Unusual Traditional Gift From L.A. Baroque

Though Messiahs may sing out all over town and the Western world throughout December, the Los Angeles Baroque Orchestra has been quietly cultivating its own, possibly unique, holiday tradition. After giving the U.S. premierxe of Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s Nativity Pastorale--hitherto known, if at all, mostly through William Christie’s recording in 1991--it adopted the piece as a lucky charm and has performed it annually ever since.

In the second of two performances Saturday in the dry acoustic of Santa Monica’s Miles Memorial Playhouse, L.A. Baroque reaffirmed its catch, a pleasantly lilting French Baroque oratorio with several stretches of lovely lyrical writing and canny dramatic touches such as the lengthy Great Silence in the second scene and some merry infusions of percussion in the fourth and seventh scenes.

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Soprano Kristin Gould delivered a graciously limpid yet firm tone in several passages; soprano Phoebe Alexander was sweetly expressive as a shepherdess in the sixth scene.

Bass Scott Graff caught the gentle character of the words of the Old Man, and tenor Temmo Korisheli and countertenor Dana Marsh were also on their game.

Gregory Maldonado directed the ensemble and also wielded a pretty mean tambourine.

Before Charpentier, L.A. Baroque also managed to squeeze in two more J.S. Bach compositions before the Bach 250th anniversary year runs out. The Orchestral Suite No. 2 performed without harpsichord was roughly handled until the Polonaise ushered in some stability and poise, with flutist Kim Pineda gamely coping with the often lightning-fast tempos.

The pastoral Christmas Cantata Das Neugebor Kindelein (BWV 122) fared much better as Graff led the way with impressively clear enunciation and William Skeen (violoncello) and Denise Briese (violone) laid down the bass end with superb rhythmic thrust.