San Diego ArtsBach Collegium San Diego Performs Handel's "Dixit Dominus"
Period Music that Packs a Punch The revival and rediscovery of Baroque music has had more incarnations than Cher has scheduled farewell appearances. In 1829, Felix Mendelssohn launched the Bach revival with his performance of J. S. Bach's "St. Matthew Passion" in Berlin, a choral monument that had moldered in obscurity for nearly a century. After World War I, European opera houses took up presenting G. F. Handel's huge catalogue of Italian operas, which no one had considered stage-worthy since years before the composer's demise in 1759. Over the last decade, professional period-instrument orchestras have unearthed stacks of Vivaldi concerti and sinfonias that have redefined the erstwhile facile inventor of that "made-for-TV-commercials" anthology "The Four Seasons." As the Baroque revival gathered steam and insight, performance styles have changed almost as much as Paris fashions. I can still remember a time when good musicians thought a Steinway concert grand was an acceptable continuo instrument, and when operatically-trained sopranos would apply without a second thought the same expressive nuances to a Bach cantata aria as to their favorite Verdi cabaletta. The size of a desirable chorus for singing Baroque music has varied from several hundred to one-singer-to-a part. Ruben Valenzuela's San Diego Bach Collegium has established an enviable record of vibrant, persuasive historically-informed performances of major works of the 18th century, including Handel's oratorios "Messiah" and "Theodora," as well as Bach's "B Minor Mass." He opened the Bach Collegium's seventh season Sunday (Nov. 1) at St. James Episcopal Church, La Jolla, with a performance of Handel's infrequently heard early cantata "Dixit Dominus" and a few instrumental preludes by Italian composers who influenced Handel while studying in Italy. While this program was a less challenging offering than the "B Minor Mass," it nevertheless confirmed the young conductor's commitment to present worthy Baroque repertory that falls outside of the scope of the typical church choir or the massive civic chorale. The strengths of the Bach Collegium are its skilled period instrumentalists, the bright, vocally expressive 15-voice chorus, and the discipline and musical insight of the conductor. The drawbacks include an uneven cast of vocal soloists and the acoustically dry setting of the La Jolla church. I would love to hear this group perform at the Neurosciences Institute or the historic Mission San Diego de Alcala, two buildings that allow choral sound to resonate between their walls. Valenzuela took the choruses of "Dixit Dominus" at a clip that made the Indianapolis 500 seem sluggish, and his choristers--especially the treble voices--responded to his challenge with incisive attacks and a full, robust sonority that choirs several times their number could envy. That said, the tenors and basses were fewer in number and could not match the strength of the upper voices, a drawback in declamatory, chordal sections. Valenzuela's approach celebrated the young German composer's admiration for all things Italian and exuberantly stylish--after all, the Italians invented Baroque style--traits he eventually took with him to another style-conscious metropolis, London. Among the soloists, alto Janelle DeStefano stood out for her ability to combine vocal strength and allure with supple phrasing that opened up the text. In their duet, sopranos Anne-Marie Dicce and Suzanne Anderson fused their voices into a formidable, bright sonority that made the composer's dissonances more poignant and their resolution even more satisfying. Dicce's lengthy solo, however, seemed bland and uncommitted, and the movement exposed the weakness in her mid-range. Although he had a shorter solo, bass Michael Blinco offered a shapely, colorful thread to the vocal tapestry. While Valunzuela conducted from the harpsichord, his principal violinist (and the ensemble's Associate Director) Pierre Joubert animated the period string ensemble with his highly demonstrative, virtuosic execution of the florid instrumental writing. The addition of Daniel Zuluaga's theorbo and baroque guitar gave the bowed strings a contrasting color and clarity that greatly enriched the palette. Among the opening instrumental pieces, Joubert's acrobatic account of Arcangelo Corelli's "La Follia" Variations confirmed his acute technical prowess, although the rounded, rich timbre we heard in the slower movements thinned out to a dull scrape in the extended vivace movements. The Tomaso Albinoni G Major Sonata, Op 2, No. 1 that opened the concert evidenced great charm and melodic invention pleasantly distributed throughout the range of the seven string parts. Like a good movie trailer, it suggested all the drama and invention that was about to unfold in the remainder of the concert. PRESS HERE for PROGRAM and BIOS
 Kenneth Herman About the author: Kenneth Herman began his writing career as a music critic for the San Diego Union-Tribune and covered classical music for the San Diego Edition of the Los Angeles Times (1982-1992). He wrote "A History of the Spreckels Organ." and is currently Music Director/Organist for the First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Diego and conducts the 60-voice San Diego Youth Choir. More by this author Subscribe to Arts:
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