A Sound Season Debut From L.A. Master Chorale

Colorful and ear-bending, the Los Angeles Master Chorale’s season-opening two-oratorio program created a mighty noise in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion Sunday night.

Led authoritatively by Paul Salamunovich, the chorale, with its adjunct Sinfonia Orchestra, made the two second-rank but effective works--Maurice Durufle’s Requiem and William Walton’s bright depiction of sin and downfall in ancient Babylon, “Belshazzar’s Feast”--sound more important than they really are.

Maximum volume with minimal raucousness characterized the choral ensemble’s solid, pleasurable singing of the works, which were originally paired by Roger Wagner on the chorale’s third season, in December 1966.

Walton’s hedonistic cantata describes in seductive and forceful aural terms the joys of sin and, less convincingly, the downfall of sinners. Durufle’s comforting, plush Requiem is a pastel sequel to a genuine masterpiece, the Requiem by Gabriel Faure, without the depth or tautness of the earlier piece. It is lovely, but pale.

Nevertheless, with the considerable and accomplished support of the expanded Sinfonia Orchestra, Salamunovich & Co. put a high gloss on these compositions. Expert pianissimos and exciting fortissimos materialized as required, the arc of each piece made it seem shorter than the clock indicated, and choral-instrumental balances seemed automatic, which we know they are not. For once, there was truth in the name: Master Chorale. And the orchestra met the same standard brilliantly.

The soloists added luster to this evening of polished musicmaking. In Durufle, mezzo Paula Rasumussen sang the very exposing Pie Jesu effortlessly and with creamy sounds. Baritone Charles Austin exuded authority and produced handsome tone consistently in both Durufle and Walton.

The performance was dedicated to the memory of Father Richard Trame, the Master Chorale’s longtime program annotator, advisor and friend, who died in April.