Berlioz:!le!premier!exprime!l'état!d'âme!des!paysans!pendant!l'orage;!l'autre!veut! exprimer!l'orage!même!.!.!.!toute!imitation!d'un!bruit!naturel!est!une!erreur!en! musique.”!Péladan,$Doctrine$de$l’Ordre,!159.!!!! 125!Ibid.,!154J55.!!! 126!L’humanité!ô!citoyens,!ira!toujours!à!la!messe,!quand!le!prètre!sera!Bach,! Beethoven,!Palestrina;!on!ne!peut!pas!athéiser!l’orgue!sublime.”!!Quoted!in!Péladan,! Doctrine$de$l’Ordre,!20.!!!

! 31! ! the!public!should!have!been!listening!to!Wagner’s!mystical!Lohengrin127!or!the! music!of!César!Franck.128!! ! Péladan’s!theory!of!synesthesia!was!also!a!major!part!of!his!ideal!aesthetic,! and!directly!involved!music!and!psychology.!!He!believed!that!the!written!and!visual! arts!fixed!images!in!the!mind,!whereas!music!created!a!distinct!impression!or! sensation.!!A!fusion!of!the!image!and!impression!were!necessary!for!a!complete! understanding!and!contemplation!of!the!messages!behind!creative!images.!!The! compound!arts!amalgamated!in!the!soul,!“sounding!the!keys!of!an!interior! clavier.”129!! ! More!than!any!other!artist’s!work,!Wagner’s!embodied!Péladan’s!ideal! aesthetic!and!was!the!“guiding!star”!of!the!Rose+Croix.130!!Both!Wagner!and!Péladan! shared!a!fascination!with!themes!such!as!the!union!of!the!arts,!ambiguity,!the! symbol,!male!superiority,!ancient!racial!pride,!the!lost!glorious!past,!religious!fervor,! social!reform,!and!glorification!of!the!artist!in!society.131!!Most!importantly,!both! Péladan!and!Wagner!shared!the!belief!that!music!was!a!universal!language!that! communicated!through!the!subconscious!mind.132!!!!! ! Péladan!admired!the!ambiguity!in!Wagner’s!extreme!chromaticism!and! vague!tonal!centers.!!Wagner’s!overlapping!leitmotifs!represented,!to!Péladan,! symbolic!prophecies!and!images,!and!all!his!dramatic!topics!were!tastefully! mystical.!!As!Wagner!himself!had!said,!“to!make!my!intentions!too!obvious!would! get!in!the!way!of!a!genuine!understanding.”133!!The!unity!and!synthesis!of!Wagner’s! theory!of!Gesamtkunstwerk!also!captured!Péladan’s!imagination;!in!1894,!he!wrote!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 127!Ibid.,!161.!!! 128!Péladan!dedicated!his!Doctrine$to!Franck,!and!referred!to!him!as!an!“archangel.”!! Péladan,!Doctrine,!20.!!! 129!Dixon,!“Art!and!Music!at!the!Salons!de!la!Rose+Croix,!1892J1897,”!168.!!! 130!Ibid,!176.!!! 131!Ibid.!!! 132!Ibid.!!! 133!Ibid.,!169.!!!

! 32! !

“this!century!!will!be!called!the!century!of!Wagner,!because!of!this!prodigious!man,! realizing!at!the!same!time!the!dramatic!art!and!the!musical!art,!doubly!creator.”134! !

SALONS$DE$LA$ROSE+CROIX$$

! The!Rose+Croix!Salons!ran!for!five!years,!from!1892!to!1897,!and!they!were! tremendously!significant!for!Parisian!avantJgarde!artists.135!!These!Salons!were!a! bastion!for!the!Symbolist!community;!they!drew!the!leading!artists!together!and! provided!a!testing!ground!for!upcoming!painters,!giving!the!movement! tangibility.136!!As!a!Parisian!attraction,!the!salon!was!also!surprisingly!popular.!!At! its!height!during!the!first!three!years!of!the!exhibition!the!Rose+Croix!drew!up!to! 15,000!viewers!a!day,!catering!to!the!public’s!newfound!curiosity!in!the!occult.137!!! ! The!Rose+Croix!salons!were!very!particular!regarding!which!topics!were! acceptable!for!exhibition!and!which!were!not.!!Prohibited!subjects!were!history,! military!scenes,!any!representations!of!contemporary!life,!landscapes,!portraits,138! humorous!topics,!merely!picturesque!orientalism,!domestic!or!sporting!animals,! flowers,!fruits,!and!accessories.139!!Welcome!subjects!were!allegorical!and!mystical! paintings!that!expressed!a!concept!and!also!created!an!impression,!paintings!that! were!“a!determinant!of!thoughts,”140!!!!! Catholic!dogma;!interpretations!of!oriental!theogonies!except!those!of! the!yellow!races;!allegory,!be!it!expressive!like!‘modesty!and!vanity,’! be!it!decorative!like!a!work!by!Puvis!de!Chavannes;!the!nude!made! sublime,!the!nude!in!the!style!of!Pimaticcio,!Coreggio,!or!the! expressive!head!in!the!manner!of!Leonardo!and!of!Michelangelo.141! !

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 134!“Ce!siècle!s’appellera!le!siècle!de!Wagner,!car!cet!homme!prodigieux,!réalisant!à! la!fois!et!l’art!dramatique!et!l’art!musical,!doublement!créateur!.!.!.”!Quoted!in! Péladan,!Doctrine$de$l’Ordre,!157.!!! 135!Webb,!The$Occult$Underground,!181.!!! 136!PincusJWitten,!Occult$Symbolism$in$France,!6.!!! 137!Dixon,!“Art!and!Music!at!the!Salons!de!la!Rose+Croix,!1892J1897,”!166.!!! 138!Portraits!of!the!Sâr!were!permitted!(see!Figure!2J2).!!! 139!PincusJWitten,!Occult$Symbolism$in$France,!211.!!! 140!Péladan,!Doctrine$de$l’Ordre,!38.!!! 141!PincusJWitten,$Occult$Symbolism$in$France,$212.!!!

! 33! !

! Satie!was!involved!with!the!Order!throughout!the!1892!Salon!year,!for!which! sixtyJnine!artists!were!chosen!to!exhibit,!the!most!famous!of!whom!were!“Marquis”! Marcellin!Desboutin,!Jean!Delville,!Fernand!Khnopff,!Antoine!de!la!Rochefoucauld,! and!Alexandre!Séon.142!!Though!Péladan!considered!Puvis!de!Chavannes!to!be!the! most!ideal!living!painter,!Chavannes!was!an!unwilling!exemplar!and!refused!to!have! his!paintings!shown!in!the!Salons.143!! ! The!Salons!included!musical!concerts!as!part!of!the!exhibitions!to!allow!the! complete!contemplation!of!images,!in!accordance!with!Péladan’s!theory!of! synesthesia.!!Music!was!indispensible!to!the!spiritual!contemplation!of!art!and! augmented!the!audience’s!sense!of!sight.!!Among!the!1892!soirées!selections! included!the!Pope!Marcellus!Mass!by!Palestrina,!exerpts!from!Wagner’s!Parsifal$and! Lohengrin,!and!several!movements!from!Satie’s!Les$Fils$des$etoiles!(Figure!2J5).144!! Other!composers!showcased!at!the!salons!were!Mendelssohn,!Beethoven,!Chopin,! Beethoven,!Mozart,!Bach,!Chopin,!and!Schumann.!!Vincent!D’Indy,!also!a!diehard! Wagnerite,!conducted!the!fifth!soirée!of!1892.!!The!concerts!at!three!of!the!five! soirees!of!1892!were!preceded!by!Satie’s!Trois$Sonneries$de$l’ordre!for!harp!and! trumpet,!as!was!the!Order’s!Mass!of!the!Holy!Spirit,!which!was!celebrated!at!the! Church!of!SainJGermain!d’Auxerrois.145!!The!Rose+Croix!acted!as!Satie’s!patron!and! printed!his!Trois$Sonneries!with!paintings!by!Chavannes.!! ! In!reaction!to!the!modern!material!world,!the!Roise+Croix!Catholique! founded!an!Idealist!refuge,!substantiated!by!Symbolist!art.!!Because!of!their! selectivity!and!high!profile!in!Paris!they!had!a!significant!impact!on!the!shape!of! avantJgarde!culture!and!the!strength!of!the!Symbolist!movement.!!Satie’s! participation!in!this!cult!of!ArtJworship!and!the!influence!it!had!on!the!music!that! came!out!of!his!Rose+Croix!collaborations!are!not!insignificant.!!As!the!Sâr! commanded,!his!music!communicated!Rose+Croix!morals!and!religious!worldview.!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 142!Ibid.,!218J22.!!! 143!Dixon,!“Art!and!Music!at!the!Salons!de!la!Rose+Croix,!1892J1897,”!166.!!! 144!Ibid.,!167.!!! 145!Joscelyn!Godwin,!Music$and$the$Occult:$French$Musical$Philosophies$175041950! (Rochester:!University!of!Rochester!Press,!1995),!170.!!!

