Republic strings together a diversified, virtuosic show

Despite impressive contributions in bluegrass and country music as well as jazz, folk and swing, the violin and cello are still viewed by many listeners as instruments of classical music -- instruments that occasionally go out slumming to a jam session or a hootenanny but generally feel more comfortable with Bartok, Beethoven, Brahms and Bach.

Fortunately, violinist Darol Anger never accepted that sort of thinking. With a resume that includes the Turtle Island String Quartet, the bluegrass-tinged group Psychograss, the folk jazz of Montreux and the virtuosic Anger-Marshall Duo (with mandolin player Mike Marshall), Anger has been a pioneer of a continually diversifying string-band movement that reaches to the ‘70s.

He surfaced Friday at the Theatre Raymond Kabbaz with yet another intriguing string ensemble, the Republic of Strings. The group Anger describes as an “international, intergenerational ensemble” is a kind of cutting-edge string quartet, with violinist Gabriel Witcher, cellist Tristan Clarridge and guitarist Scott Nygaard completing the lineup. Singer Chris Webster also performed, adding steamy vocals to a spicy musical gumbo.

The music darted from one part of the world to another -- a Swedish polska was followed by a Brazilian choro; Chicago blues blended with an Irish jig (appropriate for St. Patrick’s Day). Webster offered a stunning take on Don Covay’s “Chain of Fools.”

Most fascinating was the wildly virtuosic individual playing. Anger moved almost casually from bebop to blues to classical licks. Witcher was cool, fluid and fast. Nygaard balanced solid accompaniment with crisp, articulate solo lines. And Clarridge, inventive with his cello improvisations, added an impressive turn on violin, whipping through a hoedown, a waltz and a jaunty swing number.

By the end of the evening, any remaining perceptions regarding the narrow range of string instruments were long gone. Anger’s group, in fact, more than a mere Republic, had the sound of a musical United Nations of strings.