An odd title for a concert this one as although Mr Scholl did indeed sing Vivaldi’s marvellous Stabat Mater as his grand finale, the rest of the program promised some far more daring fare. But then perhaps “Andreas Scholl sings a bit of Vivaldi in amongst some Bach, Pärt and Schnittke” hasn’t got the same catchy ring about it.

The ACO were reduced to seven players for this intimate event, lead by Neal Peres da Costa on chamber organ. The concert opened with a short but spirited Vivaldi C Major concerto for strings – chosen to give the evening a feel of being bookended by the Venetian master, even if he didn’t feature throughout. What sorts the sheep from the goats, and in this case singles the ACO out as prime quality Australian lamb, is the passion and grace evident in their playing. Where others plod, these players skip and gambol. The five string players – Helena Rathbone and Rebecca Chan on violins, Christpher Moore on viola, Timo-Veikko Valke on cello and Maxime Bibeau on bass – formed a tight little band with Tommie Andersson on theorbo. A class act.

Jump forward two-and-a-half centuries and the rarity that followed was one...