! 34! !

Satie!imparted!Péladan’s!aesthetic,!attempting!to!lift!the!listener!into!the!conceptual! universe!of!symbols,!ambiguity,!and!fantasy.!!!! !

! 35! !

!

Figure!2J5.!!Concert!Advertisement,!Ordre$de$la$Rose+Croix$Catholique!(1892).!!Reproduced! from!Weisberg’s!The$Documented$Image.!!!

! 36! !

CHAPTER(III:(OCCULT(MUSIC!

SATIE’S$“ROSE+CROIX$PERIOD”$$

! Satie’s!works!from!1891!to!1895!are!connected!by!a!distinctive!style!that! began!with!his!compositions!for!the!Rose+Croix.!!Though!Satie!no!longer!associated! with!the!cult!after!1892,!Satie!scholars!such!as!Gowers!and!Gilmor!refer!to!these! years!as!the!“Rose+Croix!period.”146!!It!coincides!exactly!with!Satie’s!deepest!occult! involvements,!which!include!the!Rose+Croix,!the!Cult!of!Isis,!and!his!own!Église$ Métropolitain.$$Predictably,!Satie’s!compositions!from!this!time!are!nearly!all!based! on!religiousJoccult!subjects.!!To!avoid!confusion,!from!here!on!I!will!refer!to!Satie’s! works!from!1891!to!1895!as!his!“occult”!pieces!and!only!refer!to!works!directly! related!to!the!Rose+Croix!cult!as!“Rose+Croix!works.”!! ! Satie’s!occult!period!is!generally!characterized!by!contrasting!blocks!of! texture,!rhythmic!simplicity,!and!systematic!chord!progressions.147!!Slow,! homorhythmic!block!chords,!which!stand!in!stark!contrast!to!melodic!segments,!are! usually!harmonically!unrelated!and!challenge!a!listener’s!sense!of!tonality.!!The! chordal!sections!appear!most!often!in!“chains”!of!like!quality!or!inversion.!!This! period!shows!a!distinct!preference!for!chains!of!root!position!or!6/3!chords;!in! extreme!cases,!Satie!will!set!every!chord!in!a!piece!to!an!identical!inversion,!as!in! Salut$Drapaeau!!!The!pieces!also!demonstrate!a!penchant!for!seventh,!ninth,!sixth,! and!four!chords!(the!four!chords!appear!less!frequently!than!the!others).148!!! ! The!occult!works!demonstrate!a!preoccupation!with!unconventional,!yet! highly!organized!and!logical!forms.!!He!approached!his!compositions!with!a! preordained!plan,!usually!with!a!concern!for!symmetry!and!numerology.!Unlike!the!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 146!Some!scholars!such!as!Wilfrid!Mellers!and!William!Sasser!prefer!divisions!that! lump!together!all!of!Satie’s!early!works!up!to!1900.!!They!describe!these!works! vaguely!as!“mystical”!and!ignore!stylistic!divisions!in!his!work,!while!others,!such!as! Orledge,!divide!his!works!up!to!1895!into!three!sections.!!I!agree!with!Orledge.!! Robert!Orledge,!Satie$the$Composer,!158.! 147!Robert!Orledge,!Satie$the$Composer,!3.! 148!Patrick!Gowers,!“Satie’s!Rose!Croix!Music!(1891J1895),”!Proceedings$of$the$Royal$ Musical$Association$92$(1965J1966),!3J9.!

! 37! !

Gymnopédies$from!Satie’s!previous!period,!sections!are!typically!delineated!through! contrasting!textures.149!!These!pieces!also!display!a!distinctive!lack!of!development,! which!relates!them!to!his!“mosaic”!style!of!composition.!!!Gowers!terms!Satie’s! technique!“motific!construction”;!it!occurs!when!a!piece!is!composed!of!a!set! number!of!repeated!motives!of!different!lengths,!which!are!“patched”!together!in! blocks,!reappearing!at!different!pitch!levels,!slightly!varied!at!the!ends.!!!In!Prélude$ du$Nazaréen$(1892)!he!invented!punctuation!form.$$In!this!form,!a!punctuation!is!a! fourJbeat!cadential!formula!that!appears!along!with!motifs,!each!time!at!different! transposition!levels.150!!Satie!also!displays!a!numerological!sensitivity!in!these! works;!multiple!blocks!of!texture!will!often!have!the!same!number!of!beats,!as!in!the! Trois!Sonneries.!!After!a!twoJyear!compositional!silence,!1895!to!1897,!Pièces$froides$ (1897)!brought!a!major!stylistic!change!that!displayed!greater!rhythmic!and! textural!variation,!and!less!concern!for!logical!structures.151!! ! The!occult!pieces!are!unique!in!Satie’s!œuvre!for!the!distinctive!mystical!and! hypnotic!atmosphere!they!evoke.!!This!fantastic!character!derives!from!the!unusual! chords!and!floating!tonality,!which!is!grounded!by!abstract!logical!structures.!! Manipulation!of!time!is!a!major!factor!in!their!“hypnotic”!effect!on!the!listener.!! Slow,!repetitive!cycles!of!chords!with!little!variation!give!the!music!a!static!and! immobile!feeling.!!The!lack!of!development!and!climax!obscures!a!listener’s!sense!of! the!beginning,!middle,!and!end!of!the!piece.152!!Motion!in!these!works!is!not! directional!and!transformative!as!in!Romantic!pieces!but!is!perhaps!better! described!as!circular,!or!undulating.!! !

SATIE’S$EARLY$ROSE+CROIX$CONTRIBUTIONS$!

! As!Alan!Gillmor!suggested!in!his!biography!Erik$Satie,!an!untitled!work!from! January!of!1891!may!have!been!the!first!piece!Satie!wrote!for!the!Rose+Croix.!!The! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 149!This!technique!in!Satie’s!works!is!sometimes!referred!to!as!a!“cantor/choir”! distinction.!!Gowers,!“Satie’s!Rose!Croix!Music,”!2.!!! 150!Orledge,!Satie$the$Composer,!147J48! 151$Ibid.,$3.!!! 152!Ibid.,!143.!

! 38! ! piece!is!now!known!as!the!Première$Pensée$Rose+Croix,!though!the!title!was!invented! by!Robert!Caby,!who!edited!Satie’s!works!for!the!1968!Salabert!edition.!!Gillmor! suspects!the!Première$Pensée$is!actually!the!Marche$antique$pour$la$Rose+Croix! played!at!the!fourth!Rose+Croix!soirée!of!1892.!!An!advertisement!for!that!particular! concert!introduced!the!performer!as!Bihn!Grallon,!“our!chapelmaster.”!!Grallon,! however,!was!the!name!of!the!fictional!protagonist!of!Péladan’s!recent!book!Le$ Panthée$(1891),!the!tenth!volume!of!the!Vice$suprème$series.!!In!the!novel!Grallon!is! an!impoverished!and!eccentric!composer!who!struggles!against!a!corrupt!society.!! Gillmor!asserts!that!Péladan’s!character!is!based!on!Satie,!an!argument!corroborated! by!the!fact!that!Satie!wrote!a!short!melody!that!was!published!in!the!introduction!of! the!book!(see!Ex.!3J1).153!!!

!

Example!3J1.!!Leit4motiv$du$Panthée$(1891).!!Reproduced!from!Orledge’s!Satie$the$Composer.!!!

!!

! The!melody!stands!out!in!Satie’s!œuvre!as!one!of!his!few!monophonic! compositions,!but!it!is!more!interesting!for!its!description!as!the!novel’s!“leitJmotiv.”!! This!is!the!earliest!example!of!Péladan’s!use!of!Satie’s!music!in!an!interplay!of!the! arts,!which!would!come!to!be!a!hallmark!of!Satie’s!collaboration!with!the! Rose+Croix.!! ! The!Première$Pensée’s!distinctive!style!marks!a!break!with!his!works!of!the! late!1880s,!namely!the!Gymnopédies!(1888)$and!Gnossienes$(1889).!!In!the! Gnoissenes$the!melody!drives!the!movement!and!the!development!in!the!piece,!while! the!chords!are!clearly!subordinate!(see!Ex.!3J2).!!In!the!Première$Pensée,!however,! the!eighthJnote!chords!are!the!main!theme!(see!Ex.!3J3).!!These!chords!are! developed!through!slight!variations!and!transpositions,!but!the!listener’s!attention! is!focused!on!the!slow!progression,!emphasized!by!the!regular!rests!surrounding! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 153!Alan!Gillmor,!Erik$Satie!(New!York:!W.W.!Norton,!1988),!271.!!!

! 39! ! each!chord.!!The!relentless!and!hypnotic!repetition!of!the!piece!is!one!of!Satie’s!first! experiments!with!time!and!musical!stasis.!!!

!

Example!3J2.!!Gnossienne$no.!3!(1890)!

!

!

