Performing on Baroque period instruments, the Pro Musica is noted for its immaculate sense of ensemble and precise intonation on these instruments, often more difficult to control than their contemporary versions.

Arcangelo Corelli was one of those exceptionally few composers able to work at leisure at his own pace. His body of work is small but its size is inversely proportional to its influence. Indeed, he set the benchmark for the form of the Concerto Grosso. Sadly, his only piece which today still enjoys frequent performance is the Concerto No.8 in g minor from his Opus 6, and that primarily due to its association with Christmas. Heard on ancient instruments the work sounds very different from its modern incarnation. The Ensemble conjures a lovely pastoral sense throughout, the final of the five movements describing a lively lilt led by violinist Stephen Redfield.

Giovanni Pergolesi, who only lived to be 26, produced like Corelli, only a handful of works, but with them gained immediate fame. Quickly after his early death, several unscrupulous publishers trying to capitalize on Pergolesi’s popularity slapped his name onto their back catalogues of unsold works, creating centuries of work for musicologists in sorting it all out. What clearly separates the “Pergolesi” from the chaff is his striking originality. Flutist Carol Redman took on the quirky twists and turns of the Concerto for Flute in G. The final movement Adagio Spiritoso was almost Pan-like in its gleeful animation.

There are hundreds of Christmas cantatas from this era, most of which are lost to obscurity. None is more striking than Alessandro Scarlatti’s Cantata Pastorale. Indeed, I have often cited its second aria, L’autor d’ogni mio bene (Our hope of life undying) as the most beautiful and tender of all Christmas arias. Mezzo-soprano Janice Felty singing with great affection delivers that wonderful melody ornamented by Redman’s flute. The final section, Tocco la prima (The first to hear angels’ voice) brings a felicitous sense of high spirits.

Vivaldi’s Concerto La Tempest di Mare (The Tempest of the Sea) provides an extensive part for guest performer Mary Ann Shore. Her recorder features prominently throughout, often in short duets with the other woodwinds.

The concert concludes with a group of traditional Italian carols and songs, including Schubert’s Ave Maria (the text actually by Sir Walter Scott) and, In dulci jubilo, the most famous of all Christmas melodies until the coming of “Silent Night.” The rollicking Wassail song with its story of Christmas humor acts as a fitting send-off into the colored lights of central Santa Fe.

This masterfully performed concert repeats at the Loretto Chapel on December 21-24 at 6 and 8 pm.

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