The Healing Cut by Eddie McGuire
The sub-title of this piece, Thoughts on the use of Music as an Anaesthetic, encapsulates the personal questions brought out in response to the Marais music. In the case of the bass viol the dark side is brought out by low drones and tremolando which signal tension and fear in the patient. The entry of the flute signifies the hope of the patient in healing and recovery and often the viol soars upwards to join the flute in optimism. Perhaps the more mechanical aspects of the keyboard signify the dexterous precision of the surgeon but overall the piece represents a lyrical musical anaesthetic with the fear and disturbed dream world of the patient bubbling to the surface in response to words he’s heard being spoken. The title, The Healing Cut, is also a reference to the decoration which gives distinctive articulation to bagpipe music.

The above photograph is by Jane Wildgoose by kind permission of The Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret, 9a St Thomas St, Southwark, London SE1