The lead instrument of the Luna Nova Quartet is a mandolin, played by
Ben Brussell, who also seems to manage (and in some cases arrange) the
repertoire. The rest of the group is a conventional string trio of
violin (Candy Sanderson), viola (Linda Green), and cello (Alex Kelly).
Their repertoire consists of arrangements of folk sources, both sacred
and secular, along with original works inspired by those sources. In
many ways they do for folk music what the Turtle Island String Quartet
did for bebop jazz; so it was no surprise that their repertoire
included a cello solo, "Julie-O," composed by Turtle Island cellist Mark
Summer. It also includes two movements from the first string quartet
(1983) by Peter Schickele (without his P. D. Q. Bach persona), in which
Brussell plays the first violin part on his mandolin (apparently with
Schickele's approval).
The arrangement of folk material for a chamber music setting goes back at least to the eighteenth century, when George Thomson
commissioned arrangements of his seemingly inexhaustible collection of
folksongs from the British Isles from composers such as Joseph Haydn and
Ludwig van Beethoven. Some of the sources of that material surfaced in
Luna Nova's recital last night at Old First Church, having come to the
United States in the early days of colonization. However, the Luna Nova
approach is more casual than a Haydn or Beethoven recital; and that
atmosphere is maintained by Brussell chatting up the audience between
performances. Most of the offerings were pleasantly upbeat, although my
patience with Jay Unger's "Ashokan Farewell" has run out along with my
tolerance of just about anything associated with Ken Burns. Luna Nova
is at its best when all four members get to throw their energy into what
they play, and that was best appreciated when they wrapped up the
evening with Ervin T. Rouse's train-imitating "Orange Blossom Special."
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