I was reminded of this 5th century fresco I have seen several times at the Benedictine monastery of Sacro Speco (Sacred Cave) in Subiaco, Italy. This ancient painting shows death on horseback, stamping on people of all ages and brandishing a sword against those alive.
What shocked me when I first saw that fresco and what shocked me again upon learning of this death and so many others is that life (unlike light bulbs) does not come with a guaranteed life span. All we can do is live the all the days of our years deeply and abundantly.

Joe certainly did.

Here is an excerpt from a tribute written by a colleague.

“As a scholar of great precision and subtlety, Joe knew that there are no simple answers to anything. Yet he was also a man of strong ideals and principles, and he knew from his study of world religions how indispensible icons and images are. In that same introduction [to a volume of papers from a conference on the Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore, he and his wife wrote: ‘Our human world is a world shaped by symbols, by images. We are bound to select from and simplify the infinite complexity of what we perceive. Somehow we much choose and act, must decide what to value and strive for, what to fear and guard against. For what can be quantified, we may have recourse to computers and their algorithms to enable us to select, simplify and act. For what is humanly meaningful, individually and collectively, for what is imbued with feeling and integral to who and what we know or imagine ourselves to be, we resort to more open, multivalent and suggestive symbolism, to images.”

It is my humble hope that Classical Pursuits gives people access to the world of symbols and images from whence we derive meaning.

Sean and I have been kicking around a number of trip possibilities for next year or two. We welcome your guidance. The information below is schematic but should be enough to give you a rough idea of the possibilities. While the emphasis would be on art, we would pair related literature with each trip and take advantage of the wonderful musical offerings as they are available, like the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and the new Mariinski Theatre in St. Petersburg.

Kindly reply to this blog post or send me a personal email, telling us if any of these trips strike your fancy. We welcome suggested modifications or entirely different trip ideas. ann.kirkland@classicalpursuits.com.

(You can enlarge the images below by double clicking on each.)

Belle Epoque Paris

Death of Marat, by David

Mrs. Frederick R. Leyland (detail), by Whistler

Nineteenth Century Paris is one of the pinacles of Western art. From classicism and romanticism to realism, impressionism and art nouveau, Paris was the center of European culture. The 19th Century was a time of tumult and change, and Paris was the centre where cultures and ideas collided to gave birth to the modern world. We will look at some of the great French painters, sculptors, and writers of the time. We will also focus on Americans in Paris such as Whistler, Sargent, Cassat, and Saint-Gaudens.

Possible texts:

Short stories by Maupassant, Flaubert, Zola, or Balzac
Poetry and writings on art by Baudelaire
Journal of Delacroix, letters by Degas and Van Gogh
The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris by David McCullough

Itinerary: Sunday to Saturday

Day 1: Neoclassicism Louvre – visit 1, free afternoon
Day 2: Romanticism Louvre – visit 2 (or Delacroix museum), seminar on Delacroix, Baudelaire
Day 3: Realism 1 Orsay – visit 1, seminar on French short stories
Day 4: Realism 2 Petit Palais, Rodin’s house museum, free afternoon
Day 5: Impressionism Monet’s museums, seminar on Degas, Van Gogh
Day 6: Art Neaveau, Modernism Orsay-  visit 2, Montemartre
Day 7: Review. Walking tour of Americans in Paris or trip to Giverny with Sean offering a painting demo

Baroque Rome

Pluto & Proserpina (detail) by Bernini

The Entombment of Christ, by Caravaggio

Rome is the eternal city. While every epoch has left its mark, Rome is perhaps best defined by the Baroque. The city overflows with sculpture and grand architecture: paintings by Caravaggio, sculptures by Bernini, churches by Bramante and Borromini. We will focus on Rome in the 17th Century, the center of the counter reformation Catholicism with its powerful, ornate art. We’ll begin with Michelangelo, a great precursor, and discuss the relationship between science and religion with reference to Galileo and St. Ignatius, founder of the Jesuits. We’ll close with a discussion of Baroque elements in modern Italy with the work of Fellini.

Possible texts:

Meditations of St. Ignatius
Writings of Gallilio, Bruno, Vico
Roman Baroque by Anthony Blunt
La Dolce Vita by Fellini

Itinerary: Sunday to Saturday

Day 1: Villa Borghese (Bernini, Caravaggio)
Day 2: Vatican museum, free afternoon
Day 3: Caravaggio Churches, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Canova cafe
Day 4: Borromini Churches, Seminar on St. Ignatius, Gallileo and Bruno
Day 5: Baroque Garden at Tivoli (Day trip)
Day 6: Capuchins crypt, Cortona at Il Gesu church, watch Fellini
Day 7: Final Seminar, Food walk with Katie Parla

Russian Realism

Portrait, by Kromskoy

A Religious Procession (detail) by Repin

Realism was a worldwide movement in the late 19th Century, from Dickens in England,  to Twain in America, and Courbet in France. But it was perhaps in Russia where realism really blossomed. Many of us know of the novels of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. the plays of Chekhov, the stories of Turgenev. What is less known in the West are the remarkable paintings of Repin, Levitan, and Kromskoy. These Russian artists were friends with the writers and painted their portraits. They shared a passion for social justice and a love for their Russian homeland. Russian realism in art and literature makes for an exciting journey.

