Unconventional chamber group I-90 Collective performs at Seattle's Trinity Parish

Most chamber groups begin with someone's idea of an approach to musical repertory, says John Lenti, co-founder of an innovative Baroque music quartet called the I-90 Collective.

From there, he says, musicians are chosen to match the concept. But I-90, relatively new and with its roots in the Northwest, took a different course, inspired by the sheer desire of its members to collaborate and see what happens.

"We all came together deliberately," says Lenti, who plays lute in the ensemble.

"There was no discussion about wanting to do that, and no question about the kind of group we wanted to form."

Seattle's Early Music Guild (EMG) presents the I-90 Collective on Sept. 7 at Seattle's Trinity Parish Church.

I-90's unconventional chamber configuration includes spouses Nathan Whittaker (cello) and Linda Tsatsanis (soprano); Carrie Krause (violin) and Lenti. All are members of the Seattle Baroque Orchestra. Tsatsanis and Lenti are also active as a duo called Dulces Exuviae.

For all four players, says Lenti, the appeal of joining forces was delving into early music repertory "in an energetic way unique to us."

"We present Baroque with a svelte profile," he says. "Part of the fun is playing in a free and lyrical way. The main chordal instrument is the lute, which gives us an intimate, light sound."

"In an ensemble, you often have to compromise your ideas," says Whittaker. "But not here. Each of us can execute any musical idea we want. It's exciting, creative. We're exploring intimate pieces, such as 'The Plaint' from Purcell's 'The Fairy-Queen.' We can play solo sonatas and cantatas for reduced scoring.

"There's a good balance between all these things."

"We adapt the music we're playing," says Lenti. "We'll take thick orchestral textures and render them for three instruments and one voice, a distilled idiom.

"We allow ourselves rehearsal time to see what works and what doesn't. Indulging in this much experimentation is pure fun for a musician."

The group began enjoying its chemistry in a series of 2009 house concerts in Montana, arranged by the Bozeman-based Krause. "We got a lot of feedback from those," says Lenti. "Things changed shape many times."

A triumphant debut in Seattle followed. EMG's executive director, August Denhard, praises I-90 for presenting fresh ideas for a repertoire "extending from the very dawn of the Baroque era to the works of Bach and Boccherini."

"Their playing is full of the kind of detail that keeps me on the edge of my seat," says Denhard. "I'm thinking, 'What are they going to do next?' "

Lenti says he and the others are still hammering out their next Seattle program.

A piece by 17th-century Italian composer Domenico Mazzocchi will be on the bill, as well as music by 18th-century cellist-composer Luigi Boccherni and arias from Handel's "Alexander's Feast."

After Seattle, the group's next performance will be in Syracuse, which, like Bozeman, is linked to Seattle via Interstate 90.

Lenti says, "all our performances so far have been on the I-90 corridor."

I-90 Collective's performance kicks off EMG's new season of "First Tuesdays" concerts, running through next May, at Trinity Parish Church. Upcoming programs include Bach cantatas by Rebekah Gilmore and Thomas Thompson on Oct. 5, and "Mozart and Friends" featuring the Kügeln Trio on Nov. 2.

Tom Keogh: tomwkeogh@yahoo.com