PRODUCTION CREDITS
see THE DANCER UPSTAIRS
The mechanism developed by Sébastien Érard (English patent No. 4, 631, 1821) usually called the “double escapement action” (“échappement double”) is the threshold of the modern piano, as it allows a faster repetition of the note. In the soundtrack by Alberto Iglesias for the film directed by John Malkovich, The Dancer Upstairs (2002), there is a little piece played by me, making an unusual use of the said mechanism: “pasito lento.” The experiment consisted in playing the repeated accompaniment of the left hand depressing the key starting half way down (made possible by the double escapement), while the right hand played the melody in the timbre of a normal touch. The contrasting effect between the two timbres seemed appropriate to the relationship established by the two simultaneous parts of the composition with each other.
I had always wanted to try something like that.
