Nearly a century after the death of Erik Satie, 27 previously unknown works by the enigmatic French composer have been discovered and recorded for the first time. Pianist Alexandre Tharaud's new digital album, Satie: Discoveries, newly released by Erato, offers listeners a chance to hear these previously-lost musical gems.

The discovery is the result of meticulous research by Japanese composer and violinist Sato Matsui and British musicologist James Nye. The pair independently unearthed lost sketches and unfinished manuscripts from archives at the Bibliothèque nationale de France and a private collection in Boston. They successfully reconstructed these pieces into fully performable scores, some of which will soon be published by Éditions de la Fabrique Musique.

The newly discovered works, many originally composed for performances in Montmartre’s bohemian cafés, reveal fresh dimensions of Satie’s distinctive and eclectic style. Included are minimalist nocturnes echoing the introspective beauty of his celebrated Gymnopédies and Gnossiennes, as well as lively café-concert songs and operetta arias such as ‘Le Champagne’, ‘Pousse l’amour’, and the evocative ‘Chanson andalouse’.

Tharaud is joined by Serbian violinist Nemanja Radulović in three tracks, interpreting songs whose original vocal lines are lost

Listeners will also encounter Satie's more abstract and experimental side in compositions like the Esquisses bitonales (Bitonal Sketches) and Soupirs fanés (Faded Sighs), a collection of miniatures intriguingly titled ‘Poil’ (Hair), ‘Barbouillage’ (Daubings), ‘Familial désespoir’ (Domestic Despair), and ‘Souvenirs fadasses’ (Dusty Memories).

‘Satie remains an enigmatic figure today,’ Tharaud commented. ‘He is held in enormous regard yet remains largely misunderstood. It is up to us to look beyond the Gnossiennes and the Gymnopédies, to explore further, listen more carefully, and truly engage with his extensive musical imagination.’

Also featured are two familiar works in new arrangements: ‘Chinese Conjuror’ from Satie’s ballet Parade, performed as a piano duet with Gautier Capuçon, and ‘Cancan Grand-Mondain’ from La Belle Excentrique, newly transcribed for solo piano by Tharaud himself.

Satie: Discoveries can be heard below via Presto Music: