Get to know 'Vexations' — it will be played 840 times in a row at Jack Straw

Think of it as a musical mandala.

Eric Satie's "Vexations" is a one-page piece of music — a brief gem of melancholy tune and chord progression — for which the composer left some unusual instructions: "In order to play the theme 840 times in succession, it would be advisable to prepare oneself beforehand, and in the deepest silence, by serious immobilities."

Written in 1893 or thereabouts, it wasn't performed until 1963. When repeated 840 times, it runs between 18 and 24 hours long and it's customary for pianists to handle it tag-team style.

This weekend it enjoys its Seattle premiere at Jack Straw Productions, starting at 4 p.m. on Saturday and lasting until ... whenever. The lineup of participating pianists includes well-known locals — Garrett Fisher, Rachel Matthews, Tiffany Lin, Byron Au Yong, Wayne Horvitz, Robin Holcomb and more — augmented by local piano students.

"It's definitely the kind of thing where you can come and go," says Jack Straw's executive director, Joan Rabinowitz. "We'll have chairs set up, but we're also planning to have a rug with some pillows, in case people want to really hang out."

Rabinowitz, who was surprised the piece hadn't been done here before, says the performance was prompted by a serendipitous turn of events, when she and her colleagues realized they'd inadvertently booked a cluster of piano installations, performances and discussions on the Jack Straw calendar.

"It was like: 'OK. More pianos! Let's fill in here.' "

Rabinowitz had been deeply impressed by a performance of "Vexations" she'd seen in her college days at Oberlin. Then she found two locals — Fisher and Matthews — who'd played it, also at Oberlin. The clinching coincidence: May 17 was Satie's birthday.

What's the piece's appeal?

There is, she says, a definite "theatricality" about it, to do with the way each pianist picks up from the last, without interrupting the dreamy flow of the melody. Another appeal is the way it occasions "community spirit" as pianists band together to make it happen.

For players, the idea is to get lost in it. That's why someone other than the performer keeps count of the repetitions. Listeners, however, are welcome to drift.

Michael Upchurch: mupchurch@seattletimes.com