MUSIC REVIEW : Pacific Chorale Stands Alone in Season Premiere

As leader of the Pacific Chorale, John Alexander has often shown a flair for the dramatic. So Tuesday night, it came as no surprise to see bell ringers placed strategically throughout the Orange County Performing Arts Center, with timpani, harp and two sets of chimes flanking the chorus on stage.

The occasion was the opening of the group’s 1990-91 season. More than that, it was the premiere performance of the final revised version of Leonard Bernstein’s “Missa Brevis.”

The 14-minute piece began as a reworking of choruses from a 1955 production of Jean Anouilh’s play, “The Lark.” Two years ago, reportedly at Robert Shaw’s suggestion, Bernstein created a “Missa Brevis” that combined the medieval strains befitting the play’s Joan of Arc story with his own uniquely American idiom.

In its present version, an elemental power--imparted by strong homophonic passages, an abundance of open intervals, influence of Eastern chant style, percussion accompaniment and a countertenor soloist--forms a forceful combination with contemporary style.

Bernstein’s score calls either for countertenor or boy soprano. Chorale-member Edward Bruner’s countertenor, resembling a pitch pipe, lent a primitive effect. His voice worked best when accommodated by a thinly textured accompaniment but floundered in a struggle to carry over a huge choir in more dense sections.

The choir responded as it did throughout this largely a cappella program--with rich, unforced sound, sometimes marred by breathy upper notes and intonation imperfections in the soprano and tenor sections, but usually well-controlled and focused. Its strengths shone particularly in a glowing performance of Samuel Barber’s “Agnus Dei,” a challenging vocal transcription of the well-known Adagio for Strings. The composition emerged with transparent balance, organlike legato, finely controlled dynamics and precise phrasing that permitted telling exploitation of silences.

Alexander tied the inclusion of selections by Barber into Bernstein’s life by noting that Barber had taught the younger composer during the latter’s student days at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia. The choral director drew a similar thread during introductory comments regarding pieces by Randall Thompson--”Have Ye Not Heard/Ye Shall Have a Song” and “Alleluia”--that closed the program.

The program did not revolve around Bernstein, however, but around the unaccompanied prowess of the Pacific Chorale as showcased in works that included Brahms’ “Vier Gesange” for women’s voices, and Knut Nystedt’s “Veni.” These gave the chorus an opportunity to demonstrate clear, simple singing marked by admirable control of nuance, even within a limited dynamic range. Kirke Mechem’s “Dan-u-el” highlighted the full, expressive bass of choir-member Ralph Cato.