I attended part of a performance of Erik Satie’s(1866-1925) Vexations Jack Straw on May 16. Satie was a Parisian musician and dadaist who wrote minimalist repetitive music. This work, Vexations, is a song which most people would choose to play in about 3.5 minutes, but Satie wrote on the page of music the sentence, “In order to play the theme 840 times in succession, it would be advisable to prepare oneself beforehand, and in the deepest silence, by serious immobilities. (Pour se jouer 840 fois de suite ce motif, il sera bon de se préparer au préalable, et dans le plus grand silence, par des immobilités sérieuses.)” Modern performers have interpreted this from the 1960s onward as an instruction that the song is not to be performed unless it is played 840 times in succession.
I went to Jack Straw at about 6:30am on Sunday morning. The performance began at 4pm Saturday, with new players coming in every half hour. The crowd that was there when I arrived was dazed in their lounging on big pillows in the floor in a room with a grand piano and recording equipment everywhere. The performance was being broadcast live, so no talking or noise was allowed in the room.
I stayed for almost two hours. I did not find the music vexing at all; it was pleasant to me, and I would recommend the experience to anyone. I read books while I was there, and I appreciate the opportunity to combine art experiences with time to complete my usual work and routine. Too often I feel like museums and performances force guests only to pay attention to the work or that they treat people as being disrespectful if visitors do not pay complete attention to the show while they are there. To me, this discourages attendance at these things. Very often I want to make time to attend shows, but simply do not have the time, and for me combining activities is the only way I get to learn about these shows at all.