Sala: The Morgan Library and Museum, Nueva York

Regular concert-goers are used to hearing the harp on a church altar or mixed in with a large symphony, barely audible above the mass of strings, bass and brass. But the St Luke’s Chamber Ensemble put the harp center stage, in an evening of 20th-century French music, no less.

Tragicomedia presented a jewel-box of baroque cantatas at Gilder Lehrman Hall at the Morgan Library Museum. The elite ensemble, directed by Stephen Stubbs, includes some of America’s finest Baroque musicians, who can improvise in the style as well. Friday evening’s concert also featured soprano Shannon Mercer and bass-baritone Douglas Williams.