St. Patrick's Breastplate for SEVEN HARPS

The Breastplate of Saint Patrick (c. 385 - c. 461) is a prayer traditionally attributed to Saint Patrick. In 1839, George Petrie (1789-1866) translated the prayer, and it was later set to music specifically for this purpose. Composer Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924) arranged the piece into a solemn hymn based on traditional melodies. The original tune appears as No. 1048 in Petrie/Stanford's collection (1902-5) under the title The Hymn of St. Bernard. Jesu dulcis memoria. From Mr Southwell. It is also included as Hymn No. 212 in The English Hymnal (1906) and as Hymn No. 459 in the Hymnal of the Nippon Sei Ko Kai under the title "Where can we find the God?"

Although the original A section is not repeated, this arrangement follows an AAB structure.

The piece begins with a solo on a 24-string harp (op. 37). The Shamrock harp enters in unison, followed by a counter-melody on op. 343. From the third chorus onward, additional harps enter with bass accompaniment and textures across other registers.

Instrument crafting, arrangement, and performance by Keisuke Teramoto

Harps used in the performance:

24-string metal-strung harp made of keyaki wood (op. 37, C3-E6)

20-string metal-strung harp "Shamrock" made of hinoki wood (op. 317, G3-E6)

20-string metal-strung harp made of hinoki wood (op. 343, G3-E6)

12-string metal-strung harp made of kiri wood (op. 253, G1-D3)

13-string carbon-strung harp made of magnolia and cherry wood (op. 341, G5-E7)

27-string metal-strung harp "Celtic Pattern" made of tulipwood (op. 65, G2-E6)

Metal-strung harp "Dragon Harp" made of hinoki wood (op. 311, G3-E6)