MUSIC REVIEW : King’s Singers Open Virtuoso Series at Bowl

The King’s Singers are--or at least, have been--much more than a pops act. But they are undeniably classy entertainers, as they proved once more Wednesday, opening the Virtuoso Series at Hollywood Bowl.

Variety and enthusiasm were the long suits Wednesday, supported by seemingly effortless, refined vocalism. The program ranged from a 16th-Century ensalada to “Good Vibrations” with infectious zest and humor.

The repertory novelty was Paul Patterson’s “The End,” a satiric madrigal comedy on the unlikely topic of aerosol pollution and the endangered ozone layer. The music takes many stylistic curves through parody and sheer Spike Jones glee in rubbery-lipped funny sounds, but the effect is rather soft for such a serious issue.

“Lalela Zulu,” however, is far from soft, though immensely appealing. A six-movement suite by composer Stanley Glasser and poet Lewis Nkosi, South African exiles living in London, it has a folkloric character sustained rather than contradicted by sophisticated verbal and musical imagery. The quiet, dignified sorrow of the hymn “Egoli” is the climax, delivered with telling control by the singers, though the vagaries of amplification favored the stomping ebullience of “Ilihubo” or “Umbanso Wasegoli.”

The patina of Golden Age tradition can leave Mateo Flecha’s “La Bomba,” an ensalada or madrigal comedy, merely a historical monument for some vocal groups. But for all its liberties, the King’s Singers rollicking, hammy version may be closer to the spirit of the original than those of many period purists.

The sextet--countertenors David Hurley and Alastair Hume, tenor Bob Chilcott, baritones Bruce Russell and Simon Carrington, and bass Stephen Connolly--began with Chilcott’s graceful, pertinent arrangements of four North American folk songs. These immediately opened the group’s apparently endless reservoir of spirited, pointed patter, backed with crisp, clean ensemble singing.

Amplification does not make all venues equal, and for all the extroversion of the repertory and performance, the King’s Singers are most appropriately chamber musicians. Their understated introductions did not completely bridge the Bowl distances, and for the bulk of the musically short program, the crowd of 7,208 did not seem highly involved in the proceedings.

The final pop set, however, proved an enthusiastically received wake-up call. Touching with conviction, skill and great affection on the Beach Boys, Paul Simon, Gershwin, the Beatles and others, this patented close harmony group segued easily into encores, and sent everybody home whistling and humming.