Scott Cantrell

"The World of Henry Purcell" was the title of the Dallas Bach Society's opening concert Saturday evening at Zion Lutheran Church. And, marking the 350th anniversary of the short-lived English composer's birth, it supplied an appealing cross-section of his music, both sacred and secular.

But the showstopper was a Bach cantata, Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen (BWV 51), in a dazzling performance by Ava Pine. Ms. Pine's formerly gentle voice has gotten bigger and fuller, but with no sacrifice of the elegance and agility that first made audiences sit up in amazement. Her Bach was vividly projected and lovingly caressed, and plenty of names-in-lights singers would sell their souls to produce sounds of such radiant beauty.

With artistic director James Richman at the harpsichord, the Bach Society had its best ensemble of period-instruments strings in memory, well-tuned, rhythmically buoyant and generously expressive. The trumpeter got most of the notes, not a small compliment with a valveless baroque trumpet. (The instrumentalists were unnamed in the program.)

It was good to hear both Purcell's coronation anthem "My heart is inditing" and his ode to St. Cecilia, "Welcome to all the pleasures." Both works are splendidly theatrical, with lots of juicy (and surprising) harmonies. The ensemble of 10 singers wasn't ideally matched, and the sopranos wanted more clarity and projection, but both singing and playing were hearty and aptly inflected.

Two sacred anthems came off less well, with some chromatic lines and harmonies drifting well off their moorings. Mr. Richman made a point of taking "Hear my prayer" a good deal faster than usual, but why? Those aching suspensions need more time to tell – and singers surer of tuning.

Tenor Scot Cameron brought bright, tangy tone and vivid declamation to the recitative-and-aria "Lord, what is man." Soprano Lynn Eustis' diction was murky in "The Blessed Virgin's Expostulation," but she sang fluently and artfully.

Songs from the theater and catches rounded out the Purcell repertory, with varied results. Artistically, the most satisfying was the duet "What shall we poor females do," fetchingly done by soprano Sarah Griffiths and bass David Grogan. More erratic intonation marred a couple of the catches.

Texts were supplied for most but, inexcusably, not all the selections.