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| KINDRED SPIRITS A Spirited Folk Music Quartet By Bill Boas The phrase `kindred spirits' became real for me one Sunday in early December 1999 at Angie's Place, a neighborhood coffee house at 8525 W. Colfax Avenue just west of Carr Street in Lakewood, Colorado. Engrossed in the Sunday newspaper, the friendly sound of a string instrument tuning up in the back `music' room bid me to explore its source. There, four remarkable ladies with an array of instruments including cello, viola, mandolin, Celtic harp, a range of recorders, pennywhistles, tambourines, and bells were preparing to musically entertain patrons with a repertoire of renaissance, Celtic, and folk tunes of old Europe. They call themselves `Kindred Spirits', and they are. It was a delightful surprise, as such music is rarely heard on Denver's commercial radio airwaves on any regular basis, despite the fact that most of the regional radio audience can culturally identify with the music of European and Celtic lands. So the opportunity to hear it live, intimate, and unamplified was a serendipitous treat. Ruth Chaikin, Claudia Callas, Marianne Gibbs, and Ana Mettler have been playing together as part-time amateurs in public and private since 1993. But they are amateurs in the best and original sense. They love the music they play, and thoroughly enjoy playing it together for an audience. All but Claudia were exposed to music in childhood, and their competence and skill shows in a poignant consonance whose quality is more than just the sum of their individual instruments and performance. One can almost sense some great Pagan musical goddess hovering above them and orchestrating their souls and fingers as they play. Like any of the world's famous musical quartets, it is hard to imagine how the group would maintain its excellence if one of them were not there. They are uncannily `kindred spirits' while performing. Not only does their music resonate to the ancient genetic memories of European and Celtic listeners, but their performance is a theatrical delight as well. Dressed in period clothing, the four are each talented on several instruments besides their principal favorite, which they vary during their musical set, and even switch during a particular tune. The group's fundamental instruments are Ana's cello, Marianne's viola and harp, Claudia's soprano recorder, with Ruth a true `wildcard' with her varied recorders, mandolin, and penny whistle. String instrument lovers will appreciate the fine dexterity and sonorous range Ana evokes from her cello rendering the traditional Celtic and Renaissance aires. Viola lovers will savor Marianne's expert touch with this often-neglected instrument's friendly and unique range - a musical surprise to hear on its own. With a superb sense of timing and transition, the ladies each defer a solo segment to each other during the tunes which for spice, even include traditional Yiddish melodies. A late bloomer playing music, Claudia's vibrato on the soprano recorder is an inspiration and challenge to anyone wishing to learn this inexpensive and revived instrument from the Middle Ages. Above all, hearing Kindred Spirits is fun. There's an almost magical synergy between them and their audience, which is probably engendered by the same musical muse that evidentally accompanies them wherever they play before an audience. You just have to experience it for yourself. They certainly lifted my spirits that gray December Sunday. They produced a CD entitled "Dispelling all Woes", and have a website for information about their schedule in the Denver area, and bookings. Find them at: www.the-kindred-spirits.com. Contactable via e-mail: kindred-spirits@home.com Or call 303-940-9754 for added information. -end- Note: Bill Boas is a writer and journalist currently living in Denver. His articles have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, the UPI wire service, and other local and national publications. | |
 Kindred Spirits on the front page of the Colorado Serenity periodicle. | Kindred Spirits By Jamie Albright What a joy it is to hear music that makes your heart smile. Kindred Spirits will lift you up and carry you through even the most somber of days. Meet Ana, Marianne, Ruth, and Claudia, a quartet of bright women who shed light on the soundly beauty of music. |
