MUSIC REVIEWS : L.A. MASTER CHORALE

Symphonic and large choral arrangements of folk songs are a musical tradition going back to the early 19th Century; similarly traditional is the controversy over their efficacy and purity.

About the pleasures and effectiveness of the Scottish folk-song arrangements created by conductor John Currie, and performed Friday night in the Pavilion of the Music Center by the Los Angeles Master Chorale and its accompanying instrumental ensemble, Sinfonia, few would quibble. These 18 songs can withstand a little blowing up, slicking up and even exposure to halls holding 3,200 people.

As sung with consistent care and enthusiasm--if not always with the most rounded of choral sounds--these tunes filled an evening with joyous or melancholy feelings skillfully projected by 62 singers of the chorale, led vigorously by Currie. The Scottish conductor’s brief but pointed spoken introductions proved pleasingly informal.

Jean Redpath, probably the most beloved of Scottish folk singers still touring this country, made two appearances during the evening. Her touching delivery of seven highly varied songs, and her charming manner--utterly unaccompanied, except for the rapt attention of her listeners--swept all before it. One left feeling he had, for a few moments, visited her native land.