MOUNT DESERT — People can so often be curious, even uncomfortable, when the term “chamber music” comes up. What is it, exactly?

Natalie Raimondi, executive director of the Mt. Desert Festival of Chamber Music, now preparing for its 49th season of Tuesday evening concerts at the Neighborhood House in Northeast Harbor, beginning July 24, explains, “Many people react doubtfully, afraid to appear gauche or ignorant. Some people think you need special listening skills or a musical background. There are good reasons for this. Chamber music was originally written to be performed in a room or private hall (public symphonic concerts didn’t even appear until the 19th century).

“Therefore,” she continues, “it was heard only by the aristocracy.” Does the stigma of elitism still exist?

“It has been written for voices alone, instruments alone, or combinations of both. So that if symphonic music is like a large commune under the direction of, one hopes, a benevolent conductor, chamber music features several individuals, each having their own thing to say, but still having to get along harmoniously (and I mean that literally).”

According to Mrs. Raimondi, a metaphor might be that chamber music is like black and white photography whereas symphonic music is in Technicolor. Composers, having to confine their ideas to these limited resources without using the effects of a symphony orchestra, have risen to this challenge, and it has resulted in some of the most sublime music ever written.

“The listening experience is therefore more intimate,” she explains, “The audience is more of a participant and a voyager along with the musicians as they go through their journey. It should therefore be performed in a small hall which the Neighborhood House in Northeast Harbor is.

“This is so ironic, because when we started out 49 years ago looking for a venue, the only one available was the Neighborhood House, and with its ambience and acoustics has proven to be the most ideal.”

Programming is tricky, she continued. “People need and want their comfort food – their “warhorses,” so to speak. Contrast is the key. I am a card-carrying food addict – anything with butter, cream or sugar can’t be bad. But you also need spice. So a good musical meal might be: something snappy, short, and even shocking for an appetizer (some modern music fits this bill). For entree - something muscular and filling that you can sink your teeth into, like Beethoven or Brahms. Mozart could be a good carbohydrate, and for dessert, of course, the deliciously exotic music of Debussy or Ravel.”

A few years ago, Mrs. Raimondi was invited to give a talk at the Acadia Senior College titled "How Not to Listen to Music." “I was struck by people coming up to me, saying that although they enjoyed the concert, they felt they lacked the proper credentials to successfully receive the music. What I wanted to say then was, ‘all you need is two ears – leave the pad and pencil home.’

“Don’t come to a concert to learn – turn off your critical mind with its expectations. Just come to listen – let the music wash over you. In other words, surrender to the moment.”

Mrs. Raimondi said the key is to try chamber music. “Immerse yourself in the ideal world of music that never screams at you or hurts your ears, but invites you in.”

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