Unplayed By Human Hands
January 11th, 2005 | music
Received in email:
Unplayed By Human Hands is the name of an album of organ music whose origin is so geeky as to defy description.
Back in the early seventies a bunch of guys from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory took a mini computer (only a single truck was needed to carry it) to a church with this huge pipe organ. They laid solenoids across the keyboards, peddles and stops. They keyed in a pile of Bach into the computer (if MIDI existed then it was very young). The computer played the organ and they recorded it. Apparently the footwork is to die for.
I have been looking for this album for THIRTY EARS and its not on eBay or ANYWHERE.
You and people reading this blog seem to be into esoteric music. Maybe YOU can find it. I want to rip it into MP3s and release it to the world!
Anybody?














The early 1970’s sounded too early to me for MIDI, so I took a look and found this article on MIDI history that says it all started in 1982.
http://www.kfjc.org/md/pl/3-12-97/mole.Mar.06.07.html
This radio station has it — perhaps you could borrow it?
Anand
Prentis Knowlton, PhD, plays the piano as a hobby, and in the ealy 70s…
http://onlinelearning.net/CommunitiesofStudy/InstructorInterviews/Prentiss_Knowlton_0299.html?s=321.f030z754s.011g515m10
Ed: Hobbies? What do you do when you are not teaching/working?
PK: I play the piano (a happy product of piano lessons). The first time I saw how a pipe organ is electrically operated, I was inspired to interface one to a computer! I actually earned my Ph.D. by using the computer to display music. I became totally obsessed with the development of a computer-controlled pipe organ. Upon completing a working prototype I even got some TV coverage. I managed to get a local church to sell me a pipe organ in the early 70’s. The Digital Equipment Corporation PDP-8 computer to control it was the size of a refrigerator. An entire album was recorded at All Saints Church, Pasadena, California, on an 88-rank pipe organ. The church was empty while the PDP-8 played the pipe organ and the recording engineer and I went out for hamburgers. The title of the album is Unplayed by Human Hands.
Here’s a copy of the cover, and while the ownser says he ain’t selling, he might be able to offer some advice.
http://www.warrenellis.com/index.php?p=116
Warren Ellis helps in the searc…
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I own a mint copy of this wonderfully esoteric LP. For the right price, I might be persuaded to sell it. I don’t mean to sound like a jerk, I just love it, and it would take a lot to get me to part with it. Talk about a piece of musical history!