MUSIC REVIEW : Orange County Chamber Orchestra Concludes Its Season

In the concluding program of the Orange County Chamber Orchestra season Sunday afternoon at the St. Joseph Center in Orange, the elegant playing of the ensemble overshadowed its conservative soloist.

Jennifer Paul’s stylish articulation and reliable technique could not satisfy the expressive requirements of Bach’s Harpsichord Concertos in A and F-minor, despite brave direction by conductor Micah Levy.

Avoiding risks at every turn, Paul chose straightforward interpretations that were occasionally successful, as in the first movement of the Concerto in A.

Too often, however, the results were discouragingly dry, avoiding even the characteristic baroque pathos inherent in the largo of that concerto. The modest tone of her Curtis Berak instrument, sometimes struggling to emerge amid the brighter modern strings, contributed to the impression of serviceable competence.

Neither did Paul hazard extremes in tempo, preferring to toss off the potentially heart-stirring slow movement of the F-minor Concerto with an almost dancelike tempo and offering a timidly paced presto in the same piece.

One had to wonder about the extent of Levy’s input into these tempo choices, considering more courageous speeds taken in the slow, graceful, romantic saraband in Grieg’s “Holberg” Suite for Strings, or in the molto allegro of Mozart’s “Jupiter” Symphony.

Levy led his group with characteristic precision and clarity, extracting expression without elaborate gestures. The orchestra responded with focus and flexibility--rhythmically directed, bright and spirited in the outer movements of the “Jupiter,” light and graceful for the lyrical Grieg.

The ensemble was weakest in the slower movements; though the strings allowed the long, sustained tones of the air in the “Holberg” Suite to grow, they were unable to convey the pathetic quality of these simple lines. Similarly, the andante cantabile of the “Jupiter” lacked intensity.

The orchestra’s strength lies in the transparency that a solidly staffed chamber ensemble affords. Levy exploited that asset for clear, dynamically etched polyphonic lines in Bach and Mozart.

Strong individual players offered notable contributions as well--particularly the crisp passage work of concertmistress Diana Halprin and principal violist Raymond Tischer in the rigaudon of the “Holberg,” and of principal bassoonist Julie Feves in the first and third movements of the “Jupiter.”