St Ann’s Church, Dublin: Bach — Cantatas 110, 132, 197, 50

Christmas, Advent and unspecified nuptials were the original occasions for the three full-length works in this, the second concert of the Orchestra of St Cecilia’s wrap-up season of Bach’s church cantatas.

And although its honorary place as No 50 in the Bach cantata canon rests on questionable credentials, the double chorus

Nun ist das Heil

was thrown in too.

Despite isolated issues of tone and tuning in the obbligato playing, conductor Mark Duley persuasively brought out the contrasted affects of the 10 arias, his approach being in equal measure helpful to the performer and unobtrusive to the listener. Tenor soloist John Elwes delivered his aria from Cantata 110 in sternly animated relief from the backdrop of a delicately sculpted flute dialogue. There was similar forthrightness in his ensuing, evenly matched duet with soprano Lynda Lee.

In the opening aria of Cantata 132, Lee’s expedient of breaking up her ultra-long passages grabbed more attention than it might have done this, however, was in contrast to her impressively delicate vocal gymnastics in a quirky, almost waltz-like aria of Cantata 197.

For certainty of mood, the most notable items were bass Jeffrey Ledwidge’s joyous, trumpet-laden aria from Cantata 110 and contralto Alison Browner’s soulful solo contribution to Cantata 197. Particularly, too, in an aria from Cantata 132, Browner’s response to her line’s contrapuntal function was characteristically illuminating.

What really distinguished this concert was the presence of Duley’s Resurgam choir, who communicated the rare and gratifying sense that the more difficult their parts were to sing, the more they enjoyed singing them.

Especially in the elating opening chorus of Cantata 197, and even in the overcrowded eight-part polyphony of Cantata 50, the voices combined colour with compatibility in an ever-articulate engagement with the orchestra.