Viva le Roi! Hear the music played by kings

We usually imagine kings and other aristocrats listening to their musicians play while they dined on pheasant and dallied with their mistresses. In fact, most musical monarchs were serious musicians themselves. Louis XIV danced in court ballets, and he and Louis XIII were both devoted lute players. The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society presents internationally renowned lutenist Miguel Yisrael playing music from the Court of Versailles composed by Germain Pinel and Robert de Visée, the two lute masters who taught the kings their art.

The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society presents The King’s Lute: French Baroque Lute Music from Versailles, featuring Miguel Yisrael, on Friday, March 7 at 8pm at the American Philosophical Society’s Benjamin Franklin Hall, 427 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia. Tickets are $24 (includes free tasting before the concert and during intermission). For tickets and more information, call 215-569-8080 or visit www.pcmsconcerts.org.