Out Of My Hands
Artwork by Gail Bradshaw
Matthew James Redsell’s harpischord used on this recording had two manuals of five octaves each. It had two sets or ranks of 8 foot strings and one rank of 4 foot strings, for a total of 180 strings. The manuals could be coupled together or played separately. Out Of My Hands is performed using the lute stop on one manual and the 4 foot strings played by the other manual. The lute stop is operated by a lever which presses a small piece of felt against one rank of 8 foot strings, damping the sound. I'm not sure what the title really means as the name was given by my daughter when she first heard the piece when she was three years old, but I liked it. Out Of My Hands is the second piece in the Small Circus Suite, recorded at 37 Spruce Street, Toronto, in 1985, and remastered in 2023.
Patrick
The first time I’ve heard the harpsichord played with non traditional harpsichord music. Wonderfully refreshing!