Vivaldi’s Gloria is one of those celebrated pieces of sacred music so joyously other-worldly as to move even the staunchest of non-believers.

As an ordained priest, the composer’s faith shines through this luminous hymn; as music master at the Ospedale della Pièta, his secondary objective was to show off the musical talents of his orphaned female charges as a means of encouraging audiences to donate to the orphanage.

It is fitting, therefore, that Genesis Baroque chose the youthful voices of the Choir of Trinity College to accompany the orchestra for its Melbourne Recital Centre debut. Choir director Chris Watson draws a respectful, somewhat understated performance from his singers: competent but not the ebullient, spine-tingling rendition likely to elicit a religious conversion in its audience.

Genesis Baroque. Photo supplied

True to its origins, the soloists are a highly accomplished all-female cast. Sopranos Stella Horvath (Genesis Baroque’s Emerging Artist) and Mia Robinson deliver a beautiful Laudamus te. The call and response of oboe and soprano in Domine Deus, Rex coelestis is inspired, while the voice of mezzo-soprano Stephanie Dillon strikes...