Details of Passage Depicted

This is a close-up of just a few notes in the middle of the piece.

Two parts have been portrayed separately. The melody, played by an oboe is depicted as the taller orange and yellow rocks. The keyboard accompaniment is shown in iridescent blue-green rock.  The ground does not represent the analyzed music. Only the three dimensional shapes represent the music.

Notes about the Music and the Portrayal

Gymnopédie #1 is Erik Satie’s most famous piece. From a collection based on the Greek modes, #1 has a melody that is beloved around the world. In this portrait, that melody has been separated from the accompaniment to show the contours of each instrument more clearly. The overtones of both instruments blend and meld in different sections of the music, creating very unusual formations.