Soloists and ensemble perform baroque works

Some stellar players have emerged from the roster of Astral Artistic Services, and some of them returned Sunday as soloists in the organization's gala at the Trinity Center. The flu kept one of the brightest, soprano Stephanie Blythe, from appearing, but an intrepid Laura Taylor took her place, singing the announced repertoire and keeping intact the afternoon's program of baroque masterworks.

Now in its eighth full season, Astral promotes and presents its audition winners in ways that most young artists could never afford or expect. The soloists performed Sunday with a string ensemble made up of other Astral artists, who probably will be soloists themselves some day.

The ensemble's performances of Bach were done with instrument groupings and, in line with modern thinking, were about the size of Bach's own orchestras. For the Concerto for Oboe, Violin and Strings, the orchestra consisted of two violins, viola, cello, bass and harpsichord. For the Brandenburg Concerto No. 6, the full group comprised two violas, three cellos, bass and harpsichord. The emphasis in both was on line and clarity, yet all the string players joined in rich tone production.

If one work stood out, it was the Sixth Brandenburg. The tautness of the ensemble, and the music's noble lower range came together in playing that was energized and expansive. There were no soloists, yet each of the players in turn displayed soloistic presence. Violists Burchard Tang and Che-Hung Chen, both Philadelphia Orchestra members now, led the group with inflected, elegant playing.

Taylor sang arias from Bach's St. Matthew Passion and operas by Purcell and Gluck. She was a thoughtful singer, a strong technician and colorist who missed only a boldly personal approach. She sang from scores propped directly in front of her, and her arias had the feeling of being read rather than created and declared.

In "Dido's Lament," the complexity of emotion and the range of vocal color were curiously withheld despite the ensemble's vibrant realization of the passionate writing. The soprano was more at ease in Gluck's "Che faro senza Euridice" from Orfeo. Her control of the line was more secure, and the words and sound came into clearer focus. In "Erbarme dich" from the Passion, she was joined by violinist Soovin Kim in creating musical lines that twined in often impressive ways.

Kim was leader of the ensemble, as well as soloist in the Double Concerto and the Brandenburg Concerto No. 4. In the first, he joined oboist Katherine Needleman in a performance that was framed by reasonable tempos but was urged forward by the expressive urgency of both soloists. The slow movement built sonorities and melodic lines that gave it a feeling of limitless expansiveness.