Possible texts:

Selected short works by Dostoevsky, Tolstoy and Chekhov

Itinerary

Day 1: Moscow 1 – City and Churches, (Seminar 1)
Day 2: Moscow 2 –Tretyakov Gallery
Day 3: Moscow 3—Tolstoy’s House day trip or Polenov House day trip (closer)
Day 4: Moscow 4—Chekhov’s House, Dostoevsky House (Seminar 2), Bolshoi Ballet
Day 5: Travel (4hrs by train), (Seminar 3)
Day 6: St. Petersburg 1– Hermitage
Day 7: St. Petersburg 2– Russian Museum
Day 8: St. Petersburg 3—City and Churches (Seminar 4)
Day 9: St. Petersburg 4—Peterhof palace, Kirov Ballet or Opera
Day 10: Final Review, (Seminar 5)

Dutch Golden Age

The Jewish Bride, by Rembrandt

The Milkmaid, by Vermeer

The 17th Century in Holland is called the Golden Age. This was a flowering of art and culture that accompanied the new wealth from Dutch trading. Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Hals are surrounded by many other fine artists. Dutch still life, landscape, and interiors are some the most beautiful ever painted. Holland was and remains a stable, tolerant and inclusive society and this is exemplified by the revolutionary philosophy of Spinoza. The Dutch are also practiced at science, design and urban planning. Our Classical Pursuits trip will center on the Golden Age, but as a finale will also consider the role of art and science in Holland today.

Possible texts:

Spinoza
Books on Rembrandt and Vermeer (Rembrandt: The Painter at Work, Girl with Pearl Earring)

Itinerary: Sunday to Saturday in Amsterdam

Day 1: Rijksmuseum 1 (Rembrandt, Vermeer, Hals)
Day 2: Rembrandt’s House Museum, Seminar
Day 3: Day trip to the Hague for Vermeer
Day 4: Day trip to the Harleem for Hals
Day 5: Van Loon museum, canal tour, Seminar
Day 6: Rijksmuseum 2 (Still Life and Landscape)
Day 7: Day trip to either Kinderdijk (windmills) or Keukenhof (gardens)

Portrait of a Nation -Washington D.D.

Lincoln by George Peter Alexander Healy

Maga''s Daughter by Wyeth

For this Classical Pursuits trip we head to the nation’s capital, Washington D.C. to look at some great portrait paintings. We will consider the portrait as both personal and political. From old masters at the National Portrait Gallery to the presidental portraits at the National Portrait Gallery, from the American impressionists to Wyeth’s paintings of his family and friends, we will explore all aspects of portraiture. The best portraits capture character, and this holds in writing as well as art. In this spirit we will look at a portrait of Lincoln and his circle as we read Team of Rivals, Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Pulitzer winning book that is being made into a film with Daniel Day-Lewis as Lincoln.

Possible Text:

Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Itinerary: Sunday to Wednesday in Washington DC

Day 1: National Gallery, seminar 1
Day 2: National Portrait Gallery, seminar 2
Day 3: Freer Gallery and Lincoln memorial other monuments (maybe in the evening)
Day 4: Day trip to Wyeth Museum in Brandywine
–OR–
Day 4: National Museum of American History, Final dinner
America’s Love Affair with Europe – New York City

Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Champion Single Sculls by Eakins

As the United States grew and prospered in the 19th century, artists, writers, and the elite looked to European culture. Painters Eakins and Sargent, sculptors Saint-Guadens and Chester French, architects White and Hastings, were all connected to Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. Industrials like Frick, Mellon and Rockefeller collected European art. American cities founded museums, and New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art led the way as it purchased pictures by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Van Dyck, Titian. The romance with Europe was also personal as Americans travelled to Europe, met and married Europeans. This drama became the material for novelists like James and Wharton. At the same time, Americans were searching for their own identity in art and life. What would an American voice sound like? We’ll explore both American’s love affair with Europe and her struggle to become a new nation.

Possible Texts:

Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton, Edith Wharton by Hermione Lee

Itinerary: Sunday to Wednesday in New York City

Day 1: Met: European Art, Seminar 1
Day 2: Frick, visit to the AlgonquinHotel, Palace Hotel café, or Russian Tea Room, Seminar 2
Day 3: Met: American Painting and Sculpture, Opera or NY Philharmonic
Day 4: NY Public Library, Morgan Library, Final dinner

Why did it change and how did it reflect society at the time? How does it relate today? A variety of concertos for different solo instruments will be featured, all from famous recordings by legendary soloists, orchestras and conductors.

Have a listen here to the last movement of the Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 by Bach – a textbook case of the Baroque Concerto, which is where we’ll start. Notice the constantly changing textures, instrumental make-ups, calls and answers, big group vs. small, etc.

