Music Reviews : Hall Chorale Opens New Season in Pasadena

The William Hall Chorale began its 32nd season on Sunday afternoon at Pasadena Presbyterian Church. “The Splendor of Venice” trumpeted the program, and splendid it was, at least vocally.

There was nothing cool or ceremonial about Hall’s interpretation of works by Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli, Willaert, and Jacob Handl. The conductor favored a warm, smooth sound from his large chorus, a sound that filled the resonant sanctuary with the kind of vibrant majesty often ascribed to this music, but not often heard.

Most of these pieces, of which Magnificats by the Gabrielis were the best known, involved various polychoral divisions of the chorus, plus brass and organ. A cumbersome regrouping was necessary for each number, as Hall distributed his forces around the room.

The eight anonymous brass players--members of the Chorale went unlisted, too--performed nobly, with clean balanced sound. Organist Ladd Thomas’ modest duties included playing one of the ensembles in the younger Gabrieli’s “Sonata Pian e Forte.”

By way of contrast, associate conductor Thomas Sheets led four English madrigals. Not much contrast, however, as his 31 singers produced lush, opulent sounds and little text in his Romantically contoured readings.