From Wednesday 3 to Monday 8 June, visitors to The Sherborne will be treated to something rather special: the sound of a harpsichord resonating through the house once more.

For one week only, the sounds of the High Baroque return to The Sherborne, as composer and pianist Richard Thomas Jones performs intermittently on a period-correct harpsichord beneath Sir James Thornhill’s mural — a rare and immersive addition to our Of Myths & Murals season, designed to delight, surprise and inspire curiosity.

As part of the opening week of Mat Collishaw’s exhibition, Last Meal on Death Row, and our wider Of Myths & Murals season, Richard will perform French and German Baroque music intermittently during gallery opening hours.

The instrument itself is a finely crafted Italian-style harpsichord, closely copied from a 1786 Gregori original and made by Peter Barnes in 2023. Built in Frome, with its cedarwood case and spruce soundboard, it brings the bright, intimate soundworld of the Baroque into direct conversation with Sir James Thornhill’s extraordinary mural.

Richard’s training spans Cambridge and Germany, where he studied under Dr Karl Otto Plum. Plum was himself a student of Eduard Erdmann, placing Richard within a remarkable musical lineage that can be traced back through Liszt to Beethoven — and even further into the world of Bach. Richard has recently completed his PhD in musical composition at the University of Bristol under the supervision of composer John Pickard, bringing a fitting South West connection to this special moment at The Sherborne.

Richard says:

“For the first time in probably well over two centuries, a period-correct harpsichord will be heard alongside Thornhill’s mural, 300 years since its completion. The sounds of the High Baroque will echo through the house once more.”

Expect moments of enchantment, music drifting through the stair hall, and a rare chance to experience The Sherborne as it may once have sounded: alive with art, history and imagination.