The Ottawa Bach Choir must be the last major musical entity in the area to begin its season this year. But it did so in style last night with a program of Haydn, Bach and Purcell. Conductor Lisette Canton opened the program with Haydn's Little Organ Mass or, to give it its full title, Missa brevis Sancti Johannes de Deo. This piece is a shorter and lighter than, for example, the composer's Lord Nelson Mass.

The performance was nice and transparent, not too imposing, but undeniably beautiful. The choir sang with precise ensemble, generally good intonation and excellent balance and blend. It's tempting to say that the Mass made a good curtain-raiser, but it wasn't quite as slight as that would imply. Let's just say that it was a taste of things to come.

They didn't come immediately however. The next offering was of a completely different sort: a solo cantata by Bach. Weichet nur, betrübte Schatten is a wedding cantata in nine movements, alternating arias and recitives. It is a beautiful piece that any couple would be fortunate to have at their wedding, particularly if it were sung by Donna Brown, whose beautiful voice allowed her to convey the gravitas of the text along with its considerable joy.

Matthew Jennejohn's oboe obligatos were surpassingly lovely.

The chorus was back in harness for another of Bach's wedding cantatas, Der Herr denket an uns. This one is a little more celebratory and perhaps a little closer in form to what we normally think of in Bach cantatas. It consists of a sinfonia (beautifully played by the little orchestra assembled for the concert), two choruses, and a duet. The last was sung with aplomb by tenor Bernard Cayouette and baritone Martin Auclair. The choir sounded a little uncertain in the opening measures of the first chorus, but that soon cleared up.

The remainder of the program was given to Henry Purcell, a composer whose music is said to be an acquired taste. Not to mince words, this listener has yet to acquire the taste in full measure.

There's no denying, however, that it was sung and played wonderfully well.

Except for Donna Brown -- whose work last evening was among her best -- the other soloists were all drawn from the chorus and when you hear how good they sound, it's little wonder that the Ottawa Bach Choir is such a fine ensemble.