Embryons desséchés ("Dried up embryos") is a piano composition by Erik Satie, composed in the summer of 1913. The composition consists of three little "movements", each taking about two to three minutes to play. Embryos (and one tadpole) of the wrinkled frog (Rana rugosa you beezie). ... Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (born Honfleur, 17 May 1866 – 1 July 1925 in Paris) was a French composer, performing pianist and publicist. ... 1913 is a common year starting on Wednesday. ...

The music

The parts of the composition are:

1. (Desiccated embryo) of a Holothuroidean (30 june 1913), dedicated to Suzanne Roux: Orders Subclass Apodacea  Apodida  Molpadiida Subclass Aspidochirotacea  Aspidochirotida  Elasipodida Subclass Dendrochirotacea  Dactylochirotida  Dendrochirotida The sea cucumber is an echinoderm of the class Holothuroidea, with an elongated body and leathery skin. ...

• See: sea cucumber. Note that this type of animal has no eyes.
• The music of this first part of the composition concentrates on the so-called "purring" of the holothuroidea, besides making fun of Loïsa Puget's song Mon rocher de Saint Malo ("My rock of Saint Malo" - a then popular salon composition, which Satie had probably played numerous times in his cabaret pianist career). That this song is intended is already clear from the introduction Satie writes above the score: "[...] I observed a Holothuroidea in the bay of Saint-Malo." Further he writes following remarks in the score, when "quoting" the melody of the song: "What a nice rock!" and the second time: "That was a nice rock! How sticky!".

2. (Desiccated embryo) of a Edriophthalma (1 july 1913), dedicated to Edouard Dreyfus: Orders Subclass Apodacea  Apodida  Molpadiida Subclass Aspidochirotacea  Aspidochirotida  Elasipodida Subclass Dendrochirotacea  Dactylochirotida  Dendrochirotida The sea cucumber is an echinoderm of the class Holothuroidea, with an elongated body and leathery skin. ... Some species of felines make a sound which is called a purr. ... Cabaret is a form of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue - a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting around the tables (often dining or drinking) watching the performance. ... Categories: France geography stubs | Communes of Ille-et-Vilaine ...

• Edriophthalmata, also known as Arthrostraca, are crustaceans with immobile eyes. In more modern taxonomies they belong to sub-groups of the Tetradecapoda (i.e. fourteen-legged crustaceans), e.g. Amphipoda (several kinds of usually small shrimp), and isopoda (see e.g. this giant isopod or these woodlice).
• It is not clear whether Satie had in mind any of these animals in particular, or that he just wanted to make reference to this group of crustaceans in general, for their "underdog"-like qualities (which he describes as subdue and morose in the score). Anyway, in this part of the composition he makes fun of Frederic Chopin's funeral march (by the way calling it a "famous" MAZURKA by SCHUBERT - now, there is no "famous" mazurka by Schubert: Schubert composed many dances, but no mazurkas - mazurkas are Polish dances: Chopin had been the most famous Polish composer that ever lived in Paris, and he had particularily favoured the composition of mazurkas... there's the link Satie makes with a curb).

3. (Desiccated embryo) of a Podophthalma (4 july 1913), dedicated to Jane Mortier: Classes Branchiopoda Cephalocarida Malacostraca Maxillopoda Ostracoda Remipedia The crustaceans (Crustacea) are a large group of arthropods (55,000 species), usually treated as a subphylum. ... Taxonomy (from Greek ταξινομία from the words taxis = order and nomos = law) may refer to either a hierarchical classification of things, or the principles underlying the classification. ... Sub-orders Gammaridea Caprellidea Hyperiidea Ingolfiellidea Amphipoda (amphipods) include about 4600 different species of small, shrimp-like crustaceans. ... Superfamilies Alpheoidea Atyoidea Bresilioidea Campylonotoidea Crangonoidea Galatheacaridoidea Nematocarcinoidea Oplophoroidea Palaemonoidea Pandaloidea Pasiphaeoidea Physetocaridoidea Procaridoidea Processoidea Psalidopodoidea Stylodactyloidea True shrimp are small, swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. ... SubOrders Anthuridea Asellota Calabozoida Epicaridea Flabellifera Microcerberidea Oniscidea Phreatoicidea Valvifera Isopods are one of the most diverse orders of Crustaceans, with many species living in all environments, and are common in shallow marine waters. ... Species Bathynomus affinis Bathynomus decemspinosus Bathynomus doederleinii Bathynomus giganteus Bathynomus immanis Bathynomus kapala Bathynomus miyarei Bathynomus pelor Bathynomus propinquus A giant isopod may be one of approximately nine species of large isopods (crustaceans related to the shrimps and crabs) in the genus Bathynomus. ... Infraorders and Families Not necessarily a complete list Infraorders: Ligiamorpha Tylomorpha Families: Dubioniscidae Irmaosidae Pseudarmadillidae Scleropactidae Armadillidium vulgare A woodlouse, also known as a pill bug (genus Armadillidium only), armadillo bug, sow bug, slater, ball bug, potato bug, doodlebug, or roley-poley/roly-poly, is a terrestrial crustacean with a... This article is about Frédéric Chopin, the composer. ... A funeral march, as the name would indicate, is a slow march often played during funerals and other sombre moments. ... The mazurka is a Polish folk dance in triple time with a usually moderate tempo, containing a heavy accent on the third or second beat. ... For the crater on the moon, see Schubert (crater) Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (January 31, 1797 – November 19, 1828), was an Austrian composer. ...

