Mansions and Music Concerts Calendar

The Ornament of the World

Sunday, October 25, 2009
 
Fifteen hundred years ago the Andalusian city of Cordoba stood as the Ornament of the World. Under an enlightened and tolerant Islamic Caliphate the arts and culture of Muslims, Jews and Christians flourished together for a few centuries before the inevitable struggle for power ushered in the dark ages. This program presents vocal and instrumental music from Medieval Christian, Arab and Sephardic traditions. Featured artists are the vocal trio Voxfire, clarinetist James Sullivan and oud player Wael Kakish.

A Spanish Revival estate in La Canada-Flintridge serves as the venue for The Ornament of the World. The residence was designed in 1922 by architect Henry Harwood as a replica of a Spanish castle, replete with Moorish detail. A former Pasadena Showcase House of Design, its rooms and courtyards are gloriously suited to the program’s evocation of medieval Cordoba at its zenith.

Illumination

Sunday, March 14, 2010
 
This program of musical and visual ekphrasis - the use of one artistic medium to illuminate the experience of another - situates a musical performance within an art exhibition. Inspired by sacred literature, Olvier Messiaen composed Vingt Regards Sur L'Enfant-Jesus in 1944. Mark Robson performs the piano masterpiece. On exhibit are Secular Icons, Edward Beckett's contemporary visualization of musical gestures rendered within the strict discipline of Russian iconography.

Illumination takes place in a cloistered, mission-style mountaintop setting that was the former Flintridge Hotel. Built by Henry Flint and designed by Myron Hunt in 1927 as a lavish retreat, the hotel did not survive past the onset of the Great Depression. It was purchased by the Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose in 1931 and has operated as a convent and girls school ever since. Beautifully maintained in its original condition, Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy provides a contemplative atmosphere for this program that melds the visual with the aural.

The Early Romantics

Sunday, May 2, 2010
 
The span of years ,1797 to 1810, marked the births of Schubert, Mendelssohn, Chopin and Schumann and intensified the image of composer as heroic figure. Individuality and the deeply personal were frequent characteristics of their work and a hallmark of a new aesthetic. PCM faculty members perform chamber works by these early romantics.

A Deodar forest and park-like grounds surround the lovely English Country-style estate that is the closing venue for the season. We happily explore The Early Romantics in early spring in a setting that Wordsworth would approve.