Feldman's Sixpenny Editions

Feldmans was a music shop in London in the early 20th century. They sold collections of popular music for playing at home, and some of these were called Feldman’s Sixpenny Editions. Collections like these were among my first feverish encounters with music as a boy. I fell in love with pieces like Martial Steps and The dog barks, the caravan passes on. I entered into them completely, becoming one not only with the music, but with the paper they were printed on, and the advertisements on the back. I pored over these, laying my face on them, waiting for signs of my future direction. The piano plays a significant role in the music. The second movement, Home Thoughts – the centre of my world – is for piano solo. Later, the pianist is asked to play fearless octaves, to be Horowitz, nothing less. The last piece in the collection, The Innermost Secret, refers to the lunches Satie had with Debussy. Satie said that Debussy cooked pork chops ”with the innermost secret“. Gerald Barry