Music Reviews : Alexander Leads Berlioz Requiem

The Requiem of Hector Berlioz is a sprawling, ultra-Romantic work, alternating grandiose movements with surprisingly intimate ones. Many conductors are lured by its huge aspects, but few are able to manage the disparate elements of this gargantuan composition and fuse a cohesive structure.

Sunday night at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, John Alexander proved to be one of the few.

Leading the combined forces of his Pacific Chorale and Valley Master Chorale, along with an augmented Pacific Symphony, Alexander conducted a performance of consistent intensity. The sheer mass of the forces alone insured that volume per se would not be a problem. Taking advantage of the Segerstrom Hall acoustics, Alexander conducted with an ear toward balance, instrumental detail and beauty of sound.

From the opening Kyrie Alexander revealed that he does not subscribe to one common school of choral conducting--maximum attention to the singers, general neglect of the orchestra. The Pacific Symphony strings produced deep, warm sounds from the start and all sections demonstrated impeccable intonation throughout.

The famous Dies Irae handled the placement of the additional brass in quasi-quadraphonic style. In addition to the requisite clean entrances and polished ensemble, their collective tone was imposing without blaring or strain.

The massed vocalists sang with a keen awareness of balance in every dynamic level, though tenor passages occasionally lacked heft.

The same cannot be said of tenor soloist Paul Johnson, whose sostenuto lines in the Sanctus revealed clear, light skillfully modulated sound with power in reserve.

Having scrupulously avoided any and all temptations to bombast, Alexander conveyed a sense of mystery in the quieter movements, not least among them the Hostias, with its recurring chords uniquely scored with three flutes and eight trombones.