Literal trips to the Amazon focus on the beauty of its sights, but on Friday, an entirely different and artistic journey to the Amazon took place, a journey which immersed its audience in the sounds of the rainforest, from the wind rustling through the trees and the chirping of exotic birds to the earthquake-mimicking rumbles of the drum.

Combining natural sounds and rhythms like those found in the Brazilian Amazon with Spanish and jazz music, Journey to the Amazon, a part of the Flora Glenn Candler Concert Series, was performed at the Schwartz Center.

The performers, Sharon Isbin on guitar, Paul Winter on saxophone and Gaudencio Thiago de Mello on percussion, played 18 compositions, many of which they wrote themselves.

To provide the earthy sounds of the Amazon, de Mello introduced a collection of what he called “organic percussions.”

The sounds made by each object evoked the primitive and natural sounds of the rich Amazon rain forest.

These objects included the hollow shell of a turtle, a beautiful vase which made the earthquaking sounds of the earth and water, a long wooden bamboo stick, several butterfly cocoons tied together with string, a rain stick and toenails of a Tapir, the largest wild animal in South America.

But before this Amazonian journey took place, Isbin began the concert with a sensual Spanish guitar solo in a piece titled “Spanish Dance,” written by Enrique Granados. The piece incorporated elements of Spanish nationalism and romance.

Isbin, a Grammy Award-winning guitarist who has appeared as a soloist with more than 160 orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic and the National Symphony Orchestra, began her performance by playing slow and soft music.

As the piece progressed, the sounds became louder and faster while the same soothing melody repeated itself throughout.

Isbin’s fingers moved with grace and agility as she played with a calm countenance, her head tilted back and her eyes closed, completely invested in the sounds. The music was soothing and evoked the feeling of being present in a Spanish garden.

Following “Spanish Dance,” Isbin played two other solo pieces, “Recuerdos de la Alhambra,” a piece composed by Francisco Tarrega which aimed to capture the sounds of the fountains in the Moorish gardens of Alhambra, and “Waltz” by Augustin Barrios Magore.

As Isbin’s final soloist piece ended, the stage became dark. In a few moments, the sounds of birds chirping and wind rustling could be heard.

When the lights illuminated the stage once again, Winter, a soprano saxophonist who combines African, Russian and Asian music with American jazz, and de Mello, a Grammy-nominated composer and percussionist who was born and raised in the Brazilian Amazon, appeared on stage.

Isbin, de Mello and Winter started off playing compositions written by de Mello, titled “Uirapuru do Amazonas” and “A chamada dos ventos/Cancao Noturna.”

The compositions expressed the musical influences and native legends that de Mello heard while growing up in the Brazilian Amazon.

The three performers also achieved a balance among their starkly differing instruments. Winter added a modern jazz sound, remaining steady and strong in his playing. de Mello, meanwhile, mimicked and enhanced the sounds of Isbin’s guitar through the indigenous quality of his “organic percussion.”

A rectangular wooden board sat in front of his knees, which he used to create beats by hitting his hands against the front and sides of the object.

On occasion, he would slide his hand across the wood, creating an elongated sound. By tapping the opening mouth of the vase, de Mello created the sound of water.

The final piece of the performance, “A Hug for Pixinga,” was also composed by de Mello; he decided to dedicate this song to a Brazilian composer by the name of Alfredo Vianna, nicknamed Pixinga.

A musical experience which utilized a combination of genres and placed emphasis on more primitive sounds, Journey to the Amazon allowed its audience to sit back and imagine themselves in a world so very different from metropolitan Atlanta.

— Contact Danielle Gensburg