''Je te veux (I Want You)'' is a sung waltz, or ''valse chantée'', by

Erik Satie Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (born 17 May 18661 July 1925), better known as Erik Satie, was a French composer and pianist. The son of a French father and a British mother, he studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, Paris Conservatoire but was an undi ...

to erotic lyrics by Henry Pacory. Its two verses and repeated chorus were written for Paulette Darty, whose

accompanist Accompaniment is the part (music), musical part which provides the rhythmic and/or harmony (music), harmonic support for the melody or main themes of a song or instrumental piece. There are many different styles and types of accompaniment in di ...

Satie had been and who first sang it in 1903 at

La Scala La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, a church). The premiere performa ...

, a cabaret in Paris. ''Je te veux'' was registered with

SACEM The Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers of Music or SACEM () is a French professional association collecting payments of artists’ rights and distributing the rights to the original songwriters, composers, and music publisher A mus ...

on 20 November 1902, but

Alexis Roland-Manuel Alexis Roland-Manuel (22 March 18911 November 1966) was a French composer and critic, remembered mainly for his criticism. Biography He was born Roland Alexis Manuel Lévy in Paris, to a family of Belgian and Jewish origins. He studied composi ...

has argued that was actually composed earlier, in 1897 and as a work for solo piano. What is not disputed is that Satie composed various versions: for piano and voice, as published in 1903; for an orchestra of brass instruments; for full orchestra, with a trio section added between the chorus and the second verse; and at some point for solo piano including this added trio section. In 1925 ''Je te veux'' was recorded by Yvonne George. Other singers who have performed it include

Mathé Altéry Mathé Altéry (, born Marie-Thérèse Renée Micheline Altare, 12 September 1927) is a French soprano prominent in the 1950s and 1960s. Mathé Altéry is the daughter of French tenor Mario Altéry. In 1956, both Altéry and Dany Dauberson ind ...

Régine Crespin Régine Crespin (23 February 1927 – 5 July 2007) was a French soprano who had a major international career in opera and on the concert stage between 1950 and 1989. She started her career singing roles in the dramatic soprano and spinto sopran ...

Nicolai Gedda Harry Gustaf Nikolai Gädda, better known as Nicolai Gedda (11 July 1925 – 8 January 2017), was a Swedish operatic tenor. Debuting in 1951, Gedda had a long and successful career in opera until the age of 77 in June 2003, when he made his final ...

Jessye Norman Jessye Mae Norman (September 15, 1945 – September 30, 2019) was an American opera singer and recitalist. She was able to perform dramatic soprano roles, but did not limit herself to that voice type. A commanding presence on operatic, concert ...

, Marie Devellereau and

Angela Gheorghiu Angela Gheorghiu (; ; born 7 September 1965) is a Romanian soprano, especially known for her performances in the operas of Puccini and Verdi, widely recognised by critics and opera lovers as one of the greatest sopranos of all time. Embarking ...

. More recently jazz vocalist

Cécile McLorin Salvant Cécile McLorin Salvant (born August 28, 1989)Fred Kaplan (journalist), Kaplan, Fred"Cécile McLorin Salvant's Timeless Jazz" ''The New Yorker'', May 22, 2017. is a French-American jazz vocalist. Salvant is one of the most highly regarded jazz voc ...

sang the song on

Jacky Terrasson Jacky Terrasson (born November 27, 1965) is a French jazz pianist and composer. Background Terrasson's mother is African-American from Georgia, and his father is French. From his parents he heard classical music as a child. He began piano lesson ...

's 2012 album ''

Gouache Gouache (; ), body color, or opaque watercolor is a water-medium paint consisting of natural pigment, water, a binding agent (usually gum arabic or dextrin), and sometimes additional inert material. Gouache is designed to be opaque. Gouach ...

''. Composer

John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and Extended technique, non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one ...

, as part of his nine short songs, "Sonnekus²" (1985), instructs his performer to sing the piano-and-voice version of Satie's ''Je te veux''.

Lyrics

References

External links

* *,

Juliette Juliette is a feminine personal name of French language, French origin. It is a diminutive of Julie (given name), Julie. People * Juliette Adam (1836–1936), née Lamber, French author and feminist * Juliette Atkinson (1873–1944), American ten ...

(voice),

Alexandre Tharaud Alexandre Tharaud (born 9 December 1968) is a French pianist. He is active on the concert stage and has released a large and diverse discography. Life and career Born in Paris, Tharaud discovered the music scene through his mother who was a danc ...

(piano) {{Authority control Compositions by Erik Satie Waltzes Mélodies 1903 songs