Inspiration needn’t always stem from grand or miraculous sources. Having the clouds part to spark your brain with heavenly sunlight would be nice, but this isn’t a very reliable source of creativity.

There is, instead, a dependable abundance of majesty to be found in the fabric of the everyday. Such was the unifying idea at the heart of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s performance on Friday at Hamer Hall, with two works exploring the hidden awe of daily life and the changing of seasons.

Though marketed exclusively for Max Richter’s The Four Seasons Recomposed, the German-born composer’s 2012 excavation of Vivaldi’s Baroque opus, the concert opened with the world premiere of MSO Composer-in-Residence Katy Abbott’s Hidden Thoughts III: Stories of Awe.

Pamela Rabe (left) and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra performs Katy Abbott’s Hidden Thoughts III: Stories of Awe. Photo © Laura Manariti

Constructing a libretto from an online survey that asked respondents to share their experiences of wonder within the everyday world, the selected text explores a diverse plain of day-to-day marvels.

Much as Abbott had proved in her preceding Hidden Thoughts work, Return to Sender, she has a keen visual ear for those...