Gratitudes 4: live music and the Carmel mission

Just one today—or rather, a double one—and a day late: 

First: Live music! Last night, the Carmel Bach Festival's Chorale offered a program of "American Hymns, Psalms, and Spiritual Songs." Virgil Thomson, Charles Ives, Vincent Persichetti, Aaron Copland, and others. I'm afraid the Ives went over my nonmusical head—one of his two pieces, Psalm 67, involved mixing C major (the women's voices) and G minor (the men's). Did I discern that? No. All I heard was a chromatic richness. I wish I could have appreciated it more. But I did appreciate Copland's "In the Beginning," and of course the spirituals, especially "Elijah Rock," oh yeah. Here's a version I found that is reminiscent of what we heard last night.

And here's the Copland, because I wouldn't mind hearing it again:

Besides the beautiful music, the concert was held in the old Carmel Mission, decorated with a huge candelabra of actual candles in front of the massive altar. When the lights went down the scene was quite magical. Yay for live music!

So second: the mission itself, formally known as Mission San Carlos de Borromeo de Carmelo, established in 1770 by Franciscan father Junípero Serra (who is buried there). I did not know until just now that the mission fell into ruin in the late 1800s, and was only restored—and beautifully—in the 1910s and 20s.

Here's a colorized lithograph (1839) of a painting by Williim Smyth (1827). Today, the small buildings are gone and the mission is surrounded by houses, a school, roads, etc. 

Here it is in 1880, looking from the altar back:

And here it is today, outside and in. The altar was restored in 1910–30.

And yes, yes, I know all about the awful history of the Spaniards coming here and subjugating the Native peoples. That's a whole other story. For now, for today, I'd just like to note how fortunate we are to have this beautiful venue for hearing beautiful music, especially of the vocal variety: it's the perfect resonating chamber.