Nativity According to St. Luke

To honor the 200th anniversary of Christ Church, Mr. Randall Thompson has created what he calls a Musical Drama of the Nativity, and what should be thought of as a Christmas Pageant. For the seven scenes of his new work, which received its first performance Tuesday evening, are not intended to be at all theatrical. They are, rather, the seven panels of a serene and devotional polyptych; quiet, unposturing tableaux of the birth of the Christ Child.

Mr. Thompson's music, scored for a chamber orchestra, organ, chorus, and the figures of the Pageant, is unadorned, often almost spare, and calmly joyous. A bustlingly rustic fugue hurries the shepherds towards Bethlehem, where they celebrate the Nativity in an awkward but loving dance. Mary croons a soft lullaby, and Joseph sleeps contentedly by her side. Simeon prophesies the wonders of the Messiah's coming; a boys' choir sings an awestruck Noel, the chorus a mighty, antiphonal Alleluia.

These are humble scenes, and Mr. Thompson presents them leisurely and reverently without any trace of bombast or pomposity. Mr. Robert A. Brooks, who staged the Christ Church production, has been as plain in his direction. Against the backdrop of a simple wooden frame set by Patricia Finn, Mr. Brooks has set his elegantly robed characters in effectively static and stylized positions; neither the music nor the singers themselves are bedevilled by necessities of operatic nuances.

And the singers, thus unembarassed and unencumbered, are capable and impressive. As Mary, Jean Lunn has a voice that is remarkably clear and untroubled. Her Magnificat in the third scene is particularly successful--a potent and thankful handmaiden of the Lord, she glorifies God in graceful, controlled arabesques.

David Dodds, the Angel Gabriel, sings his role with the purity of a Russell Oberlin. As Simeon, the prophet, Robert Patterson is forcefully apocalyptic; and as Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, Jenneke Barton is magnificently, overwhelmingly maternal.

Unfortunately, the Nativity will run for only another two nights; and, as unfortunately, Christ Church has seen fit to set an unreasonably high price on its tickets. Mr. Thompson's pageant will undoubtedly be repeated for many years by many groups, but it should if possible be seen now if only because the composer himself is conducting the performances.