THE LOCAL NEWS OF THE MADISON VALLEY, RUBY VALLEY AND SURROUNDING AREAS

Carrie Krause and John Lenti will bring their baroque musical talents—played on period-accurate instruments—to the Elling House Arts & Humanities Center in Virginia City on Saturday, November 10. (Elling House photo)

Bringing 18th century music to life

Renowned baroque musicians to perform at Elling House

VIRGINIA CITY—Two members of nationally-known baroque ensemble I-90 Collective will be bringing their expertise and their instruments to the Elling House Arts & Humanities Center on Saturday, November 10 in a concert the likes of which hasn’t been often heard since the 1700s.

Carrie Krause and John Lenti will feature both well-known tunes like Greensleeves in their performance, as well as a piece called the Brade Chorale variations, which is the earliest known English piece of music written for violin.

Krause brings a long list of accolades with her to Virginia City. She is currently the concertmaster and lead violinist for the Bozeman Symphony, and founded Bozeman-based nonprofit Baroque Music Montana, an endeavor facilitated by a grant from the renowned Juilliard School. The goal of the nonprofit was to bring to life music that is seldom heard performed live, largely using historical instruments and often original manuscripts of sheet music. 

John Lenti is an expert musician on the lute, but he will be playing the theorbo at the Elling House, an instrument similar to the lute but with a much longer neck and 15 strings, allowing for a much wider array of tones. 

Lenti has performed nationwide with an emphasis on the baroque period, which stretches from 1600 to 1750. In 2009 Lenti and Krause became two of the founding members of the I-90 Collective, a quartet that combines violin, cello and lute in a single performing group. The ensemble is made up of solo artists who perform around the nation and who come together periodically for group performances. 

Ann and John White have seen the I-90 Collective perform at least three times over the past couple of years and have been hoping to see at least part of the group return to the Madison Valley since they first discovered them.

“We’re sort of groupies, and apparently in the baroque world they have those,” says Ann. “They like small venues since their instruments are original from the early to mid-1600s. They have to have a smaller venue for the sound to be heard.”

Ann says that for her, Krause and the other I-90 Collective artists changed the way she viewed music, especially from the baroque period.

“I had never been a real fan of violin until I heard Carrie on her old, old violin,” she says. “For me, that instrument came alive. It’s just subtly different from modern violins.

White says the Elling House should be a perfect space for the acoustics of baroque music; it will be the first time performing there for both Krause and Lenti. In the past, White has seen I-90 Collective in similar intimate venues, sometimes even hosted in a private residence for fewer than 40 people. She says their repertoire is more varied than attendees often expect, and always with the artists’ take on the classic scores.

“You’re not just listening to Bach all the time,” she says. “It’s their own take on how to make music on these instruments, and it’s just beautiful. They’re captivating.”

Carrie Krause and John Lenti will perform on Saturday, November 10 at 7 p.m. at the Elling House. Admission to the concert is free or by donation.

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