The Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra has carved out a niche in Australia’s Historically Informed Performance scene by tackling the post-Baroque orchestral repertoire, but it’s often the ensemble’s chamber offerings that really shine, giving audiences a chance to hear the unique colours of individual 18th-century – or in the case of New Constellations – 19th-century instruments. In Sydney’s City Recital Hall, Co-Artistic Directors Rachael Beesley and Nicole van Bruggen and their band brought these instruments to bear on Mendelssohn’s Op. 20 Octet and a nonet version of Brahms’ Serenade No 1.

The Australian Romantic and Classical Orchestra. Photo © Nick Gilbert

Led by ARCO’s regular guest director, Berlin violinist Jakob Lehmann, the eight players gave the opening of the Mendelssohn Octet for strings – considered the composer’s first masterpiece, with his Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream following close on its heels – an idyllic warmth, evoking the garden where such music was dreamt up. In the solo lines, Lehmann’s sound was singing without being overbearing, balanced nicely by the cellos, and gradually becoming more impassioned – with some virtuosic flourishes and a touch of portamento along the way. Simon Oswell’s viola...