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Conductor Grant Cochran took some risks in Saturday's Anchorage Concert Chorus presentation of "Catulli Carmina." Carl Orff's R-rated cantata was not the choral equivalent of Tchaikovsky's popular "1812" Overture; it wasn't even Orff's more recognizable "Carmina Burana."

He needn't have worried. This "Catulli Carmina" stayed true to Orff's sensual theatricality while toning down the verbal bawdiness to a PG-rating, reflected in English surtitles of the original Latin. In fact, this work, based on the love poems of the Roman Catullus, was head and shoulders above the rest of the evening, a collection of "other songs of desire" in the first half of the Atwood Concert Hall program. It even topped "Carmina Burana" at times.

The opening moments were pure Orff: loud, majestic and flooded with feeling. Indeed, they echoed the powerful "O Fortuna" section from "Carmina Burana." Tenor Andrew Sweeney, as the ill-fated lover Catullus, took off from there. What a voice this ex-Alaskan has: expressive, emotional, strong and seductive. He was perfect for this dramatic story of love betrayed.

The pain in his voice as he called out to his duplicitous lover, Lesbia, was a punch to the heart. Here the chorus provided a sonic backdrop that underscored Sweeney's passion while commenting on this tragedy from an emotional distance.

Orff stripped this Carmina down to its essentials, relying on repeated rhythms and melodies to carry the cantata's artistic strength. Musical threads ran through the work along with a coherent story line, creating a dramatically intense whole.

Adding to this completeness was the accompanying dancing by Alaska Dance Theatre. Courtland Weaver's simple, clean choreography accented the vocal drama. He chose a somewhat abstracted visual interpretation of the cantata's story, playing with its rhythms and repetitions in a more balletlike style. In places, this balletic softness ran counter to the singing's raw power. In others, these kinetic sketches became yet another emotional layer of this theatrical work.

Soprano Mari Hahn lit up the concert's first half. Like Sweeney, she has a beautifully rich voice that soared through the theater on waves of emotion and clarity. Three French songs by Claude Debussy, Franz Liszt and Eric Satie captured her vocal talents in a variety of styles. Liszt's "Oh Quand Je Dor" was romantically moody and dark, while Satie's "Je te Veux" was like a glittering ballroom overflowing with champagne and amour.

The Anchorage Concert Chorale handled a selection of other songs well, although their sounds often blended poorly. Cochran's interesting interpretation of "This Is My Song" from Jean Sibelius' "Finlandia" was marred by high-voiced sopranos who seemed to shriek at times rather than skim the notes. Rene Clausen's "A Jubilant Song" and Z. Randall Stroope's "Amor de mi Alma," though, were stunning reflections of the chorale's range and textures.

Dramatic and sensual, "Catulli Carmina" wasn't just a good performance choice for the Anchorage Concert Chorus. It was further proof of the artistic talents of this local troupe.

Anne Herman holds a master's degree in dance and has been a consultant for the National Endowment for the Arts.

Review