MUSIC REVIEWS : Camerata of L.A. Unearths Rare Mozart

Led by founder H. Vincent Mitzelfelt, the 22-year-old Camerata of Los Angeles offered a glimpse at two rarely heard Mozart works Sunday at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in West Hollywood.

Close to a half-hour long and scored for considerable instrumental forces, the 1779 “Vesperae de Dominica,” K. 321, for all of its brilliance, comes off as fairly standard, majestic oratory for most of its length--Alfred Einstein called it “stormy, passionate, solemnity.”

But breaking up this cathedral-ringing mood is a strictly canonic (at least initially) setting of “Laudate Pueri,” in which Mozart shows his mastery of the stile antico , and a lively “Laudate Dominum,” an aria for soprano, Italian style. Both movements are outstanding instances of Mozart never missing an opportunity to strut his stuff.

“Regina Coeli,” K. 276, with the St. Thomas Choir joining the Camerata and conducted by James Keltner, is a brief antiphon, probably from 1779, remarkable for the fact that its “Alleluia” setting bears a striking resemblance to Handel’s “Hallelujah” in “Messiah,” a work scholars say Mozart couldn’t have known at the time.

In the Vespers, Mitzelfelt achieved a certain grandeur at the expense of rhythmic vitality and textural clarity, the reverberant acoustics contributing to both sides of that equation. Barbara Dove made her way through the aria with passing difficulties but effective moments.

The rest of the program included music by Kay, Peeters and Bach (including the “Brandenburg” Concerto No. 2), in performances of middling technical competence that lacked interpretive distinction.