Example!3J3.!!Première$Pensée$Rose+Croix$(1891)!

!

FUNCTIONAL$MUSIC$!

! The!Trois$Sonneries$de$la$Rose+Croix!would!become!Satie’s!most!celebrated! works!among!the!order.!!They!were!the!first!pieces!played!at!the!premiere! Rose+Croix!Salon!in!1892!and!were!performed!at!nearly!every!other!soirée!that! year.!!Péladan!even!declared!them!the!sole!property!of!the!Order!and!ruled!that!they! were!not!to!be!played!outside!of!the!Rose+Croix!functions!without!his!express! permission.154!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 154!Ornella!Volta,!L’Ymagier$d’Erik$Satie$(Paris:!Van!de!Velde,!1979),!29.!!!

! 40! !

! The!three!movements!were!processionals,!to!be!played!as!various!members! of!the!order!entered!the!salon.!!We!can!infer!from!their!titles!and!dedications!that! the!majority!of!the!Order!entered!during!the!first!movement,!Air$de$l’Ordre,$that! Péladan!entered!to!the!second!movement,!Air$du$Grand$Maitre,!which!is!explicitly! dedicated!to!him,!and!that!the!Salon’s!primary!patron,!Antoine!de!La!Rochefoucauld! entered!to!the!last!movement,!Air$du$Grand$Prieur,!which!is!likewise!dedicated!to! him.!!! ! Stylistically,!these!works!continued!to!reflect!the!techniques!established!in! the!Première$Pensée.!!Motives!for!all!three!movements!are!derived!from!the!highest! notes!of!the!first!series!of!thirtyJsix!chords!in!root!position,!played!slowly!and! homorhythmically.!! ! The!presence!of!the!Golden!Section!in!the!Trois$Sonneries!has!been!a!subject! of!much!debate!among!Robert!Orledge,!Courtney!Adams,!and!Alan!Gillmor.!!A! composition!based!on!the!Golden!Section!is!one!that!is!divided!into!two!parts,!where! the!ratio!of!the!shorter!section!to!the!longer!section!is!equal!to!the!ratio!of!the!longer! part!to!the!whole,!!!!=! ! !.!!The!ratios!between!consecutive!numbers!in!the! ! !!! Fibonacci!series!(0,!1,!1,!2,!3,!5,!8,!13,!21,!34,!55,!89,!144,!etc.)!converge!on!the! Golden!Section,!approximately!.618.!!The!Golden!Section!appears!clearly!in!the!first! movement.!!In!the!first!part!of!the!piece!36!beats!of!familiar!style!chords!are! followed!by!36!beats!of!melody!based!on!those!chords,!and!the!pattern!is!repeated! once,!with!slight!embellishment!of!the!melody!the!second!time!around.!!36!x!4!=! 144,!which!is!the!thirteenth!term!of!the!Fibonacci!series.!!Next!are!two!statements!of! an!amalgamation!of!the!chordal!section!and!the!melodic!section,!the!first!statement! being!27!beats,!and!the!second,!26.!!This!section!is!analogous!to!a!development,!and! it!is!followed!by!a!recapitulation!of!the!melody!from!the!exposition,!lasting!36!beats.!! 27+26+36!=!89,!the!eleventh!term!in!the!Fibonacci!series,!making!the!ratio!between! the!a$and!b!parts!of!the!piece!89/144!=!.618055,!clearly!the!Golden!Section.!!This! first!movement!is!also!notable!as!one!of!the!few!pieces!in!Satie’s!œuvre!that!even! slightly!resembles!sonata!form;!the!four!opening!sections!of!36!are!analogous!to!an!

! 41! ! exposition,!the!marriage!of!textures!in!27!and!then!26!beats,!development,!and!the! final!36!beats!of!opening!material!is!similar!to!a!recapitulation.155!! ! Previous!scholars!have!also!applied!Golden!Section!Analysis!to!the!third! movement!of!Sonneries.!!The!sections!in!this!movement!consist!of!beat!groupings!in! the!pattern!34+34+37+34+34.!!!The!predominance!of!34,!the!tenth!number!in!the! Fibonnacci!series,!shows!Satie’s!attention!to!numerological!detail.!!The!section!of!37! is!more!difficult!to!account!for.!!Satie!never!wrote!pieces!with!all!sections!of!equal! length,!so!naturally,!he!would!not!have!used!only!34!throughout!the!entire!piece.!!It! may!be!significant!that!the!middle!section!differs!by!3,!the!import!of!which!will!be! discussed!shortly.! ! The!second!movement,!with!sections!49!+!49!+!49!+!56!+!49!+!49,!is!usually! dismissed!as!the!least!perfect!in!the!series,!since!its!proportions!are!nowhere!close! to!the!Golden!Section.156!!In!the!context!of!Rosicrucian!religion,!however,!the!work! takes!on!a!different!significance.!!As!discussed!in!the!previous!chapter,!the! Rosicrucian!universe!is!divided!into!seven!worlds,!making!the!number!7!a! particularly!auspicious!number!for!initiates.!!The!Rose+Croix!order!employed!the! symbolic!number!7,!carefully!maintaining!their!membership!at!63!initiates,!a! number!divisible!by!both!3!and!7.157!!In!light!of!this,!the!second!Sonnerie,!dedicated! to!the!leader!of!the!Order,!could!be!the!most!perfect!from!a!Rosicrucian!standpoint! since!it!is!composed!of!7!!and!56,!the!next!multiple!of!7.!!The!melody!from!the!first! movement!is!reused!again!in!the!second!and!third!movements,!but!here!it!appears! in!triplets.!!It!is!possible!that!Satie!also!intended!there!to!be!numerological! significance!in!the!predominance!of!the!number!3,!which!Rosicrucians!also! considered!sacred!and!representative!of!the!threefold!man:!mind,!body!and!spirit.!!It!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 155!Robert!Orledge,!Satie$the$Composer!(Cambridge:!University!of!Cambridge!Press,! 1990),!158.! 156!Gilmor!supposes!to!find!Golden!Section!in!the!second!movement!through!a! complicated!overlapping!of!the!“development”!section,!which!seems!dubious!to! Courtney!Adams,!Dr.!Douglass!Seaton,!and!myself.!!! 157!Robert!Orledge,!Satie$the$Composer!(Cambridge:!University!of!Cambridge!Press,! 1990),!158.!

! 42! ! may!not!be!a!coincidence!that!both!sacred!numbers!dominate!the!second! movement,!which!was!dedicated!to!the!leader!of!the!Order!(see!Ex.!3J4!and!3J5).!

!!!

Example!3J4.!!Melody!in!the!first!movement!of!Trois$Sonneries.!!

!

!

Example!3J5.!!Melody!in!triplets!in!the!second!movement!of!Trois$Sonneries.!!!

!!

! As!Laurinda!S.!Dixon!has!observed,!the!form!of!the!Sonneries!can!also! convincingly!be!interpreted!according!to!Rosicrucian!theories!of!dichotomy.!!Each! movement!begins!by!presenting!two!antithetical!textures,!the!block!chords!and!the! melody,!which!are!then!“married”!and!further!developed.158!!This!design!is! comparable!to!the!Rosicrucian!preoccupation!with!the!struggle!between!flesh!and! spirit.!!Dixon!associates!the!block!chords!with!the!male/spirit!and!the!melody!with! the!female/flesh,!believing!that!male!dominance!is!given!to!the!chords,!because!each! movement!does!not!end!on!a!melodic!melisma,!but!with!chords.!!While!I!agree!that! the!two!textures!can!reasonably!represent!the!spirit/flesh!dichotomy,!I!think!it!is!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 158!Laurinda!S.!Dixon,!“Art!and!Music!at!the!Salons!de!la!Rose+Croix,!1892J1897,”!in!! The$Documented$Image$(Syracuse,!New!York:!Syracuse!University!Press,!1987),!176.!!!

! 43! ! more!likely!that!the!chords,!which!are!always!marked!“accompaniment,”!are! subordinate!to!the!spiritual!melody!(see!Ex.!3J6).!!!! !

!

Example!3J6.!!Air$du$Grand$Maitre!(1892).!!The!marriage!of!contrasting!textures!in!the! second!movement!of!Trois$Sonneries.$ $

INCIDENTAL$MUSIC$!

