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An orchestral ritornello serves as a bridge between each variation.

Other strengths of the piece include: an ebullient ritornello led by the strings, following a Truman Capote quote; a swelling meditation full of closely intertwined instrumental lines that elaborates on words from an Aboriginal invocation; and a passage from Verlaine, offering a lovely setting for the luxuriously toned mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke.

The tenor starts out in synch with the ritornello; attempts to assume an independent melodic shape; and then, failing that, tries to join up with the accompaniment again.

Like her “Partita,” which won the Pulitzer Prize in 2013, “Ritornello” is a study in seductive textures, with soothing harmonies coexisting with restless, brittle rhythmic passages.

The program closed with a new work, “Ritornello,” by the composer Caroline Shaw, who is also a member of the ensemble and who produced a mildly evocative stop-animation video of everyday objects to accompany her piece.