Merry Christmas From Rome - Jubilaeum [DVD]

Amazon.com This Christmas concert from Basilica S. Maria Degli Angeli in Rome (with the appealingly unpretentious sight of late arrivals taking their seats well throughout the first several minutes) begins with two excerpts from Bach's Magnificat. They are lively but unfocused and never manage to soar despite the chorus's clear, exciting unison. After that far from propitious opening, however, the remainder of the disc is a genial, relaxed collection of fine performances. However lukewarm his Bach, conductor Pablo Colina has a graceful sense of flow that suits the more melodic pieces on the program perfectly. Gounod's gently swaying Ave Maria, with its delicately circling harp notes, and the ghostly, ultimately triumphant majesty of Bizet's Agnus Dei come off particularly well. Both also benefit from the strained but emotional performance of tenor Pietro Ballo, just as the orchestra's touching rendition of Verdi's "Ave Maria" from Otello is matched by soprano Cecila Gasdia's keening performance. The third vocalist, baritone Renato Bruson, isn't in such fine voice, but he possesses a noble gravitas that matches nicely the slowly unfolding passions in the selections from Mozart and Franck. This being a holiday concert there is the obligatory medley of chestnuts, romped through with the appropriate pomp. Less familiar though no less delightful are the Russian choral works, delivered with rousing snap by the children of the Galina Visnevskaya Boys' Choir. Perhaps it was this fond salute to his heritage that lured the great Mstislav Rostropovich into attending. In the only solo performance of the evening he gives a typically soulful, probing reading of Adam's "Minuit Chretiens." It is the highlight of a lovely program that manages to avoid the traps of obvious selections and rote music making that generally befall holiday events such as this. --Bruce Reid Set Contains: The program: 1. Magnificat: Magnificat, Gloria (Bach) 2. Ave Maria (Gounod) 3. Otello: Ave Maria (Verdi) 4. Ave Verum (Mozart) 5. Cristo e nato (Teofano) 6. Agnus Dei (Bizet) 7. Ave Maria (Mascagni) 8. Messa di Gloria: Benedictus (Mascagni) 9. Santo e Dio (Chesnokov) 10. Ave Maria (Schubert) 11. Silent Night (Gruber) 12. Panis Angelicus (Franck) 13. Russian Traditional 14. Minuit Chretiens (Adam) 15. Christmas Medley 16. O Holy Night (traditional)