Divine Delights

The Pacific Collegium presented a splendid concert Saturday night at St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church in San Francisco. For this performance of French Baroque music, the Collegium consisted of three superb singers plus continuo. Sopranos Tonia d'Amelio and Jennifer Paulino, with mezzo-soprano Celeste Winant, sang solos, duets, and trios, in an admirably arranged program of gorgeous chamber music from the 17th and 18th centuries — pieces written on sacred texts but intended for concert performances in secular venues. The program began with Jean-Baptiste de Lully and ended with Louis-Nicolas Clérambault. Lully's enchanting Regina Coeli (Queen of heaven) introduced the three voices, singly and in combination. All were perfectly tuned and perfectly in agreement stylistically, right down to their French-accented Latin. As each singer in turn began the phrase "ora pro nobis" (pray for us), each o had a distinctive, beautiful sound and blended in with the others. D'Amelio's voice has a kind of urgency, moving easily from a straight sound to a slight, fast vibrato well-suited to French repertoire. Paulino's voice, on second soprano most of the time but equally at ease when her part crosses to the top, has a clear, limpid quality. Winant's attractive alto anchors the sound. All three are accomplished in slow tempi, fast passagework, articulation, and phrasing. According to the program notes, Clérambault's extraordinary setting of Psalm 51, Miserere mei (Have mercy on me), was being "heard for the first time in North America this evening." Pacific Collegium had been the fortunate recipient of a copy of the score, sent express from Versailles by Texan musicologist Buford Norman. The trio's heartfelt singing of the Miserere was glorious, and solo turns were delightful. Examples were d'Amelio's "Asperges me hyssopo" (Sprinkle me with hyssop), Winant's "Averte faciem" (Turn your face from my sins), and Paulino's "Sacrificium Deo" (The sacrifice to God is a troubled spirit). The continuo players, Rebekah Ahrendt on viola da gamba and Leon Chisholm on chamber organ, were eminently supportive, and even imaginative in orchestration, as when the viol occasionally dropped out, creating a crystalline treble sound by way of contrast.

Expressive Singing Actress

Jennifer Paulino's performance of André Campra's Salve Regina (Hail, Queen) was a particular delight. Paulino has a special gift with words, making every utterance dramatic. In "Vita dulcedo et spes nostra" (Our life's sweetness and hope) and "Ad te suspiramus gementes et flentes" (We sigh to you, groaning and weeping), the pacing of her words, the occasional moment of silence, the ebb and flow of sound were all the work of a subtle, expressive singing actress. Duets by Campra and François Couperin, a solo by Nicolas Bernier, and a trio by Marc-Antoine Charpentier were additional treasures; all were beautifully sung and played. Charpentier was especially influenced by Italian music. His mastery of form and counterpoint shows in his Gaudici Virginis Mariae (The joys of the Virgin Mary). Solo verses alternate with complex contrapuntal trios, and the singers made the most of it, ending with a delightful Amen. Jean de Sainte-Colombe, composer of many pieces for viola da gamba, liked deep bass sounds so much that he made liberal use of the lowest string on the instrument (which he may been responsible for adding to it). Rebekah Ahrendt gave a robust performance of two dance-based pieces by Sainte-Colombe — an idiosyncratic Sarabande and a more dancy Chaconne. She also captured well the singing quality of Marin Marais' Plainte, ably accompanied by Chisholm on the organ. A member of the audience was heard to say that the concert was "as close to perfection as you could get." Amen to that.