| Ruth grew up in a very musical family who jammed to southern "Hillbilly music" and went square dancing often. She played the violin as a young child, began playing the recorder at the age of seven and picked up the penny whistle, tin whistle, and a mandolin only a few years ago. Her music brought her into a close circle of young women who shared her love for wondrous sound... Claudia's kind heart drew her to music. She used to take children to their bag pipe lessons. But wanting to make wonderful music of her own, she began to play the recorder. She simply loved the recorder and continued to search for new, fresh music to play. She found that she really had an ear for music and, interestingly, never learned to read music until about ten years ago. It was while taking classes at Swallow Hill that she met a few special people to share her music with ... Now a quartet, the four women of Kindred Spirits play everything from Renaissance to Celtic to Klezmer: a traditional Jewish folk music. They play what they refer to as "the people's music." Ruth likes to say it is their contribution to social activism. But Marianne puts it simply when she says, "We play it because we love it." The group is democratic in that no one person has the spotlight and everyone has a say in what goes on. They are "one for all, and all for one" as their motto goes, and they are silly, and they talk, and they play music. Though described simply as a group, their music is anything but simple. The sound is an intertwining of light whistle, soft harp, calming cello, singing viola and blissful recorder with a peppering of other instruments here and there. Every member of the quartet brings a part ofherself to the group and plays to the very heart of music. They carry with them a Renaissance flavor that shines through their clothing, their music books covered in velvet, and their music stands flowing with colored ribbons. They take turns practicing in each other's homes and enjoy practicing very much in the comfort of Claudia's greenhouse. These four women stick together through good times and bad. When Ruth was in the hospital with a badly broken leg, the other three women came to play at her bedside with her. Ruth truly believes she woud not have recovered so quickly had it not been for the music. She says, "Music heals all that ails you." Wanting to spread their music to many people, they play their music live in a variety of places. They can be found in Denver nearly every weekend in the summer, or at a variety of festivals such as Clear Creek Festival and the Renaissance Festival, or even at the Boulder Farmer's Market where they attract dancing children from miles around; from wide-eyed toddlers to babies in strollers, they never lack for an audience. They have a standing gig at Stella's Coffee House in Denver every last Sunday of the month from 10am to Noon. They support many organizations such as the Waldorf Schools, Swallow Hill Music School, and the Wheat Ridge Historical Society. Liking the more intimate settings, they enjoy playing at private functions such as weddings, Christmas parties, Birthday parties, teas, memorials, the list goes on; they have played many times at various functions for the University of Denver. They had a particularly interesting time at a Christmas party one year when they played for a group of six hundred guests at the Ogden Theater. There were semi-nude dancers gyrating with silver painted beehive hairdos and roller skaters wearing see-through skirts. They recall that it was quite night and it was definitely intimate. Recently they recorded a CD that features "Dispelling All Woes," a song composed by Marianne and titled after a line in a 15th Century love song. The cover of the CD was designed by Claudia's daughter, Lee, and it features a bird in a cage used in France to train canaries to sing. The canary can be heard singing at the beginning of the CD. Their CD can be found at Twist & Shout and at the Folklore Center. The music of Kindred Spirits is an international repertoire that is lively and interactive. Come hear the sound of Kindred Spirits in two months when they play a "Renaissance Night" at the Bistro in Evergreen on April 23rd [1999]. Or contact Ruth to set up your own musical experience. |
| Reviews from the November 13th Concert, "Mostly Celtic" I just returned home from your show at Cameron Church (Saturday 11/13/99) and I wanted to let you know how incredible I thought it was. What a performance! I was beginning to wonder who was having more fun, those of us in the audience, or you in the band. It's always refreshing to see a local band with the wealth of talent that you possess. Rest assured that you have created a convert, I will be coming to your concerts as often as you can perform them. I was there with about 10 friends who feel the exact way I do, so you might as well count them in, too. What an amazing show. I'm not sure how I could have enjoyed it more. Skean Dubh was outstanding as well. Here's my request: PLEASE do that again some time soon. The idea for the entire evening was almost too perfect. Especially in that church. Congratulations again, I haven't been to a concert that I've been this enthusiastic about in a long while. By the way, yes, I bought your CD. I'm listening to it right now. It's GREAT. Sincerely, Dave Walker |