The 2011 Salish Sea Early Music Festival presents three internationally known artists in its fourth and final program of early chamber music performed on period instruments on Lopez, Orcas and San Juan Islands.

Harpsichordist Hans-Jürgen Schnoor from Lübeck, Germany, baroque violinist and leader of the Seattle Baroque Orchestra Ingrid Matthews, and baroque flutist Jeffrey Cohan perform The Musical Offering by J.S. Bach on Lopez on Saturday, April 9 at 1:30 p.m. at Grace Church, on Orcas that same day at 7:30 p.m. at Odd Fellows Hall in Eastsound, and on San Juan Island on Sunday, April 10 at 2 p.m. at St. David’s Church in Friday Harbor.

“This rare opportunity to hear the entire Musical Offering by Johann Sebastian Bach features one of the greatest works of chamber music of any era, initiated in 1747 when King Frederick II of Prussia, a superb flutist, gave to Bach a theme upon which he improvised to the amazement of all present,” Cohan said. “Within the next few weeks Bach perfected and presented to Frederick a composition based on the royal theme which included aset of brilliantly clever canons, fugues and an exquisite trio sonata that is without parallel in the trio sonata repertoire. The 6-part fugue is the most significant keyboard work ever written according to musicologist Charles Rosen. All exhibit Bach’s boundless imagination and arresting depth of expression.”

The program will also include sonatas by Johann Sebastian Bach for violin and flute.

The suggested donation, an offering towards expenses, is $15 or $20 for all concerts. Youth 18 and under are free. For further information, call Grace Church at 468-3477 on Lopez, Odd Fellows Hall at 376-5640 on Orcas, St. David’s Church at 378-5360 in Friday Harbor, or visit www.concertspirituel.org.