Bruno Weil redeemed himself Tuesday last week by conducting Haydn''s Creation Mass in true classical style. This was in striking contrast to his misapplied Baroque-style treatment of the same composer''s Harmony Mass last summer.

The work''s nickname results from Haydn''s inclusion of musical inventions--and even whole tunes--developed for his previously introduced oratorio, The Creation. These notably include the music of the Adam/Eve duet in the mass'' Qui tollis peccata mundi, the birdsong organ obbligato that accompanies Et incarnatus est, and the "hunting" horns in the Sanctus. Vocal soloists Rosa Lamoreaux, Catherine Robbin, Alan Bennett and Sanford Sylvan rose to the colorful occasion, powering through Sunset Theater''s acoustic veil that hangs just forward of the proscenium.

Similar pleasures transcended Haydn''s Symphony 98 in B flat, a work that begins in powdered-wig formality and ends with revolutionary swagger. In one long joke, Haydn takes us from the stiff-lipped salon to a cocky Rossini punch line. The finale even contains an outrageous hapsichord solo which--like the organ episode in the mass--Haydn was said to have played himself in early performances. Handel''s Concerto Grosso in G Minor, Op6:6, with a gorgeously seductive second movement, began the evening, using more than twice the strings heard in another Handel concerto grosso, also from Op. 6, on the Monday night program.

There''s been a last-minute change for the Cabrillo Music Festival, which opens in Santa Cruz on Friday: John Corigliano''s The Red Violin has replaced another of the composer''s works in the final concert of the series, on Aug. 16 at the San Juan Bautista Mission. The piece derives from Corigliano''s score for the Francois Gerard film of the same name, and was premiered by Joshua Bell and the San Francisco Symphony last fall. (Sony will release a CD of the concerto with Bell and the Philharmonia Orchestra this fall.)

Never before has the CabMuFest packed so many leading, living composers into a single season''s residency. In alpha-order, they are Miguel del Aguila, Christopher Caliendo, John Corigliano, Michael Daugherty, Michael Hersch, Christopher Rouse and Joan Tower. Some have questioned music director Marin Alsop''s East Coast bias, given the festival''s West Coast origins and history. But, in the words of co-executive producer Ellen Primack, "Marin takes the lead with her programming and then we develop the marketing to promote it." In other words, the festival indulges the taste and judgment of its music director. This must explain, at least in part, why the Cabrillo is one of the best ways to discover American music''s leading lights.

Daugherty''s "Superman"-inspired Metropolis Symphony gets its West Coast premiere in the Friday program at the Santa Cruz Civic, while his Motown Metal shows up for the first time on Saturday. Get more details of the CabMuFest from their website: www.infopoint.com/fun/music/cabrillo/.

This Saturday, starting at 11am, Barbara Smythe of "The Opera Show" on KAZU 90.3FM, will host John Dizikes, author of the acclaimed Opera in America, and Miriam Ellis, founder of the Santa Cruz Opera Society (SCOSI), on the subject of opera sung in other than the original language, with plenty of examples.

Last Week''s Quiz: The Bach Family first emigrated to Germany in the 16th century from what country? Answer: Hungary.

This Week''s Quiz: What orchestral work by John Corigliano is based on the "Happy Birthday" song?

Carmel

Thursday

2:30pm "Celestial" music for soprano, trumpet, organ. Carmel Mission Basilica, Rio Road and Lasuen Drive, Carmel. $10.

7:30pm. Carl Christensen conducts festival members in "The New World and Bach," a sampler of Bach, Reiche, de Jerusalem, Gabrieli. Oldemeyer Center, 986 Hilby Ave., Seaside. Free.

8pm. Violinist Elizabeth Wallfisch leads virtuoso concertos by Farina, Locatelli, Corelli, Stradella, Biber. $25, $30.

Friday

2:30pm. Music From the Court of Frederick the Great. $10.

8pm. Bruno Weil conducts Christian Bach''s opera Endimione. $29, $35.

Saturday

11am. Mozart''s Serenade K388, String Quartet K515, Horn Quintet K407. $10.

2:30pm. Adams Vocal Showcase, featuring students of the Virginia Best Adams Master Class, $10.

8pm. Bruno Weil conducts "Best of the Fest," selections chosen by festival concert-goers. $45, $50.

Sunday

3pm. Bruce Lamott conducts JS Bach''s Missa in G Minor and Lobe den Herren, works by Bach predecessors. Carmel Mission Basilica, Rio Road at Lasuen Drive. $50.

Cabrillo Music

Festival

All

Friday

8pm. Marin Alsop conducts Danielpour''s Toward the Splendid City, Caliendo''s Trio Concertino, Daugherty''s Metropolis Symphony.

Saturday

8pm. Marin Alsop conducts Aguila''s Conga Line in Hell, Schwantner''s Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra, Daugherty''s Motown Metal, Copland''s Music for Great City.

Sunday

8pm. "Strictly Tango" with guitarist Christopher Caliendo, violinist Rachel Purkin, accordionist Frank Marocco, dancers Natalia Mavor, Allen Walls.