! Péladan’s!plays!realize!his!artistic!doctrine!and!were!often!used!to!instruct! the!audience!in!Rose+Croix!beliefs.!!Both!Le$Prince$du$Byzance$and!Les$Fils$des$ étoiles,$however,$were!consistently!rejected!by!playhouses!for!their!disturbing! insinuations!and!eccentric!plots.!!Péladan!was!forced!to!produce!the!plays!himself!in! a!small!gallery!adjacent!to!the!Rose+Croix!salon.159!!! ! Le$Prince$du$Byzance,!the!first!work!by!Péladan!for!which!Satie!wrote! incidental!music,!espouses!the!Sâr’s!theories!of!androgyne.!!!The!story!follows!the! teenage!character!Tonio,!who,!despite!her!masculine!name,!is!the!daughter!of!the! late!king!of!Tarente!in!the!southern!Italian!region!of!Apulia.!!When!the!King!of! Tarente!died,!a!tyrant,!King!Ferdinand!of!Sicily,!sent!the!young!princess!to!a! monastery!to!be!raised!as!a!boy!in!the!hopes!that!one!day!Tonio!would!rule!Tarente! as!a!puppet!of!Sicily.!!When!Tonio!grows!to!be!a!young!teenager,!Ferdinand!sends! the!captain!of!his!army,!Cavalcanti,!to!retrieve!Tonio!and!restore!him/her!to!the! throne!under!Ferdinand’s!name.!!Upon!seeing!Prince!Tonio,!however,!Cavalcanti! falls!deeply!in!love.!!He!admires!Tonio’s!strength!and!grace,!describing!the!prince!as! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 159!Joséphin!Péladan,!Le$Prince$du$Byzance:$drame$Romanesque$in$cinq$actes$(Paris:! Chamuel,!1896),!138.!!!

! 44! ! an!androgynous!creature,!equal!to!an!angel.!!He!swears!to!serve!Tonio,!declaring! him/her!the!true!ruler!of!Tarente,!and!together!they!lead!Ferdinand’s!own!army!in!a! revolt!against!him.! ! The!only!surviving!music!Satie!wrote!for!the!play!is!Hymne$pour$Salut$ Drapeau!,!dating!from!November!of!1891.!!In!the!novel!Le$Panthée$(1891)!Péladan! announced!a!new!composition!by!Satie,!Prélude$du$Prince$du$Byzance,!but!the!work! either!was!never!written!or!has!been!lost.!!Satie’s!song!sets!a!text!from!act!2,!scene!9,! where!Cavalcanti!seizes!the!Tarente!flag!and!implores!Ferdinand’s!army!and!the! people!of!Apulia!to!join!Tonio!to!overthrow!the!despot;!! Cloak!all!of!the!sons,!mantle!all!of!the!fathers,!shroud!of!heroes,!dyed! with!color!from!the!veins!of!the!people,!hail,!flag!! ! Hail!!!Your!pole!is!the!great!mast!of!the!national!Argo,!your!pole!is!the! column!where!a!people!upholds!itself.!!It!is!dead!if!you!falter,!if!you! fall,!shamed.!!Hail,!flag!! ! Hail!!!Sail!risen!in!every!breast,!proud!standard,!spread!wing!of!the! trembling!crowds,!you!carry!in!your!flight!the!destiny!of!your!race,! generous!symbol!of!noble!Apulia.!!Hail,!flag!160! !

Satie!made!one!alteration!to!Péladan’s!text!in!his!setting,!changing!the!penultimate! line!from!“generous!symbol!of!noble!Apulia”!to!“generous!symbol!of!the!collective! ideal.”!!One!can!only!speculate!as!to!his!reasons,!though!since!the!reference!to!the! region!of!Apulia!(southern!Italy)!is!the!only!tangible!link!to!the!play!in!the!text,!it! could!indicate!that!Satie!intended!to!facilitate!performances!of!the!piece!out!of!its! original!context.!!Another!mystery!is!Satie’s!choice!of!text!within!the!play.!!While!the! monologue!he!chose!is!a!high!point!in!the!story,!it!is!not!as!important!as!Tonio’s!and! Cavalcanti’s!first!meeting!or!the!overthrow!of!the!wicked!King!Ferdinand,!scenes!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 160!“Lange!de!tous!les!fils,!manteau!de!tous!les!pères,!suaire!des!héros,!étoffe!teinte!à! la!veine!du!people,!salut!!Drapeau.!!Salut!!!Ta!hamper!est!le!grand!mât!de!l’Argo! national,!ta!hamper!est!la!colonne!où!un!peuple!s’appuie:!il!est!mort!si!tu!penches;!si! tu!tombes,!avili.!!Salut!drapeau!!!Salut!!!Voile!gonflée!par!toutes!les!poitrines,! orguilleux!labarum,!aile!éployée!des!foules!palpitantes,!tu!portes!dans!ton!vol!le! destin!d’une!race,!symbole!genereux!de!la!noble!Apulie.!!Salut!drapeau!”!!Joséphin! Péladan,!Le$Prince$du$Byzance,!54.!!!!!

! 45! ! that!also!have!selfJcontained!poetic!speeches,!several!of!which!would!be!more! conducive!to!musical!setting!than!Salut$Drapeau!!!Such!a!seemingly!random! selection!might!indicate!that!Satie!wrote!far!more!music!for!Byzance$than!exists! today.!!! ! Salut$Drapeau!!is!one!of!the!more!enigmatic!compositions!in!Satie’s!œuvre.!! The!piece!is!considerably!different!from!his!other!works;!it!lacks!a!coherent!melody,! and,!unlike!the!composer’s!numerous!popular!songs,!the!vocal!and!accompaniment! almost!seem!to!have!no!relation!at!all.!!It!is!only!connected!to!Satie’s!typical!style! with!the!inclusion!of!chains!of!identically!inverted!chords.!!In!this!case,!nearly!every! chord!in!the!piece!is!in!first!inversion,!though!instead!of!being!major!or!minor!like! the!Gymnopédies$or!Gnoissenes!they!are!predominately!diminished.!!The!unusual! tonality!is!a!result!of!Satie’s!experimentation!with!the!Greek!chromatic!genus,! which,!except!for!a!handful!of!notes,!is!observed!principally!by!the!vocal!line!(see!Ex.! 3J7).!!The!form!of!the!piece!is!also!unusual.!!Faced!with!stanzas!of!unequal!length,! Satie!struggled!to!fit!the!piece!with!a!logical!structure.!!He!repeated!the!same!44! beats!of!music!plus!a!short!introduction!and!ending!to!three!stanzas!of!text,!whose! phrases!rarely!correspond!with!the!repetitions!in!the!accompaniment!(see!Fig.!3J1).!! !

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Piano:((I1111111111A1111111111I1111111111A1111111111I1111111111A1111111111I1111111111A1111111111I(

Figure!3J1.!!Form!of!Salut$Drapeau!$

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SATIE'S ROSE CROIX MUSIC (189I-1895) 21 spread these two stanzas over three repeats of the music, unchanged apart from a contracted introduction (the third stanza begins with the words 'Voile gonflee' and the dotted double-barlines show where the music begins from the begin- ning again). His principles for setting the words appear to be that the second stanza should start in the right place, the third end in the right place, and the break between lines still always be two beats long. This not surprisingly produces an awkward gap between the second and third stanzas and some very curious phrasing. Also, since the lines of the different stanzas do not begin and end at the same points in the music, notes which broke the mode because they were between the lines of the first stanza are sometimes subsequently included in the vocal line (mdt, tu penches,labarum, vol, le, collectif). This odd little side-effect must make it virtually certain that Satie did not appreciate the problem of the later stanzas until he had set ! the first.

Ex. X SALUT DRAPEAU! Etrai du Princede Byzarc.du Sor Josphin Piladaa Calb et dot p

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Example!3J7.!!First!verse!of!Salut$Drapeau!!!Reproduced!from!Gowers!“Satie’s!Rose!Croix! Music!(1891J1895).”! !!

! Péladan’s!Les$Fils!des$étoiles$epitomizes!the!Rosicrucian!struggle!for!the!ideal.!! The!play!is!set!3500!years!B.C.E!in!Sirtella,!a!city!between!the!Tigris!and!the! Euphrates!in!the!country!of!Sumirs.161!The!main!character!is!Œlohil,!a!poetJ composer!who,!like!most!of!Péladan’s!characters,!overcomes!his!humanity!by! renouncing!instinctual!pleasures!and!struggling!to!understand!the!ideal!through!art.!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 161!Joséphin!Péladan,!Les$Fils$des$étoiles:$pastorale$Kaldéenne$en$trois$actes$(Paris:! Edition!Artistique,!1892),!4.!!!

