Hold on. We're just getting good and started. Next came the Schein's vocal and Bach's BWV 1098 organ version of the choral “Wir glauben all an einen Gott” (We all believe in one God), a chanted version of “Unser Herr Jesus Christ” (Our Lord Jesus Christ), an organ Preludium of Johann Pachelbel, and Bach's Cantata No. 78. Then began the extended epilogue: Bach's Choral Prelude on “Christ, du Lamm Gottes” (Christ, Thou Lamb of God, BWV 619), Schein's vocal setting of the same piece, a chanted prayer “Lasset uns beten” (Let us pray), Bach's “Gott sei uns gnädig” (May the Lord bless us), BWV 323) for choir and instruments, his Chorale Prelude on “Jesus Christus, unser Heiland” (Jesus Christ, our Savior, BWV 626) plus the Schein setting of the same tune. To round things off, we heard guest organist Robert Huw Morgan's garish performance of the F Major Toccata, BWV 540, minus the fugue.

Performances were musically impeccable as well as academically adroit in terms of style and tempo. Intonation was on the button, and the balances left nothing to be desired. Only toward the end of the production did some of the soloists, bearing the lion's share of the singing, show signs of vocal fatigue. But these are all performers with excellent education as well as innate skill. Virtually everyone on the platform can boast of experience with some of the most famed Baroque and modern ensembles of Europe as well as the United States. No problems there, if one discounts the length of the program — and organist Morgan's occasional rhythmic instabilities may have been due to a persnickety instrument, or merely to his lack of familiarity with the St. Luke's organ.

Stewart's chorus was a wonder of smooth projection, with just enough voicing on primary lines within counterpoint to provide clarity. There was also a kind of sheen of radiance to their sound, kept within perfect bounds. That's vital when performing in a confined room so acoustically live, for otherwise Bach's thick counterpoint turns into a blur.

High compliments are also due for the soloists' elegance, grace of phrasing and astute elocution. The famous jaunty duet in Bach's Cantata No. 78, “Wir eilen mit schwachen doch emsigen Schritten" (We hasten with failing but diligent paces), for the two high voices and a few instruments, was flawlessly balanced. Tenor Whitaker's light clarion came across as the ideal for Baroque music, with a certain child-like brightness. Bass Davies also covered himself with musical glories, particularly during Bach's dramatic recitatives.

The California Bach Society's chamber orchestra of period instruments is also an example of high musicianship. With experienced players who job around a lot in professional groups, their playing was as fine as any Baroque ensemble in Europe or the States. I was especially enchanted by flutist Louise Carslake's obbligato support among the generally superb wind performances. But then, the whole orchestra was superb in every respect.

My main complaint remains on the quantity of repertory presented at one go. There comes a point at which academic thoroughness becomes self-defeating. With such an excess of riches, much of it unfamiliar, the mind deadens as one's attention span begins to sink before the sheer weight of material. Then too, the prayers and chants seemed way too much of a muchness for such an otherwise full program.

I found the chants particularly tedious in their elementary simplicity, so radically below the level of the musical items. I can be sympathetic to the needs of their construction, considering that they were set for performance at church function by pastors of little or no musical talent. Yet why foist such chants on a modern American audience?

Johann Schein was a very fine composer of considerable reputation in his day, considered important enough to be included among “The Three S's” of the German Baroque: Scheidt, Schein and Schütz. Schein's settings are always lovely and totally expressive. But constantly duplicating them alongside Bach's does nothing to enhance his unduly faded reputation. There is, after all, a difference between academic propriety and silliness. As Oscar Wilde once quipped, “There is nothing so tedious as one who insists on telling all.” That's especially true when the “all” is quite a bit more "all" than really necessary.