Masterworks Chorale gets back to singing

The occasion was strictly regulated. The spatially-distanced audience barely outnumbered the full choir, which looked to be about 60 people. Everyone present was vaccinated and all wore masks except for the soloists. This omission marred the hygienic purity of the occasion though it did help the singing. St. Pius has gorgeous acoustics but it is a large space and a masked choir does sound a bit muffled. Still, the choir was excellently balanced and the simple quality of the sound was very fine. Baker conducted with assurance and clarity.

The program was a mixed assortment of 14 works, variously for full choir, chamber choir or soloist. Some were accompanied by piano, some by a small string orchestra and some not at all. Some of the pieces were chosen for lyrics poised to help listeners to get through difficult times or reflecting on the power of music, such as the opening work, serving as a sort of keynote offering, Gwyneth Walker’s setting of the hymn “How can I keep from singing?”

Other pieces were classics, old favorites or new works that came to Baker’s attention during the pandemic. Composers included classical giants Johannes Brahms and Gabriel Fauré, underperformed African American notables Adolphus Hailstork and Undine Smith Moore, choral repertoire favorites Eric Whitacre and Ola Gjeilo and new discoveries — at least new for Masterworks — Kevin Allen, Eriks Esenvalds and Sarah Quartel.

Quartel and Gjeilo provided the concert’s finest moments. Quartel’s “Alice” for women’s chorus is a delightfully goofy stop-and-start evocation of Lewis Carroll’s character, led by assistant conductor Erin Moore with crisp vivacity. Gjeilo’s “Luminous Night of the Soul,” the final work of the concert, includes healing and worshipful lyrics from St. John of the Cross and Charles Anthony Silvestri, set in Gjeilo’s characteristic patient and flowing post-minimalist style.

Other highlights included a movement from a mass in Latin by Allen for men’s voices in an uncanny paraphrase of late Renaissance church music style and Esenvalds’ “Only in Sleep,” a short piece with crystalline purity in its harmonies and melodic line.

Some of these works could have used more power but none lacked for beauty. The concert’s restraint was most effectively employed by tenor Taylor Thompson in his solos, “Give Me Jesus” and “Guide My Feet.” He sang these spirituals with tender sensitivity.

For an audience craving fine choral music after so long without live performances of it, this was an occasion to be cherished.

Masterworks is planning two separate holiday concerts on the weekend of Dec. 11-12. Details will be available later at masterworks.org.