The 91st season of the Portland Symphony Orchestra, and the eighth year under the music direction of Robert Moody began on the 11th of October with a spectacular program at Merrill Auditorium.

I do not present my observations as fact, merely opinion. The main order of business was a rare performance of the Te Deum by Hector Berlioz. This masterpiece is rarely performed partially because it calls for very large forces, winds in fours, two choruses, a children’s chorus, organ, harp, four snare drums, and a tenor soloist; not to mention a conductor who knows how to make it all work.

The large chorus consisted of the Masterworks Chorus of the Choral Art Society Choir (superbly trained by Robert Russell) and members of the Vox Nova Chamber Choir, Shannon Chase, conductor, and the Boston Children’s Chorus with Michele Adams as conductor. I didn’t count, but the stage seemed to be littered with singers. The distinguished organist was Ray Cornils, and the marvelous tenor was Rene Barbera. Making it all work was Robert Moody.

For folks who think they know music, or an awful lot about music and are not acquainted with the Te Deum, Requiem, Damnation of Faust by Berlioz, they have an awful lot to learn, to experience and ultimately, to love. My eyes and ears were opened in the summer of l954 when I was a student at Tanglewood and experienced these works conducted by Charles Munch. For me, when it came to Berlioz at least, his approach was and remains the platinum standard.

One individual nastily observed that Berlioz lacked the talent for his genius. (May his soul be placed in a roomful of guitar players in the afterlife.) As for this performance I would make the following observations, all of which are so good, that I lack the verbal resources to describe them accurately.

The combined choirs were superb. Their attacks, their intonation, and rhythmic clarity were all that one could ask for. That Mr. Moody wanted ever more from the sopranos is no reflection on them. I suspect that he wanted a section comprised of Brunhildes. It seemed to me that they gave him all that they had and after some initial timidity more than made up for it. After the handlers place the horns, trombones and tuba players back in their respective abodes, they should each be given an extra generous portion of raw red meat. They all earned it. The solo clarinet and flute player distinguished themselves not only here but throughout the program. Mr. Cornils earned the two solo bows he took. His instrumentation especially in Tu Ergo was ever so effective. It seemed to me that Mr. Barbera was an ideal soloist. He sang with passion, with artistry and was a joy to hear. His voice was easily equal to the demands of the score. The children’s chorus added their special voices in the opening and closing choruses. The singing of the chorus, particularly the Dignare and Tu Ergo portions was ever so moving. I felt that the concluding Judex Crederis might have gone a tad slower but I had no quarrel with the tempo Moody took. For his conducting of the Te Deum he deserves a pass to get into heaven.

As for the works prior to intermission I am less enthusiastic. I thought that Dvorak’s Carnival Overture went way too fast, so fast that the passage work in the violins was muddy. On the plus side, the solo violin part played by assistant concertmaster Alice Lord Halstrom was wonderfully performed as was the solo playing by the solo flute and English horn. Beethoven’s First Symphony was given a correct, but undistinguished reading. I suspect that with the Berlioz on his mind, these two works simply had to be gotten through and that is what transpired. And for what occurred later in the Te Deum, this was inevitable and understandable. The entire program will be broadcast on MPBN on Wednesday, Oct. 28 at 8 p.m. The PSO Pops will perform on Oct. 24 and 25.

— Dr. Gold is a composer/conductor and an arts reviewer for the Journal Tribune.