S.L. native stars in brilliant display

UTAH SYMPHONY AND CHORUS WITH CELENA SHAFER, Abravanel Hall, Friday; additional performance 2 p.m. today (355-2787).

The Utah Symphony, under guest conductor Bernard Labadie, celebrates the holiday season this weekend with a festive, all-baroque program.

But of the three works played, only J.S. Bach's glorious Magnificat is directly connected with Christmas. Bach's resplendent work was performed for the first time on Christmas Day 1723 and has since remained one of his most popular choral works.

The other two works on the program — Vivaldi's ever-popular Gloria in D major and Bach's Cantata No. 51("Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen") — while not intended specifically for Christmas, nevertheless are well suited to be played during this time. Thanks to their exuberant, celebratory character, these two pieces fit neatly into a holiday program.

The Gloria opened the concert. Labadie tended to take the tempos at a rather brisk pace, which sometimes obscured the subtleties of the music. Yet, on the other hand, the French-Canadian conductor emphasized the poignancy of the text in sections such as the "Domine Deus, agnus dei."

The Utah Symphony Chorus sang magnificently, giving a convincingly dynamic and vibrant performance that was articulate, well delineated and executed with dynamic vitality.

Among the three soloists in the Gloria, Salt Lake native Celena Shafer stood out prominently with her luminous soprano. She sang with wonderful expressiveness and fluidity. Particularly notable was the basso continuo aria with obbligato oboe, "Domine Deus," in which Shafer sang the florid line with remarkable fluidity. Principal oboe Robert Stephenson and principal cello Ryan Selberg were also notable for their vibrant playing.

Of the other two singers, soprano Maryann Madden has a delightfully lyrical voice, while mezzo-soprano Paula Murrihy sang exquisitely.

Shafer was, in fact, the vocal star of the evening. She returned onstage after the Vivaldi to sing Bach's shimmering cantata. Here she had the opportunity to show her rich vocal artistry to the fullest.

Shafer's coloratura was astonishingly brilliant in the opening aria, "Jauchzet, jauchzet Gott in allen Landen." The effect on the listener was hypnotic, as she dispatched her melismatic part with a naturalness that was tinged with a delicate lyricism not often found among singers performing baroque music.

Bach's Magnificat ended the concert. Labadie's interpretation captured all the rich layers of sound and orchestral textures that Bach employed in setting this joyful text to music. His reading was in many ways insightful in that he coaxed the orchestra, chorus and singers to give their utmost in terms of expression and sincerity.

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E-mail: ereichel@desnews.com