Baroque Takes Its Rightful Seasonal Place

Christmas being a season built on warm rituals and inveterate nostalgia, it seems a time well-suited to the comforting formalism of Baroque music. Handel’s “Messiah,” that concert chestnut, can be a timely and repeatable pleasure now.

Likewise, the New York-based Aulos Ensemble’s presentation of “A Baroque Christmas” at UCLA’s Schoenberg Hall on Sunday afternoon conjured up a satisfying seasonal glow, with a warm, fuzzy and intelligent program.

Formed in 1973, the Aulos Ensemble is a group noted for its commitment to, and mastery of, original instruments.

Here, the neatly honed ensemble--with Christopher Krueger on traverse flute, Marc Schachman on baroque oboe, Linda Quan on baroque violin, Myron Lutzke on baroque cello and Arthur Haas on harpsichord--was joined by soprano Julianne Baird. Her polished tones and understated flair provided a focal point in the concert.

Not all the material here was directly Christmas-related, but even the pieces that weren’t--like Vivaldi’s Concerto in G minor--sounded seasonal by proximity to eloquent arrangements of such carols as “Coventry Carol” and “Es ist ein Rose,” one of the loveliest carols of all. Scarlatti’s “Cantata Pastorale” and French composer Louis-Claude Daquin’s “Noel en Trio” showed off the ensemble’s cohesive sound and individual strengths.

No Baroque program feels complete without a nod to J.S. Bach. This afternoon’s program closed with three arias selected from various Bach cantatas, giving the concert its expressive pinnacle. Especially moving was “Susser Trost, mein Jesus kommt,” Christmas music of restrained passion, transcending creed.

For an encore, Baird and band pulled out “The Gloucestershire Wassail,” some antiquated Anglo froth, the musical equivalent of spiked eggnog.