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Throughout!the!play!Péladan!used!texts!from!genuine!archaeological!studies.162!!! The!play!is!divided!into!three!acts,!titled!La$Vocation,$L’Initiation,$and!L’Incantation.!!! ! Scholars!who!have!previously!discussed!this!work!have!all!concluded!that! the!music!is!completely!unrelated!to!the!play,!but!I!suspect!their!dismissal!is!a! product!of!their!unfamiliarity!with!the!play!itself!and!their!ignorance!of!Péladan’s! preoccupation!with!musical!“impressions.”!!Gowers,!for!example,!gets!the!synopsis! of!Les$Fils!wrong;!he!appears!unaware!that!Izel!is!a!princess;!he!thinks!it!is!Œlohil! who!seduces!the!courtesan;!and!he!believes!that!Izel’s!father!is!won!over!by!“intense! flattery.”163!!Satie’s!preludes!for!the!three!acts!of!the!play!were!originally!scored!for! harps!and!flutes,!but,!as!with!the!Sonneries,!only!piano!scores!of!the!work!exist! today.!!Only!the!preludes!to!the!play!have!been!printed,!and!for!those!without!access! to!French!archives,!the!full!extent!of!Satie’s!scoring!can!only!be!speculated!upon.!!! ! In!the!first!act!of!Les$Fils!we!are!introduced!to!Œlohil,!a!shepherd!born!under! the!guiding!star!of!the!god!Tammuz.!!When!the!constellation!of!Tammuz!intersects! that!of!Istar,!the!goddess!of!love!and!fertility,!he!is!drawn!to!Istar’s!earthly! incarnation,!Izel,!daughter!of!the!King!of!Sirtella.!!When!the!king!discovers!his! daughter!with!a!shepherd,!he!is!infuriated!and!threatens!to!exile!Œlohil!from! Sirtella.!!Œlohil!is!rescued!from!the!King’s!rage!by!the!royal!archmage,!who!senses! the!shepherd’s!potential!and!accepts!Œlohil!as!an!initiate!at!the!temple!of!Ereck.!! ! !Conceived!as!functioning!like!the!music!in!the!Rose+Croix!galleries,!the! preludes!to!Les$Fils!are!supposed!to!create!an!impression!that!will!complete!the! audience’s!understanding!of!the!play.!!The!motivic!construction!of!the!first!prelude,! coupled!with!Satie’s!expressive!markings,!can!provide!an!interpretation!of!this! impression.!!!The!movement!begins!with!a!slow!theme!in!block!chords!marked! “white!and!motionless,”!which!is!repeated!four!times!at!a!slow!!(see!Ex.!3J5).!! It!is!interesting!to!compare!Satie’s!concept!of!a!pure!and!statuary!condition!to! Péladan’s!interpretation!of!ideal!Greek!sculpture,!which!also!exists!in!a!pure!and! perpetually!sacred!state.!!The!block!chords!are!followed!by!several!repetitions!of!a! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 162!Patrick!Gowers,!“Satie’s!Rose!Croix!Music!(1891J1895),”!Proceedings$of$the$Royal$ Musical$Association$92$(1965J1966),!15.!!! 163!Gowers,!“Satie’s!Rose!Croix!Music,”!14J15.!!!

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“cautiously”!(précieusement)!rising!motive!(see!Ex.!3J6).!!Dixon!interprets!this! motive!as!symbolic!of!the!upward!struggle!towards!the!ideal.!!It!might!also! represent!the!upward!movement!of!Œlohil’s!prayers!to!the!stars!at!the!conclusion!of! act!1.!The!rising!motive!is!followed!by!what!I!consider!the!evocation!of!“the!stars”!–!! block!chords,!the!top!notes!of!which!are!rising!major!thirds,!which!Satie!marks!“pale! and!hieratic”!(see!Ex.!3J7).!!This!star!motive!permeates!the!three!preludes!much!like! the!omniscient!stars!themselves.!!The!rising!theme!appears!again,!developed,!“like!a! gentle!question”!to!the!star!theme,!which!ends!the!movement!(see!Ex.!3J8).!!! ! Satie’s!text!in!his!score!was!not!meant!to!be!read!aloud!but!meant!for!the! performer!to!read!and!interpret.!!It!is!significant!that!the!performer!is!instructed!to! communicate!color,!motion,!and!feeling,!a!sentiment!directly!related!to!Péladan’s! theory!of!synesthesia.!!Even!though!the!audience!would!remain!unaware!of!Satie’s! text,!several!impressions!would!have!been!communicated!that!would!ideally! prepare!them!for!the!first!act;!the!music!is!simple,!sacred,!and!serious.!!A!careful! listener!might!even!find!significance!in!the!rising!theme.!!After!having!experienced! these!sonic!impressions!and!images,!the!audience!would!be!ready!to!watch!“La! Vocation,”!in!which!Œlohil!converses!with!the!stars!and!is!comforted!and!awed!by! their!power.! !

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Example!3J8.!!Les$Fils$des$étoiles,!Prelude!to!act!1,!“White!and!immobile”!motive.!

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Example!3J9.!!Les$Fils$des$étoiles,$Prelude!to!act!1,!“Rising”!motive.164!

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Example!3J10.!!Les$Fils$des$étoiles,$Prelude!to!act!1,!“Star”!motive.!

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Example!3J11.!!Les$Fils$des$étoiles.$$Prelude!to!act!1,!“Questioning”!motive.!

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! In!the!second!act!Œlohil!is!initiated!into!the!order!of!mages.!!He!is!taught!that! the!will!is!separate!from!the!physical!concepts!of!the!earth.!!If!he!learns!to!assert!the!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 164!Satie!did!not!include!clefs!after!the!first!system,!but!all!examples!are!in!treble!and! bass!clef.!!The!English!translations!of!text!in!the!score!of!Les$Fils$was!written!by! Robert!Caby!for!the!1972!Salabert!edition!of!Satie’s!piano!scores.!!I!do!not!agree! with!his!translation!of!“précieusement”!as!“affectedly.”!!I!chose!instead!to!translate!it! as!“cautiously.”!!!Erik!Satie,!Piano$Solo$ed.!Robert!Caby!(Paris:!Salabert,!1989),!70.!!!

! 50! ! power!of!his!will!and!overcome!inferior!instincts!such!as!sexuality!and!base! emotions!like!love,!he!will!attain!the!godJlike!status!of!the!mages.!!The!archmage! teaches!him!about!the!three!stages!of!existence.!The!first!stage!is!that!of!common! people,!ignorant!and!instinctual.!!The!second!stage!is!the!transitional!stage!of!art,!in! which!one!becomes!a!god!of!poetic!creation.!!The!third!stage!is!the!mage!state,! where!one!knows!mystery!and!touches!god,!and!is!therefore!imbued!with!magical! powers.!! ! After!three!years!Œlohil!faces!one!final!test,!temptation!of!the!flesh.!!A! courtesan!attempts!to!seduce!Œlohil,!telling!him!that!Izel!has!married!another.!!! Œlohil!is!tempted!to!lie!with!her!under!the!palms,!but!he!reads!the!stars!and!still! sees!that!Istar’s!constellation!is!aligned!with!his!own.!!He!overcomes!sexual! temptation!and!officially!becomes!a!mage.!!! ! Satie’s!second!prelude!begins!with!a!theme!marked!“in!the!head,”!which!is!a! restatement!of!the!close!of!the!“questioning”!motive!from!the!first!prelude!(see!Ex.! 3J9).!!The!narrative!would!seem!to!imply!that!this!piece!is!one!of!internal! questioning,!similar!to!Œlohil’s!intense!training.!!The!rest!of!the!prelude!alternates! between!two!contrasting!textures.!One!is!a!triplet!transformation!of!the!first! prelude’s!rising!theme!played!“courageously!easy!and!smugly!solitary,”! (Courageusement!facile!et!complaisamment!solitaire)!and!the!other!is!an!inversion! of!the!star!theme!from!the!first!movement,!played!“cautiously.”!The!rising!theme,! transformed!and!stated!confidently,!may!well!be!interpreted!as!the!confident! resumption!of!Œlohil’s!struggle!towards!the!ideal.!!The!significance!of!the!“cautious”! and!inverted!statement!of!the!star!theme!is!less!clear;!perhaps!it!is!symbolic!of!his! relationship!with!the!astral!body!Tammuz.! !

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Example!3J12!“internally!questioning”!motive,!act!2!

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Figure!3J13!“rising”!motive,!act!2!

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! In!the!third!act!Œlohil!returns!to!Sirtella!to!claim!Izel!as!his!bride.!!When!the! king!still!refuses!to!allow!his!daughter!to!wed,!Œlohil!calls!upon!the!judgment!of!the! seven!gods!(he!specifically!mentions!Mérodak!as!the!greatest!of!the!seven)!and! recites!an!incantation!accompanied!by!his!lyre.!!At!the!conclusion!of!his!invocation! Izel!falls!to!the!ground,!dead.!!The!king!is!horrified,!and!Œlohil!informs!him!that!he! must!submit!to!the!will!of!the!seven!gods!for!the!sake!of!his!daughter.!!The!king! agrees,!and!Izel!is!revived!to!wed!Œlohil!and!unite!Sirtella!under!the!seven!gods!and! the!worship!of!the!arts.!!! ! The!third!prelude!is!the!longest,!most!complex,!and!certainly!most!puzzling! movement.!!It!is!significantly!different!from!the!first!two!preludes,!with!nothing!of! Satie’s!usual!texture!of!rambling!melody!over!block!chords,!and!contains! considerably!more!themes!than!is!characteristic!of!Satie.!!!There!are!four!distinct! themes,!each!consistently!associated!with!an!expressive!marking:!“very!good,”! “watching!each!other!from!afar,”!“without!trembling!too!much,”!and!“unaware!of!his! own!presence.”165!!These!four!themes!interact!in!ways!highly!suggestive!of!a! narrative,!though!even!in!light!of!the!story!for!Act!III!this!narrative!remains!unclear.!!! !

