Pacific Chorale Offers Program of Americana

As part of Orange County’s Centennial Celebration, the Pacific Chorale offered a program of American music to conclude its 1988-89 season Saturday night in Segerstrom Hall at the Performing Arts Center.

The accent was on American youth as well as music, as the Young Musicians Foundation Debut Orchestra appeared for the first time at the Center. In addition, the performance concluded the chorale’s third annual, daylong High School Choral Festival. Choristers from participating schools joined in the rousing finale, Howard Hanson’s setting of Whitman poetry, “Song of Democracy.”

YMF Orchestra conductor Jung-Ho Pak led his crack ensemble in an impetuous, incisive, mettlesome reading of Bernstein’s “Candide” Overture that gave the evening an exhilarating lift-off.

Thereafter, chorale director John Alexander drew equally vibrant cooperation from the orchestra and wontedly refined, eloquent work from his chorale.

Copland’s 10 “Old American Songs,” best known in their original version for solo voice and piano, were performed in the composer’s own, much-later orchestrations. The choral arrangements are by others--Copland made none. Some work and some don’t, through no fault of the chorale. It’s fun to hear the animal sounds of “I Bought Me a Cat” made by a throng, and chorus-size output benefits “Ching-a-Ring Chaw,” but most of the time the words register only for those who already know them. And no matter how devoted the effort, in the quiet, reflective songs it’s a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth.

Highlight of the evening was Randall Thompson’s a cappella “Alleluia,” given the kind of finely tuned, dynamically expressive, warmly textured performance that makes a moving experience.

The chorale sang Thompson’s late (1958), entirely grateful settings of familiar Robert Frost poetry, “Frostiana,” with unaffected yet polished grace. But here, too, the words in narrative songs such as “A Girl’s Garden” emerged mushily. Those not knowing Frost missed the story altogether.