Erik Satie’s Gnossienne No.1 is performed for the first time on the ancient Greek lyre and the Armenian duduk. Composed in the late 19th century, it is, for the most part, written in free time and is highly experimental in terms of form and rhythm.
Based on various sources, Erik Satie’s title likely draws from the Greek word for sacred knowledge, gnosis, and Knossos, evoking the mystery of the Minoan labyrinth. In that myth, Theseus sails to Crete to confront the Minotaur. After his victory, the survivors had to find their way out of the labyrinth.
The dance of the crane (γέρανος in ancient Greek) is said to be what they performed as they emerged from the labyrinth: a spiral of release and remembrance.
In this cover with the ancient lyre and the Armenian duduk, Satie’s Gnossienne becomes the haunting echo of that forgotten dance. It floats like Ariadne’s thread, not leading us out but drawing us inward toward something deeper.
The melody is performed by a skilled ancient lyre player, Theodore Koumartzis, and a master of the wind instruments, Socrates Votskos. Theodore performs for us on a LUTHIEROS Traveller’s Lyre (or Lyre of Odysseus, masterfully handcrafted in Greece by the Koumartzis family.