An ogive is the curve that forms the outline of a pointed gothic arch. Erik Satie gave this title to a set of four piano miniatures published in 1886 at the beginning of his career. Their calm, slow melodies are built up from paired phrases reminiscent of plainchant. He wanted to evoke a large pipe organ reverberating in the depth of a cathedral, and achieved this sonority by using full harmonies, octave doubling and sharply contrasting dynamics.
Satie wrote this music without bar-lines; in the following midi sequences, I have assigned time signatures that keep the original note durations.
These pages contain some of my MIDI sequences of classical music in general midi (GM) format, linked so that you can download or play them by clicking on the links. The sequences are intended to be heard on a computer sound card, and do not include system exclusive messages or controllers other than volume, pan, reverb and chorus. They are all in the public domain. That is, they are no-one's intellectual property: they may be freely copied, adapted, tinkered with and, I hope, surpassed by others.
Erik Satie The Four Ogives An ogive is the curve that forms the outline of a pointed gothic arch. Erik Satie gave this title to a set of four piano miniatures published in 1886 at the beginning of his career. Their calm, slow melodies are built up from p