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Pacific Chorale Carols Cut Through the Tinsel

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

You can rely on John Alexander and the Pacific Chorale to come up with a Christmas concert that captures the holiday spirit without dragging out too many of the usual musical suspects.

Even when singing carols, as they did Saturday at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, Alexander and his 150 singers triumphed with purity, focus, refinement and artistry that did not call unwarranted attention to itself.

The first half of the program was the most magical.

Divided into four groups and singing “O Come, All Ye Faithful” with scores in hand, the chorale members made their entry from the back of the hall. Somehow they negotiated the potentially treacherous Center steps without tripping (a feat not yet mastered by all members of Segerstrom Hall audiences) and positioned themselves along the sides of the main floor and two of the balconies.

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Alexander led the groups in three serene and evocative works by Praetorius, exploiting antiphonal choir effects and varied woodwind accompaniment from the seven-member North Wind Ensemble. The result was a wonderfully floating, enveloping sound, resonant but lean.

Later, on stage, the chorus was joined by three soloists for Respighi’s naively pictorial triptych “Laud to the Nativity.” Deborah Mayhan proved a fervent soprano; Daniel Plaster, an intense, reedy tenor. Mezzo-soprano Debbie Cree offered clear-voiced singing. (Apparently not one to take sides, Cree was scheduled to be a soloist on the rival Master Chorale’s holiday program at the Center the next day.)

The second half brought a series of 14 seasonal selections, ranging from traditional works in modern arrangements by John Rutter and David Willcocks to a Gospel song.

High points included the “Carol of the Drum,” a potentially maudlin piece which here emerged with affecting simplicity thanks to the haunting restraint of the women’s voices; and “Sweet Little Jesus Boy,” with Ralph Cata as the sweet-toned, amplified baritone soloist and pianist Loreen Loftus providing lively jazz accompaniment.

Encores: a too-speedy “Hallelujah!” Chorus from Handel’s “Messiah” and a gentle “Silent Night,” with members of the audience singing along in the first stanza.

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