In France, before World War I, in 1913, the luxury magazine "Gazette du Bon Ton," featuring art and fashion, was published and gained renown. Its publisher, Lucien Vogel, planned to publish a collection of piano pieces accompanied by illustrations by the famous artist Charles Martin. He initially commissioned Stravinsky to compose the pieces, but Stravinsky declined due to a disagreement over the fee. The project then came to Satie through Roland-Manuel. Satie did not immediately accept; for some reason, he himself negotiated a reduction in the commission fee with the publisher, and as a result, he agreed to compose the work.

The collection consists of a preface, a chorale, and 20 short pieces. Like "Dried Embryos," it is also accompanied by poems. In the preface, Satie himself discusses this musical picture book.

Preface: "Choral inappetissant"

The overture "Choral inappetissant" was described by Anne Rey as "an archaic-sounding whole-tone scale theme divided by tetrachords, written in the Hypolydian mode of church music, with a highly chromatic four-part harmony in C major. The bass line progresses around the dominant intervals of the tonality. The counterpoint is dense, and the cadences are solid." This work is a fusion of Satie's style from his esoteric mystical period, during which he belonged to the Rosicrucian Order and became a priest of his own established order, and the counterpoint techniques he learned from d'Indy at the Schola Cantorum.

• No. 1 "La balancoire" (The Swing)
  In the first piece, "The Swing," observing the left-hand movement reveals a continuous oscillation of E notes in eighth notes, spanning two octaves until the end. This likely expresses the incessant swaying of a swing. Within these two octaves, a peculiar, leisurely, short phrase is placed in the right hand. Satie set poetry to this right-hand phrase, such as "the swaying of my heart," creating a pun-like effect.
• No. 2 "La chasse" (The Hunt)
  The second piece, "The Hunt," is written in a lively tempo with a scherzo-like rhythm. The left hand begins with thirds, and a monophonic, octave passage continues throughout the piece, written in a descending pattern. Although the poem is titled "The Hunt," a gentle and warm gaze towards animals can be perceived, as suggested by the line, "As for me, I fire my gun to shoot down walnuts" even in the presence of animals. Satie was an avid reader of Lewis Carroll and Hans Christian Andersen, and their influence can be seen in the expression of this poem.
• No. 3 "La comedie italienne" (The Italian Comedy)
  The third piece, "The Italian Comedy," depicts Scaramouche (a clownish actor playing the "Captain of Cowards") explaining the virtues of a soldier's profession. The dotted rhythms create a cheerful and comical musical character.
• No. 4 "La reviel de la mariee" (The Bride's Awakening)
  In the fourth piece, "The Bride's Awakening," the left hand is reminiscent of the left-hand accompaniment pattern in the "Turkish March." The poem mentions "the arrival of the procession."
• No. 5 "Colin-maillard" (Blind Man's Buff)
  The fifth piece, "Blind Man's Buff," describes a man and woman playing a game with romantic feelings. It seems Satie intended to create an expression that combines the veil of hazy, untouchable romantic feelings, suggested by the murky chords, with the actual haze of a blindfold. The octave figures appearing left and right might represent the footsteps of the blindfolded 'oni' (it) groping its way from side to side.
• No. 6 "La peche" (Fishing)
  The sixth piece, "Fishing," depicts fish at the bottom of a river and a fisherman. From the musical figures, the initial triplet seems to represent bubbles, while the quintuplets of sixteenth notes and quarter notes in the left hand express the fluid movements of fish.
• No. 7 "Le yachting" (Yachting)
  The seventh piece, "Yachting," describes a beautiful woman on a yacht in bad weather. At the beginning, the ominously emphasized low notes in octaves and the wide-ranging arpeggios played by the right hand evoke a stormy sea. The subsequent descending and ascending sixteenth notes seem to express the fluttering of the yacht's sails.
• No. 8 "Le bain de mer" (Sea Bathing)
  At first glance, the score of the eighth piece, "Sea Bathing," reveals expressions of low, shallow waves and high, deep waves. A modal monophonic melody is superimposed over a tonal accompaniment.
• No. 9 "La carnival" (Carnival)
  The ninth piece, "Carnival," depicts the start of a masquerade ball amidst falling confetti. A descending scale in B-flat major (describing falling confetti) and, similar to No. 4 "The Bride's Awakening," alternating figures representing crowds of people appear. The piece concludes with a G note above a B-flat octave, creating a sound that expresses doubt.
