Portrait of an English Harpsichord James Nares Lesson 1 in G Major Steven Devine with Catherine Martin (violin) Steven Devine has long been known to me through Richard Burnett's Finchcocks Musical Museum in Kent, a visitor-friendly collection of which he has been Assistant Curator since 1996 and where concerts are held regularly. This valuable compilation lets one hear music of the period by English and adopted English composers; for many, the neames of J C Bach, Handel and Arne may be the only ones familiar. The music collected here is mostly from mid-18th C, and it is all attractive and played with sensitivity in autoritative style by Steven Devine, one of the best scholar-harpsichordists around. The harpsichord in question is a fine Kirckmann of 1756, prepared to perfection (with "raven and organic turkey quills") by Bill Dow. Well recorded at Finchcocks in 2005, it will grace anyone's collection without duplicating music they are likely to have already, save for Handel's ever-popular Suite No. 5, the one with "The Harmonious Blacksmith". A lovely CD produced to highest standards, with full, elegant documentation; warmly recommended. Peter Grahame Woolf |