The Salish Sea Early Music Festival continues at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Port Townsend with two concerts in May.

On Sunday, May 4, at 2 p.m., “Louis XIV's Musicians” is set to present works by instrumentalist composers who were admired by the 17th-to-18th century French king. They are slated to be performed on period instruments by viola da gambist Caroline Nicolas from New York City, baroque guitarist William Simms from Baltimore, and artistic director and baroque flutist Jeffrey Cohan.

“The king's court musical establishment is to be represented by composers Jean-Baptiste Lully, Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre, Marin Marais and Jacques Hotteterre, among others, and will include music designated for the king's bedtime, evening concerts and banquets,” Cohan said.

This concert will also include the earliest known French solo specifically for the transverse flute by the king’s court music librarian André Danican Philidor L'Ainé, which Cohan does not expect the concert’s attendees to have heard anywhere else, since he discovered it “in a relatively unknown, and as yet unpublished,” manuscript in the Library of Congress.

“The ever-present music at the court of Louis XIV reflected the emotional and spiritual life of the king and his contemporaries, which continues to resonate with us to this day,” Cohan said. “It also served as a powerful political tool, affirming the king's authority, prestige and status, both in France and internationally.”

Cohan plans to return to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on Friday, May 16, at 6 p.m. for the “Concerti from the Court of Frederick the Great,” which he described as “a completely new assortment of concerti for harpsichord and flute from the illustrious members of the musical establishment of the flutist King of Prussia, Frederick the Great,” including Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Johann Joachim Quantz and the monarch himself.

Cohan expects to be joined on May 16 by David Schrader on harpsichord, Elizabeth Phelps and Courtney Kuroda on baroque violin, Christine Moran on baroque viola and Susie Napper on baroque cello.

The Salish Sea Early Music Festival continues further with 2 p.m. concerts on the Sundays of June 8 and July 13.

“Folks Song From Three Centuries” will be performed on June 8 by Cohan and guitarist Oleg Timofeyev, the latter of whom will also be playing the renaissance lute.

July 13 will present Johann Sebastian Bach’s compositions for the flute and harpsichord will be performed by Cohan on baroque flute and Irene Roldàn on harpsichord.

What to know:

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church is located at 1020 Jefferson St. in Port Townsend.

Admission is a suggested “free will offering” donation of $20 to $30, but those aged 18 years or younger may attend for free, and all are welcome, regardless of donation.