The Early Music Festival begins today in San José, featuring Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque sounds and instruments, and an 18th century Peruvian opera premiere.

“Early music” usually connotes a period in Western music that ranges from the Middle Ages to around 1750, the year Johann Sebastian Bach died.

The festival commences with Costa Rican ensemble Syntagma Musicum, who will perform material from the baroque and colonial Latin American period (7 p.m. at the Spanish Cultural Center).

The early music celebration continues through Friday with free concerts at the center as well as the Mexican Institute and the University of Costa Rica (UCR) Art School.

Featured artists include Mexico's Dúo Ambriz-Corona – soprano Lourdes Ambriz and baroque guitarist Antonio Corona – and Spanish clavier player María Luisa Morales.

Friday's finale raises the curtain for Costa Rican Grupo Ganassi, rendering “ Venid, venid deidades,” an opera composed by Fray Esteban Ponce de León in 1749, making its Costa Rican debut (7 p.m. at the Spanish Cultural Center).

(See the What's Happening listing for a full program.)