Music assistants often have a poor press. Franz Süssmayr is known only for his controversial completion of Mozart's Requiem, while Robert Craft is known largely for his role as Stravinsky's assistant. As Handel's amanuensis, John Christopher Smith has suffered a similar fate. Moreover, confusion has prevailed as to his identity. His father shared the same Christian names and was Handel's original amanuensis. Thus the omens for Smith's musical legacy...

Emma Abbate and Julian Perkins perform works by Richard Arnell; Lennox Berkeley; Stephen Dodgson; and Constant Lambert.