Mécanique Démolie (V.114)
Tribut à Erik Satie

A tribute to the artistic contributions of Erik Satie, Mécanique Démolie (fr. 'demolished machine', or 'demolished technique'). This single-movement work for string quartet does not imitate Satie's compositional style as much as seeks to spread understanding of his artistic philosophy.

.....from the prefatory notes:
 The profound thing about Satie’s music is that there is no secret profound thing about Satie’s music; it is music for the sake of being music, yet earns its merit through a clear and elegant presentation of material, a novel harmonic language, and a matter-of-fact humility, a complete lack of pretense or pomposity.

The impact of Satie is that he, through his elegant art, reminded us never to take anything - life, art, or most importantly entertainment - too seriously. Thus the listener of Satie can be passively lulled by its charm, or deeply affected by the awe of its elegance. Surely Satie intended neither (in most cases) but it illustrates the dynamic, multifaceted nature of his work. That which was written to be nothing, and contains nothing, becomes only what we the listener want it to be; and thus in it, we see only a reflection of ourselves.

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