Les trois Mains: Rameau from the Cobbe Collection

The latest in Julian Perkins' films from the Cobbe Collection at Hatchlands Park showcases a celebrated harpsichord 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. Perkins plays Rameau's 'Les trois Mains' from Rameau's from the Suite in A minor in the third book of Nouvelles Suites de Pièces de Clavecin (Paris, c1728) and, as its title suggests, the piece delights in hand crossings