If only to look at some pretty pictures, here are the Satie and Darius Milhaud recordings made under Bernard Herrmann's direction in the early 70's. The CD's are reissues of the LP's.

Milhaud was something of a protégé of Satie, and was present at the original furniture music non-performance. For an incredible survey of Milhaud's work, see Orpheus In Aix (once you start reading, you'll be there a while, better pack a lunch.)

Check-out Milhaud's essay about Satie's ballets and "Les Six."

Decca/London SPC 21062	The Impressionists Bernard Herrmann and the London Philharmonic Orchestra LP recorded at Kingsway Hall, London 1970 Gymnopedies I & II (Satie) Clair de Lune (Debussy) Valse 'La Plus Que Lante' (Debussy) Five o'clock Foxtrot (Ravel) Pavane (Faure) Pastorale d'ete (Honegger)
Decca / London SPC 21094	Erik Satie and His Friend Darius Milhaud Bernard Herrmann and the London Festival Players LP recorded 1972 Les Aventures de Mercure La belle excentrique Jack-in-the-Box (orch. Milhaud) Saudades do Brasil (Suite of Dances) (Milhaud)
London/Decca 421 395-2	Gymnopedies CD released 1989 Gymnopedies from the first LP and all of the second LP Plus from the 1971 LP The Four Faces of Jazz: The Good Life (Foxtrot) Ragtime (Stravinsky)
London/Decca 443 897-2	Erik Satie & Darius Milhaud CD released 1996 Same as the 1989 CD without the 2 extra jazz tracks.

American Record Guide, Nov-Dec 1996, Charles H. Parsons:
(Reviews Erik Satie & Darius Milhaud)

This program is a brilliant one; the music is carefree, tuneful, eccentric, and more than a bit tongue-in-cheek. Popular music from the French music-hall was an obsession with Satie and Milhaud. Milhaud spent two years in Brazil, and the Saudades do Brasil are a catchy reflection of those memories and musical influences.

Bernard Herrmann leads this program with great sympathy and style. This was recorded in November 1972 as part of London's Phase 4 Series; the sound was deemed spectacular at the time, but I am surprised how bright and harsh and boxy it is. Still, I enjoyed it immensely.
Review Grade: A


Gramophone, Dec 89:
<Brief "CD Roundup" comment on 89 Gymnopedies CD>

On the face of it, a bargain-price disc of Milhaud's Saudades do Brasil, Stravinsky's Ragtime, and Satie's Jack-in-the-Box, Aventures de Mercure, Belle excentrique and Gymnopedies 1 & 3 may seem very desirable, but performances by the London Philharmonic Orchestra and London Festival Players under Bernard Herrmann all tend to be a little heavy, and some of the early 1970's recordings are too closely balanced.

London/Decca 411 839

Parade: The Eccentric Erik Satie This LP packaged the Bernard Herrmann Satie recordings with a wild version of Parade by the Camarata Contemporary Chamber Orchestra. (Click on this link to read indignant reviews of Parade.)

Gramophone, Dec 84, Brief review of "Parade: The Eccentric Erik Satie":

The sound is characteristically forwardly balanced but, if one accepts that, the quality is very good. However, the performances are more controversial. Bernard Herrmann and the London Festival Players feature in two excerpts from La belle excentrique, the ballet Les Aventures de Mercure, plus Milhaud's orchestration of Jack-in-the-Box. Herrmann is obviously sympathetic to the music, but his jaunty manner misses the mordant with of these scores. He also directs the LPO in langurous performances of the two most famous Gymnopedies.<Parade comments>

Penguin 86, the same reviewer repeats:

Originally recorded in Decca's hi-fi Phase Fours sytem, the sound is characteristically vivid with a forward balance. Although Bernard Hermann is not an unsympathetic Satie advocate, his performacnes are not distinguished, and the jaunty manner misses the mordant wit of these scores; moreover the Gymnopedies by contrast take languor to the point of lassitude.