PORT TOWNSEND — The Salish Sea Early Music Festival on Saturday will present music that likely has not been performed since the death of Louis XIV in 1715, said artistic director Jeffrey Cohan.
The concert at 2 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 1020 Jefferson St., will present a set of five suites from an extensive and completely unknown manuscript which Louis XIV’s music librarian Andre Danican Philidor l’aine prepared for evening concerts for the king during the last two years of his life, Cohan said.
Cohan discovered the suites in Paris, he said.
They “are not to be found online and most likely have not been performed since the death of Louis XIV,” Cohan said in a press release.
Admission will be a suggested donation of $15, $20 or $25. Those 18 and under will be admitted free of charge.
The baroque music will be performed by Cohan on flute, Courtney Kuroda on violin, Victoria Gunn on viola and Anna Marsh on bassoon.
The concert will be the first of the season. Concerts will be at the church at 2 p.m. on six Saturdays and one Sunday through May 16.
Coming up after Saturday’s performance will be:
• Saturday, Feb. 1 — Mozart Flute Quartets, with Cohan and Gunn, as well as Carrie Krause on violin and Caroline Nicolas on cello.
• Saturday, March 7 — Charles Burney’s Travels 1770-1772 — Cohan, Hans-Jürgen Schnoor on harpsichord and Susie Napper on cello.
• Saturday, March 14 — Giuliani & Friends — Cohan and Oleg Timofeyev on guitar.
• Saturday, April 4 — Musica Alta Ripa —Cohan, Anne Röhrig on violin and Bernward Lohr on harpsichord.
• Sunday, April 19 — Louis XV — Cohan and John Lenti on theorbo and baroque guitar.
• Saturday, May 16 — Italian Canzonas & Sonatas — Cohan, Lenti and Marsh.
For more information, see www.salishseafestival.org/porttownsend.
The Salish Sea Early Music Festival is an affiliate of Early Music America (EMA) , which celebrates early music and historically informed performance in North America. All donations through EMA are tax-deductible. For more information see www.earlymusicamerica.org.
