A frisson of joy at Grey Towers

The first concert in the Kindred Spirit Arts outdoor summer series on June 15 was an intriguing woodwind quartet called “Frisson Winds.” The group took the name “Frisson” from the French because it means a sudden feeling of excitement or joy. That’s exactly the emotion that the group exuded, and it spread throughout the audience. Woodwind quartets are somewhat rare and may have been a new experience for the audience, but as one of the guests said, “The group’s good-natured, open interaction with the audience made the afternoon a delightful success. The musicians looked as if they were having as much fun as the audience.”

Each of the musicians in the group have impressive backgrounds and have played at such prestigious venues as the Verbier Festival, Aspen Music Festival, the Marlboro Festival, Ravinia, and Carnegie Hall. Bixby Kennedy, the clarinetist, totally connected with the audience as he explained various details of each piece. The title of the concert was “A Musical Journey,” and it was, indeed. The composers of the music they played ranged from Poulenc to Mozart (with a special arrangement for woodwinds by Kennedy himself), to Debussy, Britten, Villa-Lobos, and Cervantes. Kennedy pointed out, for example, that in the Villa-Lobos piece called “Bachianas Brasileiras No. 6” one could actually hear the influence of Bach on this Brazilian piece.

Not only was the music diversified, but the grouping of the artists was also interesting. The piece by Poulenc was performed by Kennedy on the clarinet and bassoonist Taylor Smith.

The texture of these two instruments playing together was something fairly new for the audience and they loved it. Flutist Anna Urrey gave two solo performances and oboist Tom Gallant played one solo. There were also pieces for the whole ensemble.

One of the last pieces the group did was “Cuban Dances,” an arrangement of the most well-known arias from “Carmen” by Ignacio Cervantes. Oboist Tom Gallant joked, “It’s an entire opera in four minutes.” Bizet would probably not have appreciated it, but it really did feel like that. Some in the audience were quietly humming.

Board member Lisa Winkler said she was delighted with the turnout, especially since, as it happened, the Milford Music Festival was the same weekend. There were about 60 people in the audience, including some young people. “That’s important for the future of classical music,” she said.

When asked how this concert was different from the first concerts Kindred Spirits played many years ago, co-founder Nancy Pinchot said, “We were doing mostly formal chamber music and formal classical quartets. Yosif [Feigelson] has opened open the musical arena to such a wide range it feels like a lot more people are coming and hearing things they never would have heard elsewhere. Kind of a teaching environment and growing, and everyone is learning something new. I can’t get over how beautiful it is to have it outside. When [flutist Anna Urrey] was playing and the birds were singing, it [was] just perfect.”

The audience seemed to have agreed and they gave the quartet a standing ovation. As they were leaving the tent pavilion, some could still hear some people quietly humming “Habanera” from “Carmen.”

Kindred Spirits’ next installment in the series take place July 20 titled “Across the Atlantic — Freelance Nun and Weird Uncle,” which will feature an an eclectic and experimental mixture of medieval and newly composed English and American troubadour songs and texts, influenced by Celtic and African music.