Barokkbandið Brák: Two Sides
Sono Luminus

Founded in 2015 by Icelandic violinists Elfa Rún Kristinsdóttir, Guðbjörg Hlín Guðmundsdóttir, and Laufey Jensdóttir, Barokkbandið Brák specializes in performances of Italian and Swedish baroque music. But in a smart and strategic move, the thirteen-member ensemble—seven violinists, two violists, two cellists, bassist, and harpsichordist—shows with Two Sides that it doesn't only perform material from hundreds of years ago but also newly commissioned works by living Icelandic composers, pieces specifically designed with historical instruments from the baroque era in mind. To that end, the group's new release, its first on Sono Luminus, features early works on the first disc and new ones on the second, the result a ninety-seven-minute package that splendidly captures the ensemble's centuries-spanning range. Material from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries by Antonio Vivaldi, Arcangelo Corelli, Johan Joachim Agrell, Alessandro Stradella, and Giuseppe Sammartini appears first; Two Sides then features pieces by Kristinn Kristinsson , Finnur Karlsson, Bergrún Snæbjörnsdóttir, and Þráinn Hjálmarsson, all born between 1987 and 1990.

With so many strings in play, the ensemble's sound is naturally lustrous, something magnificently showcased in the three-part Vivaldi setting with which the release begins, “Sinfonia” from the opera Giustino. The rousing “Allegro” instantly captivates with vivacious melodies and effervescent playing. The musicians execute the material with precision and finesse—no easy task when the tempo is so furious. The elegant “Andante” slows the pace for a solemn march, after which the concluding “Allegro” reinstates a faster tempo for a brief coda. Agrell's Violin Concerto in G major follows, also in three movements and framing a graceful slow one with spirited allegros. Being a violin concerto, a soloist naturally steps forth from the ensemble, but as often the violins play as a unified voice. Just as it does throughout the recording, the combination of strings and harpsichord brands Barokkbandið Brák's playing in the concerto with a strong identity. Agrell's also represented by the Sinfonia in A major op. 1 no. 3, which the ensemble attacks with gusto. The “Allegro” veritably lunges into action, and even the less frenetic “Andante” exudes insistence more than languor.

Sammartini's Concerto Grosso op. 5 no. 4 begins with a dramatic “Allegro" before shifting the focus to a deliciously charming “Andantino” and lilting “Minuet Gratioso.” Dedicated to Queen Christina of Sweden, Corelli's Trio Sonata op. 1 no. 4 in A minor derives from a set of twelve sonatas, this one a sparkling and infectious creation that progresses through four short parts breathlessly. Only one single-movement piece appears on the first disc, that being Stradella's Trio Sonata in D minor, one of the Italian baroque composer's most popular chamber settings. Even so, multiple changes in tempo, tone, and dynamics occur during the episodic performance. Vivaldi makes a second appearance at disc's end with the Concerto for 2 Violins and Cello in D minor, a three-part setting animated by electrifying outer movements and a majestic second. With six works presented as twenty-one tracks, things change rapidly in the first half, which makes for an ever-stimulating presentation, especially when the playing by the group's so breezy and engaging.

After immersing oneself so completely in the opening disc's baroque material, some degree of re-acclimation is likely needed for the second's contemporary presentation. The works are particularly interesting for the way they bring the group's baroque sound into a contemporary context. As a result, Karlsson's four-part Fold (2015) might sound baroque, but its ethereal “Slow and steady” and skeletal “Pattern” movements are worlds removed from the music on the opening disc. Even more stripped-down is Hjálmarsson's Recitar Cantando/Speaking in Song (2021), which places the ensemble within a crepuscular realm. At eleven minutes, Snæbjörnsdóttir's Quorum Sensing (2021) forms a natural follow-up to the Hjálmarsson work, seeing as how it likewise opens with a quiet criss-cross of string harmonics and hushed phrases. It's rendered more memorable, however, by the wails and scrapes of high-pitched bowings that emerge thereafter, the skin-crawling effect tailor-made for use in some future horror film soundtrack. With harpsichord once again included, Kristinsson's two-part BRK (2020) reimposes the ensemble's baroque sound, though once again the material itself is hardly baroque in style. In its slow-motion crawl, “I” plays like some curdling, molasses-slow riff on the form; “II,” on the other hand, is livelier and thus healthier-sounding by comparison.

November 2022