Bach, Handel, and most of their contemporaries often directed performances from the harpsichord. This has inspired many modern conductors to adopt the same method. Baroque orchestras, smaller than full symphony orchestras, sit close enough to hear the harpsichord. This gives the musicians the rhythmic precision and drive a drummer gives to a jazz band. A good harpsichord-director will know how to “spice things up”: if he's creative and has flair, he can influence the way everybody plays, adding shape, color, and character. In Messiah, most of the arias are for solo voice and violins, accompanied by the bass instruments and keyboard, known as the continuo. Here a harpsichord-director can give his imagination full rein, as Baroque composers did. Arias such as “Thou Shalt Break Them” and “Rejoice Greatly” are full of opportunities for word painting.

At Cambridge I was fortunate to be influenced by the great harpsichordist and Baroque scholar Thurston Dart. His extrovert, imaginative, yet tasteful continuo playing remains an inspiration to this day.