Le Monsieur de Velours et d'Autres Connexions Françaises

Today we present a programme of French music, and music with French connections, in particular featuring the work of composer Erik Satie, "The Velvet Gentleman" - but not always as we may be used to hearing him.

Today's programme includes some unusual interpretations from some remarkable albums by the Camarata Contemporary Chamber Orchestra, recorded in the early 1970s and featuring a relatively early Moog synthesiser. From the liner notes to the second of the albums, The Electronic Spirit of Erik Satie, we find:

Notes Relating to the Title: "The Electronic Spirit of Erik Satie" (Music Mystically Inspired)

Satie was convinced that he was a spirit working under the direct guidance of some medieval cleric whose fanatical piety he had inherited from beyond the grave.
This producer is convinced that he is also a spirit working under the direct guidance of Erik Satie, whose eccentricities and mysticisms have guided him throughout the making of this LP.

Further Proof:
A.) The arranger felt the actual presence of Satie in the room with him while he was scoring. (Erik's spirit would hover around the room and, at times, reach over his shoulder and guide his pencil along the score page, shouting directions in his ear "B flat not B natural, you dummy!") His worst moment was when he added bars to Satie's barless music... (the arranger in this case cannot recall having scored any of the pieces in the LP.)

B.) The presence and guidance of Satie's spirit was never more felt than in the programming and playing of the Moog synthesizer. All the wave forms, modulation mixes, oscillations and permutations have never been duplicated since, and the Moog player, who was entirely unfamiliar with the instrument at the time, has no recollection of having done the album whatsoever!!!!!!!

You can read about Erik Satie here.

Also in the programme are pieces by other French composers, and also some works by composers who came to live in France, such as Frederic Delius; and some other electronic interpretations of the music of French composers, from Isao Tomita.

The ZBS Radio Hour

And don't forget to join us at 11am and 7pm Pacific Time, that's 18:00 and 02:00 GMT this week only, for two exciting adventures from our friends at ZBS Foundation in the ZBS Radio Hour. At the top of the hour, Jack Flanders returns to where it all began - his aunt's mysterious Victorian mansion where all manner of strange goings-on unfurled and he discovered many other worlds both within and without, over 35 years ago, in Part 5 of Return to Inverness. Then at the bottom of the hour it's Ruby the Galactic Gumshoe, in Part 5 of Ruby 5.

Today's programme is presented by Elrik Merlin and produced by gullar sahir in conjunction with our friends at the Alexandrian Free Library Consortium of Second Life. You can listen to the programme in-world now at http://main.radioriel.org, or simply click here to start your player, if your browser is configured to do so. Listeners in the United States are encouraged to tune in using this link: http://loudcity.com/stations/radio-riel/tune_in

For more information on the Alexandrian Free Library, current exhibits and the work of Consortium members in general, please visit the Alexandrian Free Library website, or one of their branches in-world.