POP MUSIC REVIEWS : How Sweet the Sound : Master Chorale of Orange County Serves Up a Delectable ‘Gershwin and Friends’ Program

Back in the 1930s, a critic wrote that a concert of George Gershwin’s music, with the composer at the keyboard, was “like a meal of chocolate eclairs.”

The Master Chorale of Orange County’s program, “Gershwin and Friends,” Saturday at the Orange County Performing Arts Center was much the same, with one sweet following another in a brisk program of the songwriter’s most familiar tunes, capped by a number of selections from his “Porgy and Bess.” An ever-changing array of soloists and small-group combinations pulledfrom the Californians vocal ensemble and backed by the chorale and the 10-piece Master Chorale Orchestra, all under the direction of William Hall, managed to keep the string of Gershwin favorites in the first set from becoming too saccharine.

The meat and potatoes at this sitting came during “Porgy and Bess.” Guest soloists Michael Warren (Mic) Bell and Henrietta Elizabeth Davis brought vocal strength and respect to Gershwin’s Afro-American folk opera without mugging or exaggeration on what Duke Ellington once called the music’s “lampblack Negroisms.” Bell showed depth and a relaxed playfulness on “I Got Plenty Of Nuttin” and “It Ain’t Necessarily So” while Davis displayed an expansive range and polished tones on “Summertime.” The two combined for a wonderful “Bess You Is My Woman,” their voices soaring in affirmation.

The first half of the program was broken into three categories--”Gershwin, The Lover, “Gershwin, The Lighter Side” and “Gershwin, The Jazzer”--a convenient way to organize the selections, even if, at times, the groupings seemed meaningless.

Though it was presented in the jazz section, “Foggy Day (in London Town)” was given a hardly rhythmic treatment, while “How Long Has This Been Going On,” propelled by soloist Kevin Cade’s rich, bluesy treatment, fell into the lover classification.

Though the long, nonstop string of hits that made up the first set often threatened to become tedious, interest-level was sustained by strong individual efforts from the Californians, whose members constantly were dashing here and there to different microphones around the stage.

Rosie Klein’s warm mezzo-soprano brought a touch of melancholy to “But Not for Me,” while Cathy Lewis carried “The Man I Love” with conviction and an assertive tone.

Cynthia McGonagle’s theatrics brightened her duet with Doug Morgan on “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off,” and Bart McHenry took on comical, Roaring ‘20s inflections during “Funny Face.”

The chorale stayed in the background for much of the performance, never overshadowing the soloists, taking the lead on tunes such as “Someone to Watch Over Me” with a reserved caution. But the group threw caution aside during a finale of “Clap Yo Hands,” singing with a dynamism that had some of the excitement of a shout chorus from a gospel choir. You might say it was the icing on the eclair.