Impassibile Infiammato

a journey around Satie

by and with

Andrea Pandolfo - trumpet, flugelhorn, voice Paolo Pandolfo - electroacoustic viola da gamba, voice Michelangelo Rinaldi - accordion, piano, toy piano

Impassibile Infiammato (Impassive in Flames) takes its name from Erik Satie’s surreal and scathing agogics and expressive markings, which Ornella Volta compiled and translated into Italian in her “Quaderni di un mammifero” (“Notebooks of a mammal”) published by Adelphi, Italy. This album is a journey into the poetics of Satie, filtered through our own personal musical sensibility, as we have many years behind us of shared experimenting with sound styles, which are not at all common or mainstream. The musical material of Impassibile Infiammato is comprised of original tracks, music (and words) by Eric Satie, free improvisation and brief incursions into the baroque repertoire for the viola da gamba.

Le Trois sonneries de la Rose+Croix (1892) and Sports et Divertissements (1914), were composed by Satie within a time frame spanning from the end of the nineteenth century to the beginning of World War One. These two tracks are the matrix of our own compositions and more in general they are the source of inspiration for the building and the shaping of our own artistic content and creation. These two compositions, which sometimes appear explicitly and sometimes only as a mere conceptual evocation, represent two opposed polarities, rich in compositional stimuli. The first work shows its ample scale with an abundancy of esoteric suggestions; the second work comes with its lightning brevity and its powerful inventiveness, free from language conventions. The two works also mark a polarised historical distance, which a century later comes to us full of assonances and cross-references to our lives of people of today. Their music resonates with us who, not unlike Satie, have gone from an ambitious youth to the disillusionment of adult age, marked by a world that exactly a century later, is once again falling to pieces.

What is still current in 2016, on the 150th anniversary of Eric Satie's birth, in Sports et Divertissements, which evoke the good and beautiful French bourgeoisie’s feeble lightheartedness, only weeks shy of World War One?

How much is it still current and embraceable for us musicians in Erik Satie’s militant break- up from musical conventions, often so void of significance during his time as well as during our time? From a formal point of view Le Trois sonneries de la Rose+Croix and Sports et Divertissements are the fil rouge which ties together our original compositions, the music for the gamba by Marin Marais, and last but not least the universe of words: Satie loved to add annotations, as a subtext or as wayward expressive marking to his scores. They always were only and exclusively for the benefit of performers. In our own work his words are instead revealed, articulated, sung: they become an integral part of a sound mosaic.

It is in this fashion that we propose a sound never heard before, but still abiding respectfully to Satie’s innovative and trasgressive poetics, a sound that is surprising for its capacity to suggest and to convey its transparence, a sound obtained by having the modern trumpet and the flugelhorn play together with the accordion, the electroacoustic viola da gamba, the piano and the toy piano. The musical writing ranges from the most intimate tones to orchestral suggestions, from minimalism to free improvisation, from the renaissance style counterpoint to electronic music, which delicately transforms rock-jazz atmospheres.

Provisional Tracklist Sonneries de la Rosecroix (E.Satie)

Choral inappetissant (E.Satie - A.Pandolfo)

Morbidamente Rosacrociano (M.Rinaldi)

Albertone nei baffi di Satie (A.Pandolfo)

Brothers (P.Pandolfo)

Colin Maillard (A.Pandolfo)

Le Flirt (M.Marais – Satie – A.Pandolfo - M.Marais)

La Chasse (A.Pandolfo)

Le réveil de la Mariée - la Mariée (E.Satie - M.Marais)

Piano solo (M.Rinaldi)

Impassibile Infiammato (A.Pandolfo, Satie’s expressive marking)

Preghiera Rosacroce (M.Rinaldi)

Viola solo (P.Pandolfo)

Valzer Rosacrociano (M.Rinaldi)

Commiato (A. Pandolfo) Texts These notes were written by Erik Satie alongside his scores. They were meant to be for the exclusive use of his music’s performers.

Original text

Le Flirt Ils se disent de joies choses, des choses modernes: Comment allez-vous? – Ne suis-je pas aimable? – Laissez moi? – Yous avez des gros yeux… – Je voudrais être dans la lune – Il hoche latête

Le Réveil de la Mariée Arrivé du cortège – Appels – Lévez-vous! – Guitars faites avec de vieux chapeaux – Un chien danse avec sa fiancée

English translation

The Flirt They tell each other humorous things, modern things: How are you? – Am I not nice? - Leave me? – You have some big eyes… – I would like to be on the moon – He nods his head

The awakening of the bride Arrival of the wedding procession – Calls – All of you stand up! - Guitars made with old hats – A dog dances with his girlfriend Impassibile Infiammato E. Satie’s expressive marking in alphabetical order; compiled and translated into Italian by Ornella Volta

accuratamente - affermativo - alla napoletana - allargando la mente - allarghi le spalle - a mezza vita - ampli la sua impressione - ancora più barboso se possibile - appaia come iniettato - attentamente - balli interiormente - barboso e astioso - beva - bianco - cadenza d'obbligo d'autore

impassibile - incendiato - infiammato - in fondo al pensiero - in un misero soffio - molto annoiato - molto bell'imbusto - molto bianco - molto cristianamente

Con tristezza e fatalità - con una certa intimità - con una timida pietà - con un candore sciocco ma decoroso - con un grande oblìo del presente - con una visione ampia - con un'ironia contagiosa - convincere - corpulentus - crivellato - culli - cumulativamente

cupo - curvando la schiena - dall'alto di lei stesso - da lontano e con noia - dandogli molta importanza

dandosi importanza - danzando - da succhiare - deciso - deliziosamente

dia prova di sangue freddo - dissanguato - dolcemente - dritto di fronte a lei - enigmatico con buona educazione - con una convinzione e una tristezza rigorose - con deferenza - con energia - con entusiasmo - con fascino - con giusta collera - con grande bontà - con grande serietà e cortese gravità - con lieve umiltà - con modestia - con molta cura - con precauzione e lento - con una salutare superiorità - con serietà ma senza lacrime - con stupore - continui senza perdere i sensi

impassibile - incendiato - infiammato - in fondo al pensiero - in un misero soffio - molto annoiato - molto bell'imbusto - molto bianco - molto cristianamente

danzando - da succhiare - deciso - deliziosamente - dia prova di sangue freddo - dissanguato - dolcemente - dritto di fronte a lei - enigmatico - epotus - eviti ogni esaltazione sacrilega - faccia come me - faccia meglio che può - fisicamente smunto - grandioso - guardandosi da lontano - ignori la sua stessa presenza - nel cavo dello stomaco - nelle costole - nel più profondo silenzio - nerastro - nobilmente - nocturnus - noioso - non cambi di fisionomia -non esca dall'ombra - non gonfi - non guardi cantare il signore English translation accurately - affirmative - Neapolitan style - broadening the mind - broaden your shoulders - at half waist - broaden your impression - even more tedious if possible – must appear as being injected - carefully - dance internally - tedious and resentful - drink! - white - author’s obligatory cadenza

impassive - on fire - in flames - at the bottom of thought - with a miserable puff - very bored - very much boasting - very white - in a very Christian fashion

with sadness and fatality - with certain intimacy - with timid sympathy - with silly but decent candour - with great oblivion of the present time - with a broad vision

with contagious irony - convincing - corpulentus (heavy body built) - riddled - please cradle - collectively somber - bending your back - from the height of yourself - from afar and with boredom - giving it a lot of importance

giving yourself a lot of importance - dancing - to be sucked - decided - deliciously

show your cold blood - bled dry - sweetly - straight opposite you - enigmatic

With good manners - with rigorous conviction and sadness - with deference - with energy - with enthusiasm - with charme - with appropriate wrath - with great kindness - with great seriousness and corteous gravity - with slight humility - with modesty - with great care - cautiosly and slowly - with a healthy superiority -- seriously but without tears - with amazement - continue, continue without passing out

impassive - on fire - in flames - at the bottom of thought - with a miserable puff - very bored - very much boasting - very white - in a very Christian fashion dancing - to be sucked - decided - deliciously - show your cold blood - bled dry - sweetly - straight opposite you - enigmatic - epotus (drunk up) - avoid any profane excitement - do as I do - do the best you can - physically emaciated - grandiose - looking at yourself from afar - ignore your own presence - in the hollow of your stomach - in the ribs - in the deepest silence - blackish - nobly - nocturnus (nightly) - boring - do not change your countenance - don’t come out of the shadow - do not inflate - do not look at the man singing Short BIO

