The Richardson Chamber Players has always been an ensemble exploring the outer edges of chamber repertoire. Now more than 15-years-old, the Players has become a presenter of music audiences may not hear anywhere else. Sunday afternoon’s concert at Richardson Auditorium focused on two decades of European and South American music, presenting works rarely heard in general, much less in Princeton.

Sunday’s concert featured a comparatively large number of instrumentalists and singers, both professionals and students. The cover of the concert program referred to “this exaltation, this splendor, this bliss,” but Richardson Chamber Players co-founder and conductor Michael Pratt labeled the four pieces on the program as “fun.” Bassoonist Robert Wagner, principal bassoonist with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra; and Jayn Rosenfeld, principal flutist with the Princeton Symphony Orchestra started off the “fun” with selections from the Bachianas Brasileiras Suite No. 6 of Heitor Villa-Lobos. In the opening Aria, Ms. Rosenfeld took her time on the long melodic line, with Mr. Wagner complementing the flute line with a subtle but steady bassoon. Reflecting the work’s Bach influence, Mr. Wagner’s bassoon playing was as solid as any Baroque continuo, closing the movement with Ms. Rosenfeld in a tapered unison.

Music of Villa-Lobos also closed the afternoon’s program, but in between were two works linked by their roots in 1920s and 1930s Europe. Kurt Weill and Paul Hindemith were composing in a similar political climate, yet these two works were very different. Weill is most known for his music for the stage, and his sets of vocal songs are just as interesting. Soprano Martha Elliott sang the seven-movement Frauentanz, a setting of poems from the Middle Ages. Ms. Elliott always maintained a saucy approach to the teasing and romantic texts, singing with innocence yet a smile of knowing something secret behind the words.

Ms. Elliott was accompanied by solo flute, viola, clarinet, horn, and bassoon, in varying combinations and music effects. Hornist Chris Komer and Mr. Wagner provided a chipper accompaniment to the first song, while clarinetist Jeffrey Hodes (a recent Princeton graduate and veteran of the University Orchestra) played a smooth dancing obbligato to the second song. Especially nice to hear was Danielle Farina’s elegant viola playing, especially against the wind ostinato in the third movement. Ms. Farina also accompanied Ms. Elliott in an expressive interpretation of a haunting text in the fourth song. Throughout this set, Weill’s unique orchestration and combination of instruments created a unique musical palette and made Ms. Elliott’s conveying of the text that much more accessible.

Princeton University faculty member Barbara Rearick offered a very different text interpretation and vocal approach in Paul Hindemith’s Die junge Magd, a set of six songs. Composed for mezzo-soprano to the poetry of Georg Trakl, this cycle is dark, with a six-instrument accompaniment of string quartet, flute, and clarinet. Ms. Rearick sang with a rich and plaintive character, emphasizing a musical lavishness which came from the playing of the string quartet: violinists Ruotao Mao and Dean Wang, violinist Ms. Farina and cellist Alberto Parrini. The instrumental ensemble created two characters, between the strings and the winds, with icy word-painting when appropriate. In the fourth song in particular, the strings played a “hammering” pizzicato while the winds and voice depicted the character and mood. Ms. Rosenfeld’s solo flute matched Ms. Rearick’s voice perfectly in the particularly disturbing text of the fifth song.

Ms. Elliott returned to the stage to close the concert with selections from another suite from Villa-Lobos’ Bachianas Brasileiras, singing the familiar vocalise introduction at a nice pace. Ms. Elliott’s difficult vocal humming was especially impressive in the closing of the cantilena Aria. The very quick-moving Dança was presented with rapid text from Ms. Elliott and effortless cello playing from Mr. Parrini leading an ensemble of seven other celli.

Sunday afternoon’s performance was a big undertaking for the Richardson Chamber Players, but by augmenting the ensemble with excellent instrumentalists from the campus, the ensemble proved more than up to the task, and a very appreciative audience came away with appreciation for some new repertoire.