MUSIC REVIEW : Malcolm Hamilton Joins Baroque Festival : The presentation Wednesday could have been more successful if more rehearsal time had been allowed.

To a modern instrumentalist, Baroque music can appear easier to perform than it really is. New technologies in making instruments that wipe away problems of the past sometimes give a player more confidence than he or she should have.

This could have been a factor Wednesday evening when harpsichordist Malcolm Hamilton took center stage at the Baroque Music Festival of Corona del Mar. Not that the presentation wasn’t pleasant or successful, but it could have been much more successful had more rehearsal time been allowed, and more effort given to adjust to some of the idiosyncrasies of the location.

The concert took place at the Sherman Library and Gardens, a small hall with less-than-ideal conditions for chamber music. As the many double doors to the room remained open throughout the performance, traffic from nearby Pacific Coast Highway, as well as patrolling helicopters, often disrupted.

Nonetheless, Hamilton heroically played a dual role as soloist and accompanist in a program of five works by baroque masters, plus a playful arrangement of 17th-Century Polish folk dances. His style overwhelms the listener with exuberance and elan, though on this occasion more accuracy could have yielded a more convincing result.

With flutist Paul Rabinov and cellist Kevin Plunkett, Hamilton gave Rameau’s Piece en Concert No. 1 a spirited though often forced and raucous reading. Four Sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti and a Handel suite, both for solo harpsichord, gave him a better chance to show off his virtuosity, especially his deft manipulation of registrations.

Sonatas by Bach and Telemann provided Rabinov and Plunkett each a separate vehicle as soloist. In both cases, the performances proved more labored and out of focus than desirable, perhaps the result of the poor acoustics of the hall.

The Baroque Music Festival of Corona del Mar continues tonight at 8 with a program of cantatas and sonatas at the Sherman Library and Gardens, 2645 E. Coast Highway, Corona del Mar. The festival concludes Sunday at St. Michael and All Angels Church, 3233 Pacific View Drive, Corona del Mar, with an all-Handel program beginning at 8 p.m. Tickets: $10 to $20. Information: (714) 760-7887.