Скачать или смотреть Julian Perkins – Rameau's 'Les trois Mains' – Hatchlands Park

‘Les trois Mains’ by Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683–1764)
from the Suite in A minor in ''Nouvelles Suites de Pièces de Clavecin'' (Paris, c1728)

Performed by Julian Perkins at Hatchlands Park in Surrey, England.

While Rameau is now best known for his operas, it was largely as a keyboard composer that he forged his reputation. His four books of harpsichord works include a wonderful assortment of character pieces such as ‘Les Cyclopes’, ‘La Poule’ and ‘Le Rappel des Oiseaux’. ‘Les trois Mains’ comes from Rameau’s third book and, as its title suggests, delights in hand crossings. Was it Rameau who inspired Domenico Scarlatti into conjuring a ‘third hand’ in many of his daring keyboard sonatas?

This celebrated harpsichord forms part of The Cobbe Collection and, due to its mixed parentage, is known as a Ruckers-Hemsch; the original instrument was made in 1636 by Andreas Ruckers in Antwerp, before a ''ravalement'' (or extension) in 1763 by Henri Hemsch in Paris. It has two 8-foot registers, one 4-foot register, a harp stop and a manual coupler, with a five-octave compass from FF to f3.

Recorded 18 January 2017

► Julian Perkins: http://www.julianperkins.com