What Does a Pear Sound Like?

Erik Satie's Trois Morceaux En Forme De Poire

What does a pear sound like? This is the most abstract question I've considered so far. My immediate associations are less along the musical spectrum and more so towards the natural and visceral noises, such as the solid thump of ripe fruit falling from a branch in September; the quiet sigh as a knife blade slices through the center of a Bartlett; the wet, sucking kiss of a bite as you devour the satiny rump. 

As a pianist, once-upon-a-time fiddle player, and dabbler of many kinds of instruments, I have never felt the desire to compose my own music. I see it in the same way where not everyone enjoys cooking, but loves to eat. If I'd spent more time learning about music theory, perhaps I would have become interested, but there are so many pieces out in the world. For most of my life, I've pursued music that invokes certain emotions from me and other people, compelling me to learn to play them as a way to have a front seat in understanding how they affect us.        

In my research, I didn't find much music that mentions pears, other than "The Twelve Days of Christmas" with the patridge in a pear tree and few older nursery rhymes. But then, there was this guy...

Satie, a rather eccentric fellow.

Erik Satie, who was a non-conformist composer who wrote largely for the solo piano at the turn of the 20th century, wrote something interesting called Trois Morceaux En Forme De Poire (Three Pieces in the Shape of a Pear). Known for using odd scales and penning instructions with phrases such as "wonder about yourself" or "be radiant", he was often criticized for creating simplistic music without much sophistication. His responses were wrought with humor, writing pieces like Embryons Desseches no. 3 ("Desiccated Embryos") making fun of Beethoven for repeating large, chopping piano chords at the end of his pieces. Claude Debussy made a remark once that instigated the creation of Trois Morceaux, saying Satie's music had little form to it. Well, what's more shapely than a pear? The piece actually has seven parts to it and not three, and lots of character (that I wouldn't necessarily connect with a pear).

After putting some thought into it, if I were going to point towards a musical piece that reminds me of pears- the graceful shape of the fruit and trees, the taste, etc.- I might pick something Impressionistic such as Debussy's Girl With The Flaxen Hair as performed by Tal-Haim Samnon. The music of this era aimed to paint a picture for the audience, and this one has the kind of grace and gentle form I associate with pears.

Resources:

1) DuoKeira. "Eric Satie: Trois Morceaux En Form De Poire - VISION (DuoKeira Piano Duo &Valerio Carosi)." YouTube. YouTube, 17 Feb. 2013. Web. 10 Feb. 2014. 

2) "Erik Satie (1866 - 1925)." Erik Satie. Music Files Ltd., 1999-2013. Web. 10 Feb. 2014.

3) Girl with the Flaxen Hair by Claude Debussy. Perf. Tel-Haim Samnon. YouTube. Tel-Haim Samnon, 13 May 2010. Web. 16 Feb. 2014.