Paolo Pandolfo

“…one of the most brilliant and poetic of the instrument’s current exponents…” (L.Kemp Gramophone UK)

He began his research in the field of renaissance and baroque musical idioms around 1979 together with violinist Enrico Gatti and harpsichordist Rinaldo Alessandrini. Studied then with Jordi Savall at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Switzerland. From 1982 until 1990 he has been a member of Jordi Savall's ensemble Hesperion XX and performed with them throughout the world, making hundreds of concerts and dozens of recordings. 1990 he started his solo career with the release of his first solo recording, the C.P.E.Bach Sonatas. In the same year he became professor at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel. After having recorded for various different labels, since 1997 all of his cds appear exclusively for the spanish Glossamusic. He released a large number of cds, mainly concentrating on the soloistic viol repertoire (Marais, Forqueray, St.Colombe, T.Hume, C.F.Abel, J.S.Bach, De Machy, Couperin) His transcription of J.S.Bach's Six Solo Suites became immediately a “must” for any complete Bach discography. His interest in historical improvisation brought him to the release of "Improvisando", a completely improvised program based on renaissance patterns. He also dedicates himself to composition (cd "Travel Notes" new music for the viola da gamba). Most of his recordings have received awards by the most relevant musical magazines worldwide. His last release has been Marais 1689, pieces for one and two viols (with Amélie Chemin) from the first book of M.Marais. He is invited to give masterclasses worldwide. Paolo Pandolfo tries to build bridges between he past and the present, bringing, together with rigorous philological interpretation, spontaneous and immediate life in his performances. He is convinced that the patrimony of ancient music combined with renewed improvisation skills can be of powerful inspiration for the future of the western musical tradition. www.paolo.pandolfo.com

Andrea Pandolfo

Andrea Pandolfo completed his music diploma in 1993 and has been a trumpet teacher since 2003. He currently works as an author of musical projects for theatre, cinema and television as well as instrumentalist and composer in several groups in the field of world music, contemporary, folk, jazz and early music. His discography count more than 15 cads. In 1996 Andrea was a co-founder of Klezroym, a klezmer band recognised internationally since 2001 that published six albums with more than 50,000 sold copies over the world. He works with the band as a trumpet player, composer and arranger. From 2003 Andrea is trumpeter and composer together with Paolo Pandolfo of Travel Notes Project which performs all over Europe original music inspired by early music. In 2005 he composed, arranged and orchestrated the soundtrack of the docu-film In un altro paese by Marco Turco. In 2007 he worked as author and arranger for the soundtrack of the movie Go-go- tales (2007) by Abel Ferrara. www.andreapandolfo.com Michelangelo Rinaldi

Michelangelo Rinaldi is a multi-instrumentalist from Italy. He holds diplomas in piano and oboe from Lucca Conservatoire (where he also studied composition) and in fortepiano and free improvisation from the Musik Akademie of Basel. In addition plays accordion, organ, baroque oboe, shawms, friscaletto, percussion … His repertoire ranges from medieval music (Ensemble Mediva) to contemporary music (Il teatro del Faro) via folk music (La Banda Ki and Ensemble Estovèst) and chamber music. He has played through out Europe, on the streets as well as in important festivals and concerts halls (Schwetzinger Festspiele, Yehudi Menuhin Festival – Gstaad, Herculessaal – München, Puccini Festival – Torre del Lago etc), his many instruments have been heard on important radios stations including RAI, Deutschland Radio, SWR, ORF and Bayerischer Rundfunk. He is the organist and choir conductor at the church “San Pio X” in Basel.