I had a musical craving the other night, for what I didn’t exactly know. I’ll try and define it for you. I wanted something…not as serious as chamber music, but not as irreverent as rock n roll. Wider than pop, but not as broad as ‘world.’ I didn’t want to hear it on the radio, but I also didn’t think I’d find it at a local vintage store, or in a darkened opera house. I know I wanted it to swing, and clap, and sway in a rowdy kind of way, but with a polished finish. And it had to come from the heart.

It turns out they have a word for it, of course. I guess what I was really looking for was classical crossover. And more specifically,  a bay area foursome by the name of the Real Vocal String Quartet.

When I looked up the term ‘classical crossover’ I found two definitions. What seems to fall into this category are classical artists that have made the jump, as it were, to becoming popularized for mass appeal. “Popera,” for example. Under the same definition are traditional classical musicians that produce music with a mix of genres, some of which may be more popular, mainstream influences, though they have a defined and more classically inclined audience.

Irene Salzar, the founder of the all female quartet, said her group definitely falls into the second category. It took her more than a few years to assemble the right players with the unique skill sets necessary, and what defines them the most is their love of constant exploration. Any musical influence the performers are obsessed with gets thrown into the pot. “Dina is into Cajun right now, and I love jazz,” Irene said.”We have classical chops–we have the technical training–but we’re thrilled to fly off in different directions.”

I sat front row at the Bootleg Theatre on Sunday night to watch RVSQ for the first time, in the speakeasy style venue with bare rafters and exposed plywood, that lent an odd, yet not unpleasant, ambiance to the performance. Sort of a city-side version of a barn. When their bows hit the strings, the crowd grew silent, as the music took us many places. Swedish folk songs, West African rhythms, famous jazz numbers, bits and pieces of a waltzes, Brazilian samba. The instruments sometimes mimicked the sounds of sitars, bagpipes, flutes, human voices. And sometimes they just sounded like…a viola, a cello, a violin.

And the ladies sang. Always a plus.

In a word, the show was delightful. No better way to get acquainted with both a new genre of music, and new artists. So if you ever get a craving for something interesting, that you can’t quite define, check out Real Vocal String Quartet. More info on the ladies can be found here, and if you happen to be at SXSW this weekend, go see them–they will be performing Saturday night (3-20-10) at midnight in the Classical Crossover showcase, and they are best enjoyed LIVE.

Cheers!

Shannon Logan