Imagine you are walking along an overgrown path … What do you see?

Leoš Janáček used the image of an overgrown path to frame the 15 vignettes he included in his suite for solo piano, On an Overgrown Path.

The MCO’s Artistic Director Sophie Rowell has used the image of an overgrown path to connect five musical works illuminated by the spoken word, with actor Helen Morse reading the poetry associated with the program’s oldest and newest works: Vivaldi’s Four Seasons (1725) and British composer Libby Croad’s Portraits (2022).

Melbourne Chamber Orchestra: Overgrown Paths. Photo © Catherine Turner

The program opened with Hugo Wolf’s effervescent Italian Serenade, and this performance, with ultra-delicate phrasing and meticulous attention to the music’s ebb and flow, showcased the MCO’s musicality and finesse.

The five miniatures from Janáček’s Overgrown Path painted some of the composer’s cherished memories – including children at play and a screeching barn owl – using a well-crafted arrangement for string orchestra by the Slovak violinist Daniel Rumler. The MCO gave a well-balanced performance of these colourful but complex vignettes, a highlight being the energy with which the ensemble maintained the music’s pulse.

The final work before interval depicted a markedly different physical and emotional world. Croad’s Portraits was based on five pandemic-era poems – Landscape, Heartache, Hope, Mind and Resilience – by the English violinist Eleanor Percy. The MCO presented the first four movements, with Morse reading the relevant poem prior to each Portrait being played.

The Portraits evoke the deserted urban landscape rendered pristine through disuse (Landscape); the grief and many types of loss experienced during the pandemic (Heartache); and the constant battle between hope (Hope) and anxiety (Mind) as the virus rages.

Croad’s music matched the poems’ emotional arc; a calm, warm opening gives way to a sombre chorale that becomes increasingly intense. If the music was heard in isolation, the fifth movement, Resilience, might not be missed, but it felt odd for the final poem to end with the virus still raging.

Percy’s well-chosen words provided a clear verbal path into the music, undoubtedly adding depth to the music. And to have Helen Morse recite the poems so clearly, calmly and feelingly took the music, and the performance, to another level.

Melbourne Chamber Orchestra: Overgrown Paths. Photo © Catherine Turner

Morse, Rowell and the MCO returned to the stage after interval to perform Vivaldi’s Four Seasons : the centrepiece and arguably the highlight of the concert. In this performance, Morse recited the four poems, which ensured the audience listened purposefully, and made the music seem more vivid and immediate.

Rowell’s performance of the virtuous solo part was exhilarating; the MCO brought out Vivaldi’s colourful musical effects with great flair and attention to detail, and their ensemble playing was impeccable.

Rowell, Morse and the MCO received a long and well-deserved standing ovation.

For more information on the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra in 2026, visit mco.org.au