Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2012 Shades of Ungodliness: Satie, the Occult, and the Flight from Reason Lindsey MacChiarella Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] 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 ! ! 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.! !!! !!! !!! ! ! ii! ! ! ! ! ! To!Haruki!Murakami!and!his!well.! !! ! iii! ! ! 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.!!! !! ! iv! ! ! 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! Rosicrucianism!..........................................................................................................................!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!IMPRESSIONISM!TO!REALISM!.............................................!57! BIBLIOGRAPHY!........................................................................................................................................!61! BIOGRAPHICAL!SKETCH!......................................................................................................................!66! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! v! ! ! LIST.OF.MUSIC.EXAMPLES. ! 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! ! ! ! ! !! ! vi! ! ! 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,!Symbolism,+ 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$Victoire+(c.!1885I1887)!...................................................................!55! ! . + + + + + + + + ! vii! ! ! ABSTRACT! ! Faced!with!a!collapse!of!orthodox!religious!ideals!precipitated!by!the! technological!revolution!in!the!midInineteenth!century,!Satie!and!many!in!the! Western!world!took!refuge!in!unorthodox!occult!religions!during!the!fin$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”!