BAROQUE FESTIVAL CLOSES WITH BACH, PURCELL ET AL.

No one will complain about receiving too much joy--but too much D major, that’s another thing. One nearly suffered a surfeit of that popular tonality at the closing event of the Baroque Festival of Corona del Mar on Sunday night in the hilltop sanctuary at St. Michael and All Angels Church.

Upbeat it was, this finale, devoted to Bach’s Cantata No. 95, “Christus, der ist mein Leben,” shorter works by Mouret and Handel, and Purcell’s “Come, Ye Sons of Art.” And joyous, too, in the stylish, incisive conducting of Burton Karson, founder and director of the 7-year-old festival, and in pointed solo contributions from singers Jennifer Smith, Dennis Parnell, Scott Sandemeyer, Gregory Wait and Christopher Lindbloom.

The almost obsessive, death-wishing text of Cantata 95 goes against the grain of our late-20th-Century Zeitgeist ; that is one important reason to reconsider its spiritual message. Musically, too, it is offbeat in several regards, yet charming in the extreme. Karson & Co., including a very tight and accomplished 18-member instrumental ensemble, delivered message and charm, intact.

The virtues in Mouret’s Suite No. 1 and in Handel’s Anthem, “Zadok the Priest,” are readily apparent; in taut performances, the orchestra, later with the Festival Chorus (sometimes singing raucously), illuminated them with enthusiasm and clear contrasts.

Karson brought out the joys in Purcell’s ode rather effortlessly, in crisp and loving readings. Smith used her bright soprano to strong effect; in arias and a duet, Parnell and Sandemeyer made countertenoring seem a legitimate pursuit, and Lindbloom matched his colleagues in skill and expertise. The performance was dedicated to the memory of festival supporter T. Duncan Stewart.

As announced at intermission, the Corona del Mar Baroque Festival for 1988 will take place between June 5 and 12.