Harpsichord Concerto « Antoinette »
Patrick Wedd, organist of Christ Church Cathedral, Montreal, passed away in 2019. His longtime partner gave me Patrick’s harpsichord after his passing, knowing that I would relish the chance to practice harpsichord at home. When the pandemic hit in early 2020, all my tours and performances were cancelled and I was at home looking for projects to sink my teeth into. I began playing the harpsichord quite a bit and one day after improvising at the instrument for a few minutes I felt a piece coming out, and wrote it down that night very quickly before I forgot it. The harpsichord concerto comes out of improvising at the keyboard in a baroque style. It starts out rather serious, gets very quick and playful, has an air in the middle that is delicate and sweet, and ends with some gravitas. The title is named after the instrument which Patrick called « Antoinette, » and is dedicated to Patrick and his partner Rob.