It was these new effects that the composer and audiences loved, leading to the Classical Concerto, like the Mozart Clarinet Concerto. Now we’ve morphed into the solo concerto – for one instrument against the orchestra, but like all Mozart, notice the operatic traits – like an opera aria, with drama and lyricism, passion, conflict and reconciliation, and the virtuosity of the clarinet soloist. As we move into the 19th C., the concerto’s trait of the one v. the many grows into the Romantic hero notion – the outsider v. the conformed, the wanderer, the outcast seeking redemption, as well as the dazzling vehicle for great virtuosos, like Paganini, Liszt and Chopin.

The Rachmaninoff No. 3 is reputedly the most difficult piano concerto. (I have problems with these claims – name one that is easy!!) Composed by one of the greatest pianists in history, it shows the piano (and pianist) off in a brilliant light. As Rachmaninoff claimed, “I want to write music that is indigenous to the instrument.”

The origins of the word “concerto” are unclear. Some believe it to derive from the Latin word “concertare” meaning to argue or contend. Others believe it stems from the Latin word “conserere,” or to unite. I like to think that it derives from both, because both elements are in all concertos – to contend AND to unite. In the simplest terms, a concerto is a musical composition intended to display the capabilities of a musical instrument through the skill and artistry of a talented musician. But it is so much more! A showpiece for dexterity, display, dazzle and delight – an example of mental concentration, physical endurance, a battle between a solitary musical hero and a full orchestra, with victory as the result. Contention and agreement, competition and triumph, rivalry and reconciliation – the concerto is Life itself.

As with all my Toronto Pursuits sessions, l’m looking forward to the usual stimulating discussions, questions and points of view. Always an ear-opening learning experience!!

I will also be giving an afternoon talk on Tuesday, July 17 on the concept of leadership as realized by watching a variety of conductors. The styles have changed over the years but why?? And, on Thursday evening, July 19,  I will be giving the pre-concert talk before the performance by the Seoul Spring Festival Ensemble as part of the Toronto Summer Music Festival. I will talk about French Chamber Music.

Everybody thinks that tulips come from Holland. Actually, Tulips are native to Central Asia and Turkey. In the 16th Century they were brought to Holland from Turkey, and quickly became widely popular. Today Tulips are cultivated in Holland in great numbers and in huge fields. Dutch bulbs, including tulips and daffodils, are exported all around the world so people think that it’s originated from there as well. In fact many cultivated varieties were widely grown in Turkey long before they were introduced to European gardens.

The botanical name for tulips, Tulipa, is derived from the Turkish word “tulbend” or “turban”, which the flower resembles. It’s considered as the King of Bulbs.

In the 17th century the overgrown interest and high popularity of Tulips brought a sort of “Tulipmania” in Holland. Especially in 1637, bulbs were highly praised and prices went up day by day reaching extraordinary numbers. Bulbs were sold by weight, usually while they were still in the ground. Some examples could cost more than a house. The Dutch government unsuccessfully tried to outlaw this commerce but couldn’t do anything to stop it, the trade was all about access and demand. But the end of the game came quickly; over-supply led to lower prices and dealers went bankrupt and many people lost their savings because of the trade, and the tulip market crashed.

I was lucky enough to be in the Netherlands recently during tulip season. I did know, from an earlier trip to Turkey, that tulips were brought to the Netherlands from Turkey. But I had no idea of the variety. Upright and demure to wanton and wild, and every colour and combination imaginable, I hope you enjoy these photos.

I was sorry to learn that one of our twelve travellers to walk the last hundred
miles of the Camino de Santiago this October has had to cancel. TAKING YOUR SOUL FOR A STROLL: A hundred miles on the Camino de Santiago.

I would now like to open that vacancy to one of you.

The Camino is the crown jewel of European walking trails and is an ancient
pilgrimage route through exquisite and varied landsapces of Northen Spain.

I walked 500 miles of the Camino on my own in 2010. Some of you read My
Camino Chronicle.

One of the lasting lessons I brought home with me is how vital walking has
become for me – both the sheer pleasure of moving through space on my own steam and at my own pace and the wonderful way walking helps me to relect and to ponder.

I now look forward to sharing the most beautiful part of it with a small group
fellow travellers. We will enjoy the beauty of the varied landscape and undergo
demands on our bodies but wiithout the rigours of carrying our own packs or
staying in crowded accommodation. And we will wind down at the end of each day
over good food and wine and shared experiences.

Henry David Thoreau knew the wisdom of walking.

“My desire for knowledge is intermittent; but my desire to bathe my head in
atmospheres unknown to my feet is perennial and constant.”

And here is what Phil Cousineau has to say about that it means to be a pilgrim.

“The pilgrim is a poetic traveler, one who believes that there is poetry on the
road, at the heart of everything.”

Persons considering the Camino always have lots of questions, mainly about the
level of fitness required. I am happy to talk to any of you who wish to know
more. ann.kirland@classicalpursuits.com.

Ven con nosotros,

Ann