The period instrument group Ensemble 1720 will perform a program of Baroque chamber music on Sunday, May 4, at 7 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Murfreesboro. The concert is free and open to the public.

The performance will include a variety of music by Baroque masters George Frideric Handel, Arcangelo Corelli, Henry Purcell, Pietro Locatelli and Georg Philipp Telemann.

A distinctive feature of the concert is the use of the types of instruments that were in use at the time that the pieces were written—the Baroque period, the time of J.S. Bach and Handel.

“The orchestral instruments that we know today were altered significantly in the 19th century. This performance features instruments from the Baroque, the time that the music was composed, and so we’ll be recreating the style that the composers would have expected, so that the music may be heard in all its original color and passion,” said George Riordan, oboist of the group, and retired director of the MTSU School of Music.

The performance will feature current MTSU professors Andrea Dawson (violin) and Christine Kim (cello), as well as recent MTSU faculty members oboist Riordan and harpsichordist Lillian Pearson. Joining these colleagues will be violinist Karen Clarke, professor emerita of Florida State University, who recently completed service as member of the faculty of the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University. All five are active as performers on modern and period instruments throughout the country.

The evening’s program includes:
Georg Philipp Telemann: “Quartet in G Major”
Pietro Locatelli: “Trio Sonata in G Major”
Henry Purcell: “Golden Sonata in F Major”
Arcangelo Corelli: “Trio Sonata in F Major”
George Frideric Handel: “Trio Sonata for Oboe, Violin and Continuo”

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church is located at 351 E. Main St., Murfreesboro.

For more information on the free concert or on Ensemble 1720, contact George T. Riordan at george.riordan@mtsu.edu or (850) 264-9293.