FRISSON DELIVERS SHIVERS OF DELIGHT

“Frisson” means “a moment of intense excitement…a shiver,” and that’s what Frisson Nonet provided nonstop on March 30 at Mt. Tamalpais Methodist Church in Mill Valley. Their dynamic performances of works by Rossini, August Walter, Gershwin, Martinú and Ravel marked Chamber Music Marin’s season closer. A nonet can program for any number up to nine, and Frisson Nonet made full use of this flexibility, opening with a quintet and culminating with a nonet. The fun part was that the audience never knew exactly how many musicians were going to step onstage next.

The opener, Rossini’s overture to La Italiana en Algeri, arranged for quintet by Nonet bassist Sam Suggs, was such a thrilling beginning that I scribbled “Who needs a full orchestra?” in my notebook. The characters in the opera were so vividly evoked that I half-expected costumed singers to materialize. Tom Gallant’s oboe imitated the sharp sound of a Turkish zurna—the restless Mustafa Bey. Mr. Sugg’s contrabass, could be Lindoro, sweetheart of the Italian girl, Isabella (Suliman Tekalli’s theatrical violin) while Cory Tiffin’s gymnastic clarinet portrayed the bey’s clever wife, Elvira. The cast was rounded out by Chich-Fan Yiu’s mellow viola playing. It’s in the nature of overtures to provide a taste of what is to come in the opera, and these tastes were delicious.

An octet was next in the program. The German composer August Walter’s Octet for Strings and Winds, Op. 7 (1849, revised 1863), was written for four strings and four winds. Bassoonist Remy Taghavi, horn player Wilden Dannenberg and cellist Patrick Hopkins mounted the stage for this “mini violin concerto” with its gorgeous violin part. The musicians passed fetching melodies and lead parts to one another with élan and flair, Mr. Tekalli’s violin performance ascending to the stratosphere with acrobatic ease while Mr. Hopkins’ cello partnered with Mr. Suggs’ contrabass in the lower registers and Mr. Dannenberg’s horn shone forth above the others.

The first movement was joyfully energetic, drawing applause at its conclusion. The pace slowed and the strings growled while the winds sang above. The oboe line then took the lead, while the violin, like a floating thread waiting to be placed, hovered. Mr. Dannenberg’s horn sounded repeated tuneful ellipses, and everything came into balance as the music posed a series of questions and answers. After the third movement’s eloquent pauses and contrasting rhythms, the fourth movement began with enthusiastic spurts of sound and foot-tapping rhythms, and there was a flurry of winds and a long horn note before the piece came to an end. Many in the audience who had never even heard of August Walter responded enthusiastically.

Following intermission, a quartet of violin, viola, cello and clarinet took the stage. Mr. Suggs revealed that the musicians had spent the morning in tranquil Muir Woods; and Mr. Tiffin was a last-minute substitute for Nonet clarinetist Bixby Kennedy, who had to cancel. The now-quartet played Mr. Kennedy’s arrangement for clarinet and strings of Gershwin’s three marvelous piano preludes. His arrangements did full justice to the bluesy first prelude, the sensual second and the agitated third. In an evening of many high points, these arrangements were the apex for me; Mr. Kennedy had captured the soul of jazz in his arrangements.

The group’s flutist, Anna Urrey, now came to the stage, and for the first time Frisson Nonet was complete. Mr. Taghavi introduced Martinù’s Nonet No. 2 (1959) as a favorite of the group. Martinù, he declared, lies “outside of a category. His language was pastoral and folksy, and the music is dreamlike.” After a Coplandesque beginning of jagged rhythms and colorful explosions of sound, we were taken on an adventurous journey into dream-like territory, a glade of humming sounds and an ethereal watery glen. The music suggested uncertainty, then a melding of magical harmonies. After traveling deep in a country full of wonders, the piece culminated with a joyful dance.

The audience jumped to its collective feet to applaud, clearly hoping for an encore. But no guesswork was needed—glancing down at my program I saw it was announced: “Encore – Ravel’s Bolero.” And what an encore! Rich, riding the edge of dissonance, compellingly rhythmic. No orchestra was needed—only nine fabulous musicians.