MUSIC REVIEW : 7 Concertos Open Corona del Mar Baroque Festival : Burton Karson bit off more than his forces--and audience--needed to chew. The evening began joyfully but ended irrelevantly.

No fewer than seven concertos made up the program when Burton Karson opened his 11th Baroque Music Festival of Corona del Mar on Sunday night. Was there a collision between this generous programming and the realities of rehearsal time? Oh, yes.

The June series, a boutique festival in the most pleasant sense of that term, has earned its loyal audience, which seems to fill regularly both its concert locations--St. Michael and All Angels Church at the top of the hill overlooking the beach community, and the Sherman Gardens, right off Pacific Coast Highway in the townlet.

Under the tight and style-conscious leadership of keyboardist/conductor/musicologist Karson, it has also won the affection of connoisseurs.

There have been times in this decade-plus, however, when the leader has bitten off more than his forces--and audience--needed to chew. Sunday night at St. Michael’s was one of those times.

The program proved not only overgenerous, but scattered. In seven works, numbering 27 movements total, the evening began joyfully, hit some peaks, fell off its pacing, and ended irrelevantly.

In addition to baroque-period concertos showcasing flutist Louise di Tullio, oboist Donald Leake, violinists Clayton Haslop and Robin Olson, cellist Kevin Plunkett and organist James Welch, there was Gustav Holst’s baroque-style “A Fugal Concerto” (1923), as treacly and inane a work as ever corrupted a baroque program.

Under normal circumstances, it might seem lovely, if unnecessary; after 10 o’clock on a Sunday night, it became cloying and intrusive.

Karson’s loose conducting offered it no redemption, though soloists Di Tullio and Leake gave affectionate attention to its demands.

The rest of the performance suffered from similarly scrappy, often danger-laden, quick readings, the orchestra proving inconsistent in attacks, intonation and dynamics.

Soloists Haslop, Olson and Plunkett made Vivaldi’s elegant D-minor Concerto a high point through musical intensity, focus and concentration.

Di Tullio--as she has for decades at the Carmel Bach Festival--swept all before her in an effortless display of virtuosity and beautiful tone in an irresistible Suite in A minor by Telemann. Leake and Welch clarified all contributions with admirable detailing and a strong sense of line.

The novelty of the program was the U.S. premiere of William Felton’s Organ Concerto in C minor, given a charming, ultra-clean reading by Welch and the dozen strings of the festival orchestra.

For once, this could actually be called, as some first performances are, incorrectly, an American premiere, since the piece--one of 48 organ concertos by the clergyman-composer (1715-1760) has been certified, according to Karson’s spoken program note, by the British Museum as never having crossed the Atlantic before.

The Corona del Mar Baroque Music Festival continues with performances Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Tickets: $10 to $20. Information: (714) 760-7887.