The Melbourne Chamber Orchestra was founded in 1991 and continues to maintain a busy schedule of projects and performances throughout Victoria. Artistic Director William Hennessy AM has a long and distinguished history as a violinist and educator, and he animatedly led the 14-strong ensemble from the violin through the six works that comprised this program. The focus was on early forms of concerto, particularly the concerto grosso, in which musical material alternates between a smaller group of instruments (rather than a single instrument, which later became standard) and the larger ensemble or orchestra. In addition to concerti grossi by three different baroque composers, featured soloist Diana Doherty performed in an early oboe concerto, a double concerto, and a contemporary work that, although not designated as such, functions as a modern-day double concerto modelled on earlier forms.

Diana Doherty. Photo © Christie Brewster

Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713) wrote his Opus 6 set of 12 Concerti Grossi in 1714. Such was his influence on other composers that, twenty-five years later, George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) also wrote a set of 12 that he designated Opus 6. Tonight’s concert opened with Corelli’s No...