Two acclaimed musicians will present songs more than a century old from a pair of ancient instruments as they take listeners on a mellow musical journey.

The rare ensemble dates back to the classical music period of Mozart.

Together, Oleg Timofeyev’s Russian seven-string guitar and Jeffrey Cohan’s eight-keyed flute combine to create rich, beautiful melodies.

“These instruments are quite different than their modern counterparts,” Cohan said.

“When they blend, they are more mellow sounding when than their modern contemporaries,” Timofeyev said. “And they have sweet sounds.”

The musicians are bringing their one-of-a-kind instruments and combined talents to Trinity Lutheran Church at 7 p.m. Friday.

Trinity’s director of music is proud to have the performers on Whidbey.

“They are both highly professional and acclaimed musicians,” Karl Olsen said.

Olsen holds concerts at the church about once a month for everyone in the community to enjoy.

“I love lots of different kinds of music,” he said. “I thought this would be a good way for people to enjoy a variety of music for not a lot of money.”

The concert is free, but the church will collect donations to cover expenses.

It could be the first time many audience members hear the genre of music Cohan and Timofeyev will perform. In fact, many of the duo’s works are largely unheard of in our time.

Their compositions have been unearthed from libraries around the world, including Russian libraries and the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. These compositions were made specifically for the flute and the guitar in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century.

Timofeyev is a top performer of the Russian guitar.

But it wasn’t until he left Russia and came to the states that he embraced this instrument.

“I am a Russian and have access to Russian culture that I didn’t think about when I lived in Russia,” he said.

The lack of knowledge about Russian musical culture was both frustrating and inspiring to the musician.

“I started writing my dissertation in 1999 and became an authority on the Russian guitar,” he said.

Jeffrey Cohan is a flutist that has received international acclaim for his achievements.

He has played flutes ranging from the modern version to flutes that were created during the Renaissance period.

It wasn’t until after Cohan purchased his eight-keyed flute that he realized how original it really was.

“I just happened to buy this flute but found it was perfect for this flute repertoire,” he said.

“This one is really great because it was made during the time of Schubert and Beethoven, and many important flute composers at the time,” he said. “I didn’t quite know what I had until I looked into it.”

The musician said he doesn’t know if there is another flute exactly like his.

Cohan said this eight-keyed flute is 35 years younger than another flute he owns from 1785, but its sound is much smoother in comparison.

“It still plays almost like new. It hasn’t lost the edge of its tone,” he said.

The two musicians’ one-of-a-kind instruments just happen to make a natural musical synthesis.

Both instruments were created at a time when composers were writing music paired for the flute and guitar, Cohan said.

The musicians have found that not only their instruments, but their musical tastes and styles are complementary.

“We belong to the same aesthetics of playing,” Timofeyev said. “The way we look at any piece of music is very similar.”

The performers’ musical tastes make their integrated sounds a natural combination.

“It makes it easy to play together, and easier to blend with each other and the similarities of our two instruments,” Timofeyev said.