A zesty first helping of Bach’s ‘Christmas Oratorio’

Grant Gershon opened a festive Los Angeles Master Chorale holiday program Sunday in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion with a down payment.

He led the first part of Bach’s “Christmas Oratorio,” delivering on a pledge he’s made to perform the whole on separate occasions, as Bach intended.

He plans to take six Decembers to complete the series. It could be worth the wait.

With a core of 40 singers -- at least twice more than Bach ever heard at any of his churches -- drawn from the chorale’s total of 114, Gershon led a honed, bright and spirited performance of the cantata intended for Christmas Day.

The Master Chorale Orchestra gave rich support.

The three soloists were drawn from the chorale -- alto Amy Fogerson, tenor Sal Malaki and bass Greg Davies.

This is an egalitarian idea, but it doesn’t necessarily serve the music. Choristers work to blend their sound and not stand out. Soloists need to.

Both Fogerson and Davies shared an unemphatic profile. In addition, Fogerson had pitch problems. Malaki, however, did achieve a dramatic presence as the Evangelist.

The rest of the program, which enlisted all the singers, ranged from Morten Lauridsen’s haunting “O Magnum Mysterium,” composed for the Master Chorale eight years ago but already deservedly a modern classic, to a John Rutter arrangement of “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”

Gershon got the audience to sing along in this carol, and the Pavilion rang quite brightly and pleasantly with multiple repeats of “Five golden rings.”

It was a warmup, Gershon said, for the Master Chorale-sponsored “Messiah” sing-along Monday night.