Baroklyn, Oct 21 2025

I heard Baroklyn on October 21, 2025. They're a string-and-piano ensemble led by pianist Simone Dinnerstein. Their name is a clever combo of Baroque and Brooklyn. I heard them playing an all-Bach program, some more or less original Bach and some thoughtful arrangements.

They opened with an arrangement of a chorale prelude, "Herr Gott, nun schleuss den Himmel auf." It was moody and intense with Dinnerstein getting a rich sound out of the piano. They had only the slightest variations in tempo but it always felt flexible and spontaneous.

They went right into the keyboard concerto in E major. I like hearing Bach on the piano! Some people say that Bach would never have wanted to hear his music on a harpsichord when a piano has an infinitely larger range of colors but who knows what he would have thought and ya know, Bach's music is so well built it can stand up to a lot of tinkering. Their playing was delightful, full of tang and crisp attack. The ensemble has absolute unity - - the tiniest pause was absolutely together, which is quite an achievement considering they don't have a conductor (apart from Dinnerstein at the keyboard).

The second movement had no low strings and the only bass line was played by Dinnerstein's left hand on the piano. Her playing of that part was somewhat muted but firm and absolutely even in tone, a contrast to the more forthright playing by the right hand. This duality was one of the highlights of her playing in the concert. The third movement was playful, I found myself tapping my foot, not something I associate with Bach in general. Dinnerstein had a quasi cadenza in the middle of the movement and when the full ensemble came back in it was a tiny bit faster than at the start, adding impact. I wrote this word in my notes to describe the ending: THRILLING.

The next piece was an arrangement of the chorale "Der Leib war in der Erden" from the cantata Komm, du süße Todesstunde. It took me a bit to recognize the tune as "O Sacred Head, Now Wounded," it was like the tune wearing a brand new outfit. Maybe also a hat. The piano part had a searching quality which was enhanced by the oboe d'amore (played gloriously by Katherine Needleman).

This short piece dove straight into cantata 170, Vergnügte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust, sung by a rising singer I like a lot, Jennifer Johnson Cano. She has the colorful, vibrant sound I want to hear in Bach. I'd say she was strongly connected to the text but that's difficult for me to confirm because there were no translations in the program (ahem).

They did something amazing in the third movement. Bach wrote the strings to play a solo line in unison with brief pauses here and there. The string players in Baroklyn formed a semi-circle around the piano throughout the concert and their order had a special purpose in this piece - - the first player on the left played a measure or two, then the next player picked up from there, followed by the third, all the way around the group until we arrived at the final player on the right. And then we started again with the player on the left. Dinnerstein wrote this in her program notes: "It is remarkable to hear this musical line divided between eight players, each with their own particular sound and inflection." I'll add that it was also super engaging to WATCH. Don't ever discount the importance of the visual element in a performance...!

The recitative in the fourth movement had some wonderful florid singer by Johnson Cano. Her smile leading into the final movement put a smile on MY face.

The final piece was an arrangement by Philip Lasser of one of Bach's best-known pieces, the Air on the G String. He calls his version In the Air. The piano part was inventive and jazzy, a tasty counterpart to the more austere string part.

It brought to mind this beloved recording by the Swingle Singers and the Modern Jazz Quartet: