Coming up in Philly music: Meet the original Mozart and Haydn

The original musicians who performed Mozart and Haydn quartets played instruments that were softer and mellower than the strings we listen to nowadays. The Franklin Quartet, playing music from the years when composers created the first string quartets, recaptures that sound for modern listeners.

The period instrument music trend started with modern musicians playing Renaissance and Baroque music on the types of instruments musicians actually played between 1400 and 1750. In recent years, the movement has advanced into later periods.

The Franklin musicians, such as violinist Rebecca Harris, all specialize in period instruments and play regularly with Tempesta di Mare and other Philadelphia Baroque groups. On August 20, they’ll visit the living room of Laurel Hill Mansion in Fairmount Park — a setting whose intimacy matches the gentler sound of their instruments. This latest Concerts by Candlelight program will end, as usual, with a reception on the back porch of the mansion.

Concerts by Candlelight will present the Franklin Quartet at 6:30pm on August 20 at Laurel Hill Mansion, Randolph Drive, East Fairmount Park. Tickets are $25 and they’re available online and by calling 215-235-1776.