An Off-Season Oratorio

Early music aficionados across the Bay Area would have been wise to circle American Bach Soloists' January performance of J.S. Bach's Weihnachts-Oratorio (Christmas oratorio) on their calendars. This impressive work, a collection of six cantatas historically designated for performance between Christmas and Epiphany, isn't often mounted outside the month of December. Jeffrey Thomas, ABS' music director, wryly expressed in a program note his delight at programming "holiday" music several weeks after the Christmas season. Yet it was the audience whose delight was palpable during Saturday's performance at Berkeley's First Congregational Church. It seemed to be thrilled by a triumphant evening that blended stellar performances with a highly dignified interpretive style.

Thomas' sense of refinement is one of his great strengths as a conductor. Every one of Bach's recitatives, arias, and choruses benefited from tautly formed melodic lines, which propelled the music forward without ever sounding mannered or blurred. Thomas' interpretations are impeccably elegant and highly seductive, cajoling the listener with their graceful turns of phrase. He also took full advantage of the oratorio's distinctive instrumentation. Each of the six cantatas calls for a different arrangement of flutes, oboes, horns, and trumpets, thus generating an endless array of tone colors across the whole. Combined with one-on-a-part strings, these streamlined textures yielded vivid sonic worlds and accentuated the clarity of Bach's wondrous counterpoint. They also led to some balance problems, however, particularly in the opening chorus, "Jauchzet, frohlocket!" (Triumph, rejoicing), where choir and strings were muted amid the torrent of winds. But once the ears adjusted to the wind-heavy configurations and the orchestra's superlative playing took over, such difficulties were more easily forgiven.

Exuberant Vocal Soloists

Matching the orchestra in sonic diversity were eight vocal soloists, ranging widely in timbre and stage presence but united by excellent interpretation. The exuberance of these appealing, youthful singers accorded well with the music, whose generally light and bouncy nature aptly reflects the holiday season. Soprano Abigail Haynes Lennox possessed the most vibrant stage presence, combining an airy vocal quality with enough pixielike charm to form a modern-day musical Tinkerbell. Her aria "Flösst, mein Heiland" (Doth, my savior) was a delight whose wispy melodies were punctuated with echoes from the superb oboe d'amore player, Debra Nagy. Yulia Van Doren's more breathy, wistful soprano sometimes lacked staying power in "Herr, dein Mitleid" (Lord, thy mercy), her duet with baritone Jesse Blumberg, but she sang more confidently in the gently rolling "Ach, wenn wird die Zeit erscheinen" (Ah, when will that time appear then), a trio with mezzo-soprano Sonia Gariaeff and tenor Derek Chester. Gariaeff, for her part, boasts a powerful and vibrant instrument, one that flirted with overpowering Bach's lines without ever crossing the breach. She delivered the aria "Bereite dich, Zion" (Prepare thyself, Zion) with forceful command, ably matched by solo violinist Carla Moore. More reserved was mezzo Katherine Growdon, whose caramel-rich tone and delicate presence well-suited "Schlafe, mein Liebster" (Sleep now, my dearest). Tenor Aaron Sheehan confidently performed the Evangelist role, handling each recitative with great polish. His sole aria, "Nun mögt ihr stolzen Feinde schrecken" (Now may ye boastful foes be frightened), spotlighted both his dramatic capabilities and his lustrous tone. The impressive Chester masterfully performed two virtuosic arias, "Frohe Hirten, eilt, ach eilet" (Joyful shepherds, haste, ah hasten) and "Ich will nur dir ze Ehren leben" (I would but for thine honor live now), with effortless agility. Both baritones sang with vigor and clarity. Joshua Copeland offered a full-throated interpretation of "Grosser Herr, o starker König" (Mighty Lord, O strongest sovereign), which combined stately power with a keen sense of melodic line. The magisterial fanfares of tromba player John Theissen made this aria a particular delight. Blumberg's rich, refined sound gave touching poignancy to "Erleucht auch meine finstre Sinnen" (Illumine, too, my gloomy spirit).