In what turned out to be an inspired break from the tradition of past years, the Melbourne Bach Choir and Orchestra performed its Easter Concert three weeks post-Easter and in the place where the choir had made its debut performance almost two decades previously.

All Saints’ Anglican Church in East St Kilda was the venue from which the MBC first launched in a performance of the St Matthew Passion back in 2006. This year’s program offered an alternative to Bach’s Passions in the form of his oratorios (Easter and Ascension) in a joyful celebration of the work of the master and a couple of his major fans.

Rick Prakhoff, Andrew Goodwin and Chrisopher Hillier. Photo © Elizabeth Quinn

Under the direction of Rick Prakhoff, the concert opener was the Litany of Loreto, a “joyous little work” according to Prakhoff by the 15-year-old Mozart who, at that tender age, was more an admirer of CPE Bach than of his father. Perfectly suited to the line-up of soloists, the Litany showcased individual voices and provided opportunities to create the kind of heavenly four-part harmonies absent from the Passions.

The voices of MBC perennials Sally-Anne...