Music Review : Orchestra Lets Down Singers in Baroque Finale

There can be few festivals as noble of purpose as the annual Baroque Music Festival Corona del Mar, which concluded its 14th season Sunday afternoon at St. Michael and All Angels Church.

As in past years, artistic director Burton L. Karson chose imaginative programs that sought to reveal the heart of the genre. The program book was beautifully printed, and the program notes were both expert and interesting. And this year, for the first time, the Festival Orchestra played period instruments, built around a core supplied by Michael Eagan’s Apollo Amused ensemble.

The repertoire for the finale was typically serious: Handel’s urgent “Dixit Dominus,” followed after intermission by Bach’s great “Cantata No. 61” and two works by Alessandro Scarlatti (father of the more famous, keyboard sonata-composing Domenico), the endearing “Concerto Grosso No. 3” and a “Magnificat” that has become a Burton L. Karson specialty: The 10-minute work for chorus and orchestra, composed for and premiered at the Roman celebration of St. Cecilia’s Day in 1720, received its American premiere two years ago from these same forces.

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However, as during the two previous festival finales, the supporting forces let down the steady, occasionally thrilling work of the Festival Singers. The orchestra scrambled to keep together and often suffered from poor intonation and lack of concentration. Meanwhile, among the vocal soloists, only tenor Mark Goodrich in the Bach deserved special mention.

The concert was dedicated to Dr. Helmut Weiss, a longtime patron and member of the festival board who died last year at age 80.