America's oldest ensemble offers a taste of the new

When the Handel and Haydn Society was founded, its name indicated that the group focused on new music (Haydn) and old (Handel). Now, 200 years later, the name indicates a focus on the past for this period-instrument ensemble and chorus that remains the oldest continuously performing ensemble in the United States. On Saturday, the group came to the Library of Congress to show both sides of its history: a program that offset baroque and classical music with the Washington premiere of a new work.