Gregg chose to arrange a delightful piece by Erik Satie: La Diva de “L’Empire” Intermezzo Américain for solo guitar as well as for guitar with voice.

Throughout his life, Erik Satie (1866-1925) was the foe of art that takes itself too seriously. He became very interested in French vaudeville songs and in American ragtime. The future of music, he felt, lay in the mode of simplicity – of melody rather than involved harmonies and counterpoint. Serious composers, he thought, could learn much from music-hall ditties. La Diva de “l’Empire” represents a perfect example of this. This Intermezzo Américain was composed for Paulette Darty, who was known as “The Queen of the Slow Waltz” in early 20th Century Paris. It was first performed about 1904 and subsequently published in 1919.            Gregg Nestor