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 165!“Très!bien,”!“En!se!regardant!de!loin,”!“Sans!trop!frémir,”!“Ignorer!sa!proper! presence.”!P!74J75.!!“Sa”!can!also!be!translated!as!“its.”!

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Figure!3J14.!!“Very!good”!motive,!act.!3!

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Figure!3J15.!!“Watching!each!other!from!afar,”!act!3!

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Figure!3J16.!!“Without!trembling,”!act!3!

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Figure!3J17.!!“Unaware!of!his!own!presence,”!act!3!

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! While!the!rest!of!Satie’s!music!to!Les$Fils!has!not!been!available!for!this!study,! if!the!interactions!between!the!preludes!and!play!identified!thus!far!are!any! indication,!the!unpublished!incidental!music!certainly!merits!further!consideration.!!! !

A$FRENCH$GESAMTKUNSTWERK$

! Given!Péladan’s!consuming!obsession!with!“the!superhuman”!Wagner!and! his!theories!of!uniting!music!and!theater,!it!is!natural!that!he!would!strive!to!imitate! Wagner’s!work;!he!even!referred!to!Byzance$as!his!Rienzi,$and!Les$Fils$as!his! Lohengrin.166!$$A!close!examination!of!these!two!plays!indicates!that!they!were! always!intended!for!musical!accompaniment.!For!example,!Byzance!calls!for!a!choir! in!the!wings!for!the!opening!scene!and!even!goes!as!far!as!to!specify!when!the! soprano!should!sing!a!cappella!or!with!the!organ.!!Throughout!the!play,!choirs!often! narrate!the!action,!and!characters!make!references!to!“the!song!they!sing.”167!!Les$ Fils$is!similarly!narrated!by!a!choir!of!shepherds,!and!in!act!1!Péladan!splits!them! into!the!first!and!second!choir,!imagining!an!antiphonal!musical!setting.!Œlohil,!who! is!a!musician,!sings!several!songs!in!the!first!act,!and!he!is!often!instructed!to!strum! his!lyre!as!he!recites!lines.!!! Choir!of!shepherds:!!! Œlohil!!Beloved!child!of!the!gods,!! Take!the!lyre!and!tell!us!the!prayer!of!the!stars.! Incant!to!drive!out!the!demons,! ! Purify!the!air!with!the!lyre!and!the!voice,! For!the!prosperity!of!the!herds!and!the!shepherds! Proclaim!the!harmonious!names!of!the!Seven.168!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 166!Robert!Orledge,!Satie$the$Composer$(Cambridge:!University!of!Cambridge!Press,! 1990),!46.!!! 167!This!happens,!for!example,!about!a!page!before!the!paragraph!Satie!set,!where! Tonio!declares!to!the!crowd,!“Je!ne!suis!qu’un!enfant!et!je!n’ai!que!mon!cœur!:! j’ignore!tout!de!la!vie!et!du!monde.!!Hier!encore,!je!chantais!des!cantiques:!je!sais!ce! que!Jésus!fait!apprendre!à!ses!anges.!!Peuple,!je!sais!aimer!”!!Joséphin!Péladan,!Le$ Prince$du$Byzance!(Paris:!Chamuel,!1896),!52.!!! 168!Chœur!des!patres:!!Œlohil!!Enfant!aimé!des!Dieux,!prends!la!lyre!et!disJnous!la! priére!aux!étoiles.!!Incante!pour!chasser!les!demons,!

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! I!believe!that!Péladan!intended!his!plays!to!be!WagnerianJstyle! Gesamtkunstwerke.!!Though!Péladan!may!have!revered!Wagner’s!music,!Satie!had! other!ideas!concerning!incidental!music.!Reflecting!on!this!period!of!his!life!in!1922,! Satie!wrote,! At!that!time!I!was!writing!my!Fils$des$étoiles!–!on!a!text!by!Joséphin! Péladan;!and!I!explained!to!Debussy!how!we!Frenchmen!needed!to! break!away!from!the!Wagnerian!adventure,!which!did!not!correspond! with!our!natural!aspirations.!!And!I!told!him!that!I!was!not!at!all!antiJ Wagnerian,!but!that!we!needed!our!own!music!–!without!sauerkraut!if! possible.!!Why!not!make!use!of!the!representational!methods!of! Claude!Monet,!Cézanne,!ToulouseJLautrec,!and!so!on?!!Why!not!make! a!musical!transposition!of!them?!!Nothing!simpler.!!Are!they!not! expressions!too?169!!!! !

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Figure!3J2.!!Paul!Cézanne,!Mont$Sainte4Victoire$(c.!1885J1887)!

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Purifie!l’air!par!la!lyre!et!la!voix.!!Pour!la!prospérité!des!troupeaux!et!des!pâtres,! Clame!les!noms!harmonieux!des!Sept.”!!Joséphin!Péladan,!Les$Fils$des$étoiles$!(Paris:! Édition!Artistique,!1892),!7.!!! 169!Quoted!in!Robert!Orledge,!Erik$Satie$(Cambridge:!University!of!Cambridge!Press),! 47.!!!

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! Satie!names!three!Impressionist!painters!to!“transpose”!and,!like!the!work!of! Cézanne!(see!Fig.!3J2),!ToulouseJLautrec,!and!Monet,!his!incidental!music!is!sparse,! ambiguous,!yet!expressive.!!Satie,!like!many!in!the!French!avantJgarde,!was!torn! between!admiration!for!Wagner’s!theories!and!his!French!nationalistic!sentiments.!! In!Les$Fils!Satie!built!on!Wagner’s!philosophies!regarding!the!synthesis!of!arts!but! rejected!the!complex!forms,!and!lush!orchestration!of!Wagner’s!works.!!Together,! Satie!and!Péladan!produced!the!first!Impressionist!music!drama.!! !

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CHAPTER(IV:(FROM(OCCULT(IMPRESSIONISM(TO(REALISM!

! As!the!previous!chapters!have!revealed,!from!approximately!1885!to!1900,! religious!and!symbolic!theories!of!the!occult!often!pervaded!Satie’s!works.!!AvantJ garde!Impressionism,!as!a!means!of!reaching!into!the!subconscious!mind,!was! associated!with!mysticism!in!the!occult!world.!!The!extent!and!nature!of!Satie’s! Impressionism!can!only!be!partially!understood!without!a!thorough!examination!of! French!fin4de4siècle!occult!practices.!! ! Satie!began!his!composing!career!during!a!transformative!period!in!French! history,!when!social!and!artistic!life!were!dramatically!restructured!as!a!result!of! rationalist!thinking,!industrialization,!and!technological!advances.!!Alarmed!by!the! accelerated!rate!of!societal!change,!people!grew!nostalgic!for!ancient!times,!which,! from!their!perspective,!seemed!unfettered!by!modern!materialism!and!corruption.!! Artists!attached!to!the!café!and!cabaret!cultures!created!rebellious!art!with!topics! intended!to!shock!and!offend,!and!they!supported!complex!movements!such!as! Symbolism,!which!exploited!ambiguity!and!subjective!meaning.!!! ! Fin4de4siécle$religious!life!also!underwent!major!transformations!as!the! Catholic!Church!lost!credibility!through!its!association!with!industrialists,!and!under! pressure!from!the!secularizing!theories!of!the!scientific!community!in!the!form!of! evolution!and!psychology.!!Mistrust!of!the!Church!coupled!with!nostalgia!for! mysticism!and!ancient!times!led!to!a!sharp!rise!in!occult!religions,!which!were! decentralized!and!more!relevant!to!modern!tastes.!!The!occultists!had!much!in! common!with!the!budding!avantJgarde!and!could!appreciate!the!mystical!spirit!of! Symbolism.!!Cults!often!acted!as!patrons!for!artists,!who!were!inspired!by!the! imaginative!and!openJminded!qualities!of!occult!religions.!!Art!helped!substantiate! religious!worlds,!communicate!beliefs,!and!advertise!cults!to!the!larger!public.!! ! The!Rosicrucian!religion!was!one!of!many!in!Paris!at!the!time!that!offered! enlightenment!and!spiritual!evolution!based!on!“ancient”!teachings.!!The!Rose+Croix! Catholique,!however,!distinguished!itself!by!directly!connecting!spiritual!edification! with!art.!!The!cult!sought!to!renounce!physical!and!instinctual!worlds!through!the! contemplation!of!Idealist!art,!which!would!raise!spiritual!awareness!and!bring!

! 57! ! initiates!closer!to!God;!they!literally!worshipped!art.!!The!cult!leader,!Péladan,!reJ interpreted!the!Rosicrucian!religion!to!validate!his!artistic!theories!and!supported! avantJgarde!movements,!especially!Symbolism.!!The!Rose+Croix!salons!attempted!to! reform!what!they!felt!was!a!degenerate!society!through!exposure!to!their!religiousJ artistic!aesthetics.!!As!the!official!composer!of!the!Order,!Satie!was!expected!to! create!a!musical!image!of!the!cult!and!also!to!supply!mystical!impressions!that! would!“complete”!Rose+Croix!paintings!and!plays!in!order!to!facilitate!a!true! understanding!that!was!necessary!for!Rosicrucian!spiritual!evolution.! !! ! The!fame!of!Satie’s!musical!realism!in!the!twentieth!century!has!almost! completely!overshadowed!his!fin4de4siècle!Impressionism.!!The!absence!of!a!thick! web!of!context!for!this!aspect!of!his!early!life!and!his!works!of!the!1890s!has!led! musicologists!to!approach!his!early!pieces!anachronistically,!applying!the!standards! and!intellectual!context!from!his!later!works!to!his!early!ones.!!For!example,!Robert! Orledge’s!Satie$the$Composer,!the!most!comprehensive!guide!to!Satie’s!works!to! date,!identifies!the!music!for!Les$Fils$des$étoiles$as!“static!sound!décor,”!a!precursor! to!Satie’s!famous!concept!of!“furniture!music”!because!of!its!supposed!disconnect! with!the!content!of!the!play.170!!While!the!music!for!Les$Fils!contains!enough! repetition!to!be!called!“static,”!the!realist!concept!of!furniture!music!does!not!apply! to!this!music,!which!actively!attempts!to!communicate!sensations!and!symbolic! references.!!Without!considering!the!Rose+Croix!doctrine!of!Impressionism!and! Symbolism,!and!without!reading!the!play!closely,!Satie!scholars!have!missed!the! programmatic!nature!of!Les$Fils!and!its!original!Wagnerian!intention.!! ! It!is!difficult!to!reconcile!our!images!of!Satie!as!an!Impressionist!and!Satie!as! the!creator!of!.!!In!fact,!the!“art!of!the!everyday”!seems!to!be!the!absolute! antithesis!of!Rose+Croix!music.!!In!the!early!twentieth!century!Satie!was!the! forerunner!of!Les$Six,!a!group!that!rejected!Impressionism!and!fused!art!with! modern!life.171!!After!1900!Satie!publicly!mocked!the!Impressionist!standards!that!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 170!Robert!Orledge,!Satie$the$Composer!(Cambridge:!University!of!Cambridge!Press,! 1990),!6,!106.!!! 171!Les$Six$included!Georges!Auric,!Darius!Milhaud,!Francis!Poulenc,!Louis!Durey,! Arthur!Honegger!and!Germaine!Tailleferre.!!Nancy!Perloff,!Art$and$the$Everyday:$

! 58! ! he!had!once!venerated,!such!as!the!worship!of!the!artist!as!a!genius,!and!art!inspired! by!cults!of!personality!(he!ridiculed!Debussy’s!followers,!calling!them! “Debussyites”).172!!! ! Nevertheless,!Satie!himself!admitted!in!1921,!“I!was!myself,!thirty!years!ago,! terribly!‘impressionistic.’”!!Satie’s!musical!realism!did!not!come!out!of!thin!air;!it!was! a!reaction!to!his!experiences!during!the!fin4de4siècle.!!While!Satie’s!realism!rejects! many!aspects!of!Impressionism,!it!embraces!others.!!His!Impressionist!music!was! atmospheric!in!style,!meant!to!affect!the!listener!through!the!subconscious!and!not! to!be!actively!analyzed!or!capture!attention.!!The!purpose!of!the!Impressionist! atmosphere!was!to!substantiate!an!art!world!completely!opposed!to!reality;!it! posited!a!form!of!escapism.!!The!concept!of!furniture!music!from!his!later!career! was!conceived!of!as!a!functional!employment!of!atmosphere;!a!sonorous!aspect!of! everyday!life.!!In!the!1920s!he!would!yell!out!while!playing:!“Go!on!talking!!!Walk! about!!!Don’t!listen!”173!!Satie’s!Impressionist!and!realist!music!both!strive!to! communicate!through!a!common!subconscious!atmosphere,!but!they!are!not!both! based!on!the!same!aesthetic!principles!of!“sound!décor.”!!Beginning!with!Pièces$ froides$(1897)!Satie!no!longer!wrote!works!with!religious!and!fantastic!themes.!!He! stopped!trying!to!transport!the!audience!to!another!world!and!instead!began!to! compose!music!that!would!imbue!regular!life!with!an!atmosphere.!!It!is!no! coincidence!that!this!break!with!artificial!worlds!happened!when!he!began! disassociating!himself!from!the!occult.!!In!fact,!the!music!from!Satie’s!later!periods! embodies!many!of!the!same!stylistic!frameworks!he!developed!during!his!occult! period,!but!mostly!without!religious,!mystical,!or!ancient!references.!!When!viewed! as!a!departure!from!occult!theories,!Satie’s!musical!realism!appears!to!be!a!version! of!Impressionism!applied!to!the!art!of!the!everyday.!!In!two!complementary!senses! Satie’s!musical!realism!may!be!viewed!as!a!departure!from!occult!theories,! producing!a!version!of!Impressionism!applied!to!the!art!of!the!everyday.!!His!later! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Popular$Entertainment$and$the$Circle$of$Erik$Satie$(Oxford:!Clarendon!Press,!1991),! 2.!! 172!Ibid.,!4.!!! 173!Of!course,!this!only!drew!more!attention!to!him.!!Robert!Orledge,!Satie$the$ Composer$(Cambridge:!University!of!Cambridge!Press,!1990),!143.!!!

! 59! ! works!can!be!fully!understood!only!when!heard!both!as!following!his!literaly! departure!from!the!occult!and!as!a!development!of!the!artistic!concepts!he! developed!during!the!early!period!of!his!career.!!!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

! 60! !

BIBLIOGRAPHY! ( Adams,!Courtney!S.!“Erik!Satie!and!Golden!Section!Analysis.”!Music$&$Letters!77/2! (1996):!242J52.!!! ! Arnold,!Paul.!!Histoire$des$Rose4Croix$et$les$origines$de$la$Franc4Maçonnerie.!!Paris:! !de!France,!1955.!!! ! Austin,!William.!!“Satie!Before!and!After!Cocteau.”!The$Musical$Quarterly$48/2! (1962):!216J33.! ! Becker,!Howard.!!Art$Worlds.!!Berkeley:!University!of!California!Press,!1982.!!! ! Bois,!Jules.!!Les$Noces$de$Sathan:$drame$ésotérique.$Paris:!S.N.,!1892.!!! ! Bosworth,!William.!!Catholicism$and$Crisis$in$Modern$France:$French$Catholic$Groups$ at$the$Threshold$of$the$Fifth$Republic.$$Princeton:!Princeton!University!Press,! 1962.!!! ! Caillet,!Albert!L.!Manuel$bibliographique$des$sciences$psychiques$ou$occultes.!Paris:!L.! Dorbon,!1912! ! Carter,!A.E.!!The$Idea$of$Decadence$in$French$Literature$183041900.!!Toronto:! University!of!Toronto!Press,!1958.!!! ! Daraul,!Arkon.!!A$History$of$Secret$Societies.$$New!York:!Citadel,!1962.!!! ! Davis,!Mary.!!Erik$Satie.$$London:!Reaktion!Books,!2007.!!! ! Davis,!Mary!E.!!“!à!la!mode:!Popular!Culture!and!AvantJGardism!in!Erik! Satie’s!Sports!et!divertissements.”!The$Musical$Quarterly$83/3!(1999):!430J 73.!! ! Ellis,!Katharine.!!Music$Criticism$in$Nineteenth4Century$France:$La$Revue$et$Gazette$ musicale$de$Paris,$1834480.$$Cambridge:!Cambridge!University!Press,!1995.!!! ! Fields,!Armond.!!Le$Chat$Noir:$A$Montmarte$Cabaret$and$Its$Artists$in$Turn4of4$ the4 Century$Paris.!!Santa!Barabara:!Santa!Barbara!Museum!of!Art,!1993.!!! ! Fisher,!Ben.!!“From!the!Sphinx!to!Pisa:!Reconciling!Two!Faces!of!Péladan.”!!The$ Modern$Language$Review!102/2!(2007):!74J88.!!! ! Fisher,!Ben.!!The$Pataphysician’s$Library:$An$Exploration$of$Alfred$Jarry’s$‘livres$pairs.’!! Liverpool:!Liverpool!University!Press,!2000.!!! !

