MUSIC REVIEW : ‘Christmas With Shirley Jones’: A Ho-Ho-Hum Evening at Segerstrom

Like Santa Claus’ bottomless bag of gifts, “Christmas with Shirley Jones” (and many others) at the Orange County Performing Arts Center on Sunday night attempted to give something to everyone. The gesture may be appropriate to the season, but musically there were far too many pretty packages and too few items of value.

The program opened with a nod toward proper holiday music: Vivaldi’s “Gloria.” Under William Hall’s capable guidance, incisively gauged tempos lent freshness to the old chestnut. The Master Chorale of Orange County produced a warm and balanced sound without strain; their smooth blend of vocal timbres never overpowered the scaled-down Pacific Symphony.

Soloists Judith Siirila and Debbie Cree proved surprisingly well-matched in their duet: Cree’s dark, rich mezzo frequently brimmed with vibrato, while the lightweight soprano of Siirila tended toward a blander sound.

Then the games began. First, the inevitable sing-along of familiar carols, courtesy of a Carmen Dragon arrangement replete with modulatory cliches and gushy scoring. The orchestra relaxed; skewed balances and sloppy entrances became the order of the day.

If musical taste and refinement suddenly were in scant supply, they all but disappeared with the appearance of the Californians. Director Bill Brawley’s mixed vocal ensemble is undeniably talented and bursting with energy, but his choreographic, finger-snappin’ conducting belongs in a casino, not Segerstrom Hall. So do his amplified arrangements of popular Christmas tunes.

Top-billed Shirley Jones made a brief appearance before intermission. “O Holy Night” was ho-hum: no flow to the phrasing, no caressing of the vocal line.

A newer “Gloria” opened the second half of the unpredictable evening. English composer John Rutter’s version for brass, percussion, organ and chorus set no pulses racing in its outer movements despite the occasional mighty noise. But the climax of the Andante proved to be the one spine-tingling event of the whole evening.

A few more stiff if passably pleasant carols gave way to a string of Broadway songs with which vocalist Jones is closely associated. If her voice is less focused in the lower range, and a couple of climactic high notes nearly eluded her, it hardly mattered. She embodies these American classics, and brought them to life as no crossover artist can.