• No. 10 "Le golf" (Golf)
  The tenth piece, "Golf," is marked "with enthusiasm." It describes the splendid golf shot of a Colonel. The octave figures written with forte and tenuto markings might represent the Colonel's confident and dignified stride across the golf course.
• No. 11 "La pieuvre" (The Octopus)
  The eleventh piece, "The Octopus," is accompanied by a very unique poem about an octopus chasing a crab. From the musical figures and the rhythms of individual motifs, the octopus's appearance and movements (peeking from a hole, teasing the crab with its tentacles, swallowing the crab, scuttling along, etc.) can be discerned. The musical figure for swallowing the crab and the figure for drinking salt water to settle its stomach are written in inverse patterns, yet the drinking motion is expressed using the same motif.
• No. 12 "Les courses" (Horse Racing)
  The twelfth piece, "Horse Racing," depicts a horse race. The left hand maintains a tension-building figure until the end. The accented figures (repetitions of D and E) and staccato figures (repetitions of A and B) increasingly heighten the excitement of the race, expressing the exhilaration of both people and horses before the start. The use of dynamics and musical figures to portray the moments before the start and after the horses have set off is superb.
• No. 13 "Les quatre-coins" (Four Corners)
  The thirteenth piece, "Four Corners," describes a French children's tag game. Reading the poem, Satie seems to liken the children playing the game to four mice and a cat. Written mostly in single notes, the frustration of the fleeing mice and those that cannot be caught is expressed through triplets and occasional octaves.
• No. 14 "Le pique-nique" (The Picnic)
  The fourteenth piece, "The Picnic," is marked "like a dance" and depicts a lighthearted picnic scene.
• No. 15 "La water-chute" (The Water Chute)
  The fifteenth piece, "The Water Chute," describes people on a boat ride that might make them dizzy. The right hand in the middle section uses an ascending whole-tone scale.
• No. 16 "Le tango" (The Tango)
  The sixteenth piece, "The Tango," describes an endless dance (tango) performed by a devil to chill hearts. The left-hand rhythm is Habanera-like, over which the tango is placed. The piece has an endless form, with the right hand's final sixteenth notes played in the high register, returning to the beginning. The entire piece is written in pianissimo, contributing to the expression of the devil's coldness.
• No. 17 "Le traineau" (The Sleigh)
  The seventeenth piece, "The Sleigh," depicts ladies sleighing. The use of repeated thirds, D and E, and E and E-flat in the middle section suggests shivering from the cold. Furthermore, the octaves seem to express the scene of a sleigh cutting through the snow.
• No. 18 "Le flirt" (Flirting)
  The eighteenth piece, "Flirting," describes a casual conversation between a man and a woman. First, observe the use of accents: an accent is placed on each phrase of words other than interrogative pronouns. It seems to create a rhyming effect. The left hand maintains an accompaniment pattern throughout.
• No. 19 "Le feu d'artifice" (Fireworks)
  The nineteenth piece, "Fireworks," depicts people watching fireworks. The use of staccato notes, suggesting scattering sparks, and the ascending figures of five eighth notes, representing large skyrockets, create a sense of visual sound.
• No. 20 "Le tennis" (Tennis)
  The twentieth piece, "Tennis," concludes the collection with the sport of tennis, fitting the title "Sports and Diversions." It is accompanied by a poem in which a woman watching a tennis match praises the male player.
  The staccato notes suggest the bouncing of the ball. Furthermore, the repetition of the same notes implies the sound of a ball being bounced with a racket in the same spot.

(Ai Higuchi, November 2007)

List of Pieces

• Preface: "Choral inappetissant"
• No. 1 "La balancoire" (The Swing)
• No. 2 "La chasse" (The Hunt)
• No. 3 "La comedie italienne" (The Italian Comedy)
• No. 4 "La reviel de la mariee" (The Bride's Awakening)
• No. 5 "Colin-maillard" (Blind Man's Buff)
• No. 6 "La peche" (Fishing)
• No. 7 "Le yachting" (Yachting)
• No. 8 "Le bain de mer" (Sea Bathing)
• No. 9 "La carnival" (Carnival)
• No. 10 "Le golf" (Golf)
• No. 11 "La pieuvre" (The Octopus)
• No. 12 "Les courses" (Horse Racing)
• No. 13 "Les quatre-coins" (Four Corners)
• No. 14 "Le pique-nique" (The Picnic)
• No. 15 "La water-chute" (The Water Chute)
• No. 16 "Le tango" (The Tango)
• No. 17 "Le traineau" (The Sleigh)
• No. 18 "Le flirt" (Flirting)
• No. 19 "Le feu d'artifice" (Fireworks)
• No. 20 "Le tennis" (Tennis)