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Gibson,!Ralph.!!A$Social$History$of$French$Catholicism$178941914.$$London:!Routledge,! 1989.! ! Gillmor,!Alan!M.!!Erik$Satie.!!New!York:!W.W.!Norton,!1988.!!! ! Godwin,!Joscelyn.!!Music$and$the$Occult:$French$Musical$Philosophies$175041950.$ Rochester:!University!of!Rochester!Press,!1995.!!! !!! Gowers,!Patrick.!!“Satie’s!Rose!Croix!Music!(1891J1985).”!Proceedings$of$the$Royal$ Musical$Association$92$(1965J1966):!1J25.!!! ! Hanson,!Ellis.!!Decadence$and$Catholicism.!!London:!Harvard!University!Press,!1997.!!! ! Harding,!James.!!Erik$Satie.$$New!York:!Praeger,!1975.!!! ! Heindel,!Max.!!The$Rosicrucian$Cosmo4Conception:$or$Mystic$Christianity.!!19th!!ed.! Indiana:!W.B.!Conkey,!1944.!!! ! Howard,!Jonathan.!!Darwin:$A$Very$Short$Introduction.!!Oxford:!Oxford!University! Press,!1982.!!! ! “Incognito,!Magnus.”!!The$Secret$Doctrine$of$the$Rosicrucians.$$Chicago:!!Advanced! Thought!Publishing,!1918.!!! ! Inge,!William!Ralph,!ed.!!Christian$Mysticism:$Considered$in$Eight$Lectures$Delivered$ Before$the$University$of$Oxford.$$8th!ed.!$London:!Methuen,!1948.!!!! ! Jarocinsky,!Stefan.!!Debussy:$Impressionism$and$Symbolism.!!London:!Eulenburg! Books,!1976.!!! ! Jensen,!Erik!Frederick.!!“Satie!and!the!‘Gymnopédiè.’”!Music$&$Letters$75/2!(1994):! 236J40.!!! ! LaRue,!Jan.!!Guidelines$for$Style$Analysis.!!New!York:!W.W.!Norton,!1970.!!! ! Lyle,!Wilson.!!“Erik!Satie!and!Rosicrucianism.”!The$Music$Review$42/3!(1981):!238J 42.!!! ! McGuinness,!Patrick.!!Symbolism,$Decadence$and$the$fin$de$siècle:$French$and$ European$Perspectives.!!Exeter:!University!of!Exeter!Press,!2000.!! ! McIntosh,!Christopher.!!The$Rosicrucians:$The$History,$Mythology,$and$Rituals$of$an$ Esoteric$Order.!!York!Beach:!Samuel!Weiser,!1998.!!! ! Monroe,!John!Warne.!!Laboratories$of$Faith:$Mesmerism,$Spiritualism,$and$Occultism$ in$Modern$France.$$London:!Cornell!University!Press,!2008.!

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! Nichols,!Roger.!!The$Life$of$Debussy.$$Cambridge:!Cambridge!University!Press,!1998.! ! Orledge,!Robert.!!“Debussy!and!Satie.”!In!Debussy$Studies,!ed.!R.!Langham!Smith,! 154–78.!Cambridge:!Cambridge!University!Press,!1996.!! ! Orledge,!Robert.!!“Erik!Satie’s!Ballet!Uspud:!Prime!Numbers!and!the!Creation!of!a! New!Language!with!Only!Half!the!Alphabet.”!Musical$Times!150/1908! (Autumn!2009):!31J41.!!! ! Orledge,!Robert.!!“Satie,!Koechlin!and!the!Ballet!‘Uspud.”!Music$&$Letters$68/1! (1987):!26J41.!!! ! Orledge,!Robert.!!Satie$the$Composer.$$Cambridge:!University!of!Cambridge!Press,! 1990.!!! ! Péladan,!Joséphin.!!De$L’Androgyne:$théorie$plastique.!!Paris:!E.!Sansot,!1910.!!! ! Péladan,!Joséphin.$La$décadence$latine:$éthopée.!Genève:!Éditions!Slatkine,!1979.! ! Péladan,!Joséphin.!!L’art$Idéaliste$&$Mystique:$Doctrine$de$l’Ordre$et$du$Salon$Annuel$ des$Rose+Croix.$$Paris:!Chamuel,!1894.!!! ! Péladan,!Joséphin.!!Les$Fils$des$étoiles:$pastorale$Kaldéenne$en$trois$actes.!![Paris?]:! Édition!Aristiqve,!1892.! ! Péladan,!Joséphin.!!Le$Prince$de$Byzance:$drame$Romanesque$en$cinq$actes.!!Paris:! Chamuel,!1896.!!! ! Perloff,!Nancy.!!Art$and$the$Everyday:$Popular$Entertainment$and$the$Circle$of$$Erik$ Satie.$$Oxford:!Clarendon!Press,!1991.!!! ! Petrie,!Brian,!and!Simon!Lee.!!Puvis$De$Chavannes.!!Hants.,!England:!Ashgate,!1997.!!! ! Phillips,!C.S.,!The$Church$in$France$184841907.$$New!York:!Russel!&!Russel,!1936.!!! ! PincusJWitten,!Robert.!!Occult$Symbolism$in$France:$Joséphin$Péladan$and$the$Salons$ de$la$Rose4Croix.$$New!York:!Garland,!1976.!!! ! Poinsot,!M.C.!!The$Encyclopedia$of$Occult$Sciences.$$New!York:!Robert!MacBride,! 1990.!!! ! Price,!Roger.!!A$Concise$History$of$France.$$Cambridge:!Cambridge!University!Press,! 1993.!!! !

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Satie,!Erik.!!A$Mammal’s$Notebook:$Collected$Writings$of$Erik$Satie.$$ed.!Ornella!Volta.$ London:!Atlas!Press,!1996.$$$ ! Satie,!Erik.!!Piano$Solo.!!ed.!by!Robert!Caby.!!Paris:!Salabert,!1989.!!! ! Satie,!Erik.!!Satie$Seen$through$His$Letters,!ed.!Ornella!Volta.$$London:!Marion!Boyars,! 1989.!!! ! Segel,!Harold!B.!!“Fin!de!Siécle!Cabaret.”!Performing$Arts$Journal$2/1!(1977):!! 41J57.! ! Shattuck,!Roger.!!The$Banquet$Years:$The$Origins$of$the$Avant4Garde$in$France$$1885$ to$World$War$I.$Rev.!ed.$$New!York:!Books!for!Libraries!Press,!1972.!!! ! Swart,!Koenraad!W.,!The$Sense$of$Decadence$in$Nineteenth4Century$France.!!Hague:! Martinus!Nijhoff,!1964.!!! ! Tomlinson,!Gary.!!Music$in$Renaissance$Magic:$Toward$a$Historiography$of$Others.$ Chicago:!University!of!Chicago!Press,!1993.!!! ! Verzosa,!Noel!Orillo.!!“The!Absolute!Limits:!!Debussy,!Satie,!and!the!Culture!of! French!Modernism,!ca.!1860J1920.”!PhD!diss.,!University!of!California,! Berkeley,!2008.!!! ! Volta,!Ornella.!!Erik$Satie:$D’Esoterik$Satie$A’$Satierik.!!Paris:!SeghersJHumour,!1979.! ! Volta,!Ornella.!!Erik$Satie:$Correspondance$presque$complète.$$Paris:!Fayard,!2003.!!$$ $ Volta,!Ornella.!!L’Ymagier$d’Erik$Satie.!!Paris:!Van!de!Velde,!1979.!!! ! Webb,!James.!!The$Occult$Establishment.$$Illinois:!Open!Court!Publishing,!1976.!!! ! Webb,!James.!!The$Occult$Underground.$$Illinois:!Open!Court,!1974.!!! ! Weber,!Eugen.!!France:$Fin$de$Siècle.!Cambridge:!Belknap!Press!of!Harvard! University!Press,!1986.!!! ! Weisberg,!Gabriel!P.,!Laurinda!S.!Dixon,!eds.!!The$Documented$Image:$Visions$in$Art$ $ History.!!Syracuse,!New!York:!Syracuse!University!Press,!1987.!!! ! Whiting,!Steven!Moore.!!“Erik!Satie!and!Vincent!Hyspa:!Notes!on!a!Collaboration.”! Music$&$Letters!77/1!(1996):!64J91.!!! ! Whiting,!Steven!Moore.!!Satie$the$Bohemian:$From$Cabaret$to$Concert$Hall.$$Oxford:! Oxford!University!Press,!1999.!!! !

! 64! !

Wilheim,!Andras.!!“Erik!Satie’s!Gregorian!Paraphrases.”!Studia$Musicologica$ Academiae$Scientiarum$Hungaricae$25!(1983):!229J37.!!! ! Wittemans,!F.R.!!A$New$&$Authentic$History$of$the$Rosicrucians.!!London:!Rider,!1938.!!! ! Yates,!Frances!A.!!The$Rosicrucian$Enlightenment.$$London:!Routledge!&!Keagan!Paul,! 1972.!!$ ! !

! !

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! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ( (

! 65! !

BIOGRAPHICAL(SKETCH( ( ( Lindsey!Macchiarella!received!her!Bachelors!in!Music!from!the!University!of! California,!Riverside,!and!was!a!Gluck!Fellow!of!the!Arts!throughout!her! undergraduate!studies.!!She!is!currently!a!Masters!student!and!Graduate!Assistant!in! Historical!Musicology!at!Florida!State!University.!!She!will!be!continuing!her!studies! as!a!PhD!student!in!musicology!at!Florida!State!University.!!! !

! 66!