BUTLER TWP — The Butler County Symphony Orchestra Saturday night delivered a musical valentine complete with romance and beautiful pictures.

From the opening notes of the dreamlike "Mignon Overture" to the crazed "Bacchanale" from "Samson and Delilah," the program reflected every aspect of love.

Idealized love floated through Ambroise Thomas' rhapsodic "Mignon" despite a somewhat hesitant entrance of the string section. Recovering quickly, the orchestra capably handled the transition from the initial theme through the wistful "Connais Tu le Pays?" aria played by the French horn to the cleanly played sprightly finale.

Photographer Phil Norton's scenes of Western Pennsylvania enhanced the third movement of the aptly named "Romantic" Symphony No. 2, Op. 30 by American composer Howard Hanson.

The discordantly beautiful sections of the first two movements seemed to tell of love's unhappy moments. The orchestra handled the less familiar tonalities with competence and grace.

In the "Adagio" from the movie "Spartacus," composer Aram Khachaturian depicts perfect love. The symphony's performance suffered slightly from heavy-handedness on delicate passages but swelled to a lush climax.

Butler's Musical Theater Guild Singers excelled in two medleys.

Songs of "Richard Rogers in Concert" was arranged by Pennsylvanian Paul Murtha. The singers were precise and enthusiastic thanks to thorough preparation by Karen O'Donnell, who also plays percussion with the orchestra.

The second choral medley was arranged by the symphony's composer of the year, Drew Fennell. Featuring "The World's Best Love Songs," the orchestra, singers and audience all fell in love again with songs representing popular music of recent decades.

The audience got into the act with a sing along of the comic "That's Amore," again arranged by Mr. Fennell.

Ending on a wild upbeat, the orchestra threw inhibitions to the wind with the provocative "Bacchanale."

Maintaining increasing tension even in the largo section, conductor Elisabeth Heath Charles brought the concert to a vigorous climax.