An apt adjective for the works of Hector Berlioz is quirky. And his oratorio "L'Enfance du Christ" ("The Childhood of Christ") is among his quirkiest. It tells of the Holy Family's flight into Egypt, but in a highly idiosyncratic and episodic manner. He dispenses with the birth of Christ in the opening recitative.

It is an exceedingly difficult work to pull off, and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra's performance, conducted by Artistic Partner Douglas Boyd, is only partially successful.

Berlioz created "L'Enfance" piecemeal. The center section, "The Flight Into Egypt," came first. Three years later, he added the third section, "The Arrival at Sais." And finally, because he felt the work lacked a sense of balance, he created the first section, "Herod's Dream." It is a work of compelling moments, but with no overarching sense of dramatic thrust. It is up to the conductor to mold a sense of a whole.

Boyd reveled in the detail. He captured with clarity and transparency all the richness of Berlioz's imaginative orchestration. And he gave the orchestra a chance to shine. But he neglected the bigger picture. Overall, his tempos seemed languorous, robbing the work of a sense of drama.

Bass-baritone Sergei Leiferkus brought a dark, resonant instrument to the character of Herod. But his mannered pronunciation of French and his lack of emotional involvement, not to mention the sluggish tempos, robbed his nightmare of much of its horror.

Soprano Claire Ormshaw made a sweet-voiced Mary, and her voice blended well with the suave bass-baritone of David Wilson-Johnson's Joseph. Their lyrical duets were among the most successful moment of the evening.

Thomas Cooley was underused as the Narrator. His honeyed tenor and sense of dramatic urgency were a major asset to the performance.

But it was Dale Warland's SPCO Chorale that provided the level of emotional engagement missing from much of the rest of the performance. They excelled in the sweet "Shepherds' Farewell," the centerpiece of the composition and the movement from which all the rest evolved. And in playing characters from Herod's soothsayers to angels to angry Egyptians who initially rejected the Holy Family, they made the work come alive.

William Randall Beard is a Minneapolis writer.