The Natchez Festival of Music presents the Harmonie Universelle in a concert of Baroque chamber music at 3 p.m. on Sunday, May 10, at Trinity Episcopal Church.

The music, all dating from the first half of the 18th century, uses various combinations of flute, viola d’amore, and harpsichord, by some of the greatest composers of the Baroque period (excepting only J. S. Bach): Georg Frideric Handel, Georg Philipp Telemann, Christoph Graupner, and Francois Couperin.

The title of the program, “That’s Amore,” refers to two remarkable variants on common instruments of the day, the “flauto d’amore” and the “viola d’amore.” These unusual tone-colors were prized for their sweetness and intimacy, hence their names.

Harmonie Universelle was founded in 1983 by two American musicians studying and working in Amsterdam — flutist Catherine Bull, who lived in Natchez before going away to the University of North Carolina and to the New England Conservatory of Music, and harpsichordist Daniel Pyle.

The ensemble includes other musicians according to the needs of the music. In this event, violist Elena Kraineva, who graduated from the Moscow Conservatory and recently completed her doctorate from Indiana University, will play. It is their conviction that any music sounds best when performed using the instruments and playing techniques as the composers knew them. Thus the flutes played by Bull are made of wood and have only a single key; and the keyboard-instrument played by Pyle is a harpsichord — a plucked-string instrument — rather than a piano, which is a member of the percussion family.

The viola d’amore is a special case, in that it has no modern equivalent. It is held and played like a violin, under the performer’s chin, but in construction and in its silvery tone-quality is more like the older family of viola-da-gamba. It has, like a gamba, seven strings, but it has also a second set of seven strings made of metal that are not touched but merely vibrate sympathetically, enhancing the shimmering quality of the sound.

The flauto d’amore, on the other hand, is distinguished from the normal Baroque flute by being lower in pitch and wider in its bore, giving it a soft but deep character, not unlike the singing of Marlene Dietrich.

In a time when the use of “original instruments” has become relatively common, it is still unusual to hear these “d’amore” versions.

The music they will play comes from many of the foremost composers of the High Baroque. Handel requires no introduction to music-lovers. Domenico Scarlatti, born in the same year as Handel and Bach, was primarily a harpsichordist, in the service of the Queen of Spain.

Scarlatti’s music captures fully the feel of the Spanish land and cityscapes and the volatility of the Spanish character. Francois Couperin was a member of a musical family in France that rivals the Bach family in its scope and accomplishment. Telemann and Graupner, both contemporaries of Bach, were in their time the two most highly regarded musicians in Germany. They were the first and second choices for the position of Music Director and Cantor of the St. Thomas School in Leipzig, but when neither of them accepted the city’s invitation then Bach was hired.

Telemann’s music is typified by wit and color. Graupner, who wrote more for the viola d’amore than any other composer, imbued his music with a depth not unlike Bach’s, and yet a transparency of texture that was all his own.

“That’s Amore” will be performed at Trinity Episcopal Church, 305 South Commerce Street at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 10, $20 admission ($10 for Students K-12, Adult with K-12 Student, College and Active Military with Current ID).

For tickets to “That’s Amore” and all other events please visit natchezfestivalofmusic.com, call 601-446-6631, visit Natchez Pilgrimage Tours, 640 S. Canal Street, Natchez, MS, or at the door.

Upcoming events include Best of the Mississippi Blues, an evening of Robert Johnson starring Vasti Jackson at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 9, at Margaret Martin Performing Arts Center. $20 admission ($10 for Students K-12, Adult with K-12 Student, College and Active Military with Current ID

 

Daniel Pyle is a harpsichordist in “That’s Amore.”