• Podophthalmia are stalk-eyed crustaceans, like crabs and lobsters (and various types of mostly larger shrimp), now grouped as Decapoda (i.e. ten-legged crustaceans).
• In the score, Satie mentions the "hunter"-like qualities of podophthalmia, so the music is conceived as a miniature hunt. Note that hunts have quite a tradition in classical music, from early baroque keyboard music, over Vivaldi, several classical era composers and romantic opera composers to César Franck. Nonetheless, in music a hunting sea animal can be considered a one-of-a-kind.
• Satie also points out that podophthalmia are delicious nourriture: he was particularly fond of this kind of sea-food himself.

Sections Dromiacea Raninoida Heterotremata Thoracotremata The term crab is sometimes applied to several different groups of short (nose to tail) decapods with thick exoskeletons, but only members of the Brachyura are true crabs; other taxa, such as hermit crabs, porcelain crabs, king crabs, and horseshoe crabs are, despite superficial similarities... Subfamilies and Genera Neophoberinae Acanthacaris Thymopinae Nephropsis Nephropides Thymops Thymopsis Nephropinae Homarus Nephrops Homarinus Metanephrops Eunephrops Thymopides Clawed lobsters comprise a family (Nephropidae, sometimes also Homaridae) of large marine crustaceans. ... Suborders Either suborders: Natantia Reptantia or suborders: Dendrobranchiata Pleocyemata The decapods or Decapoda are a group of crustaceans within the class Malacostraca. ... Antonio Vivaldi Antonio Vivaldi (March 4, 1678, Venice – July 28, 1741, Vienna), nicknamed Il Prete Rosso, meaning The Red Priest, was an Italian priest and baroque music composer. ... The Classical period in Western music occurred in a large part of the 18th century, and into the early 19th century. ... César-Auguste-Jean-Guillaume-Hubert Franck ( December 10, 1822 – November 8, 1890) was a composer and organist. ...

The crustaceans

In the 20th century both Edriophthalmata and Podophthalmia would become classified in the Malacostraca class of the Crustacea subphylum of the Arthropoda phylum: the use of the terms Edriophthalmata and Podophthalmia became obsolete with regard to the taxonomy of crustaceans. (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... Orders Not necessarily a complete list: Leptostraca Stomatopoda Bathynellacea Thermosbaenacea Mysidacea Cumacea Amphipoda Isopoda Tanaidacea Euphausiacea Amphionidacea Decapoda Peracarida The Malacostraca are the largest subgroup of crustaceans, and include most of the animals that non-experts recognise as crustaceans, including the decapods (such as crabs, mole crabs, lobsters and true... Classes Remipedia Cephalocarida Branchiopoda Ostracoda Maxillopoda Malacostraca The crustaceans (Crustacea) are a large group of arthropods (55,000 species), usually treated as a subphylum. ... In biology, a subphylum is a taxonomic grade intermediate between phylum and superclass. ... Subphyla and Classes Subphylum Trilobitomorpha Trilobita - Trilobites (extinct) Subphylum Chelicerata Arachnida - Spiders, Scorpions, etc. ... Phylum is one of the levels of scientific classification of organisms; see the Phylum (biology) article. ...

As to the sources Satie might have had to make references to Podophthalmia and Edriophthalmata: in early Darwinism these crustaceans (and notably also their embryos) were studied by Fritz Müller, in his book Facts and Arguments for Darwin, published in German in 1863, and available in English in 1869. The images below are taken from the Project Gutenberg publication of that book (E-text N° 6475 (http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/6475)): This article is about Darwinism as a philosophical concept; see evolution for the page on biological evolution; modern evolutionary synthesis for neo-Darwinism; and also evolution (disambiguation). ... Fritz Müller. ... 1863 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... 1869 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Project Gutenberg (PG) was launched by Michael Hart in 1971 in order to provide a library, on what would later become the Internet, of free electronic versions (sometimes called e-texts) of physically existing books. ...

From CHAPTER 8 - DEVELOPMENTAL HISTORY OF EDRIOPHTHALMA:

• FIGURE 36. Embryo of Ligia in the egg, magnified 15 diam. B. yelk; L. liver.
• FIGURE 38. Embryo of a Philoscia in the egg, magnified 25 diam.
• FIGURE 39. Embryo of Cryptoniscus planarioides, magnified 90 diam.
• FIGURE 43. Embryo of a Corophium, magnified 90 diam.

From CHAPTER 7 - DEVELOPMENTAL HISTORY OF PODOPHTHALMA:

• FIGURE 34. Embryo of a Squilla, magnified 45 diam. a. heart.

The book also shows other development stages of these animals (zoea, larva), even odder in shape. A larva (Latin; plural larvae) is a juvenile form of animal with indirect development, undergoing metamorphosis (for example, insects or amphibians). ...

Anyway, none of the animals described by Satie in his embryons desséchés were invented by him: in fact his descriptions can be considered as fairly accurate.

External links

• The parodical dimension of the embryons desséchés is further analysed in following article: Satie the Neoclassicist - 4. Quotation, parody and invocation (http://www.comcen.com.au/~carowley/final4.htm)
• A site in French listing several "hunt" pieces in classical music (http://w1.neuronnexion.fr/~goninet/chasse.htm) (...of course forgetting Satie's hunting crustacean).
• Milne Edwards' taxonomy of crustaceans, published 1834-1840 (http://www.bio.pu.ru/win/entomol/KLUGE/nom/~Milne-Edwards1834-1840.htm)