Contrapunctus

Compare performersErik Satie

Satie, Gymnopédie No. 1: Alciatore and Laucke

Gymnopédie No. 1

Alciatore and Laucke play the first Gymnopédie, on piano and on guitar.

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Recordings in
this comparison

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Date unknownReference recording

Robin Alciatore

Alciatore plays Satie’s original solo-piano version in this recording released through Musopen.

3:03
Date unknownPerformance 02

Michael Laucke

Laucke plays his own arrangement on one classical guitar, without overdubbing.

2:51
Selected recordingRobin Alciatore
0:00 / 3:03

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The comparison

Satie’s first Gymnopédie begins with four bars of bass notes and chords in three beats. Then a melody enters above the accompaniment. Robin Alciatore plays the piano original; Michael Laucke arranges all three parts for six guitar strings.

Tempo

Tempo map

Time taken compared with Robin Alciatore: above 1×, the performer takes longer over the same music; below it, less time.

Time taken compared with the reference recordingEach gold line follows a performer. Above 1×, the recording takes longer over the same music. Numbered lines mark the passages below.0.25×0.5×0.75×1×1.25×0:000:301:001:302:002:303:001. Melody entry · 0:1212. Melody held on low E · 0:4223. Four-bar introduction before the return · 1:3034. Altered ending with F♮ · 2:3845. Final D minor chord · 2:565Robin Alciatore (reference)Michael Laucke
The reference recording’s clock runs left to right. Each line is smoothed over about eight seconds; pauses can create peaks. Numbers mark the passages below.
  • Robin Alciatore · reference
  • Michael Laucke
Passages

Passages compared

Each version plays in card order, for up to 12 seconds of reference music or until the next marked passage, whichever comes first.

  1. 01

    Melody entry

    0:12 in the reference

    The melody enters above the bass and chords; its longer notes are held across the three-beat accompaniment.

  2. 02

    Melody held on low E

    0:42 in the reference

    The piano melody settles on a low E, held while the bass and chords change beneath it.

  3. 03

    Four-bar introduction before the return

    1:30 in the reference

    The opening bass notes and chords return alone. The melody enters again after four bars.

  4. 04

    Altered ending with F♮

    2:38 in the reference

    In the piano score, F♮ replaces F♯, and the melody’s rising C♯–D–E becomes falling E–D–C.

  5. 05

    Final D minor chord

    2:56 in the reference

    The piano ends on a D minor chord, with F♮ between D and A.

Durations

Length of each recording

  1. Robin Alciatore3:03
  2. Michael Laucke2:51

These times include the lead-in and final fade. Cuts, repeats and disc-side breaks also affect a recording’s length.

Performers and sessions

Recording notes

Sources & method

Further reading

How the recordings are matched

The matching follows sequences of pitches, using a method called dynamic time warping. Every recording is mapped to the reference, so switching between two versions goes through that shared clock. Where several reference times match one point, the middle time is used.

  • Michael Laucke: match score 0.954. Matched passages available.

Switching stays within the matched span, and trimmed recordings keep their original clock times. Match scores describe similarity in the sound.