Summer Side Trips: Abbey Bach Festival

One of my favorite summer activities is to attend the Bach Festival at Mt. Angel Abbey, just south of Portland, Oregon.   Mt. Angel Abbey was founded in 1882 by Benedictine monks from Engelberg, Switzerland. The monastery is located on a butte overlooking neighboring flower and vegetable  farms. The beautiful Abbey Church has magnificent bell tower housing eight bells.  Inside the Abbey Church are not one, but two tracker action baroque style pipe organs.  

For the past 42 years the monks have been hosting an annual three night Bach Festival.  Each evening begins at 4:30 with a vesper service in the Abbey Church with the monks singing traditional Gregorian Chant. This is followed by a half hour organ recital or choral concert. 

Following the recital, everyone files out to the courtyard where the monks are waiting to hand out picnic baskets.  Concert goers are asked to form themselves in groups of four. Each basket contained German sausage on a bun, cheese, potato salad, fruit and cookies along with a bottle of wine.  Regular attenders often bring their own portable tables, table cloths, and wine glasses to make it a more festive occasion. 

Following a leisurely picnic dinner, guests are invited into the auditorium at 8:00 for a concert of chamber music.   Both the musical program and menu are different for each of the three evenings.   We met a number of regulars who attend all three evenings. 

The festival is always held during the last week of July. The weather in Oregon is always warm and dry at this time of year.  At a price of $55 per person for the whole evening including dinner, it is a wonderful musical experience which lingers with festival for the rest of the summer.  It is a fine example of Benedictine hospitality at its best.  

For those who arrive early there are self guided tours and a wonderful bookstore and coffee shop to visit.  Visitors will also see a number of icons throughout the monastery buildings painted by the resident iconographer Br. Claude Lane.  

Highlights From St. Mary's "Art of Illumination" Workshop With Jed Gibbons

In July, Jed Gibbons traveled from Chicago to offer a workshop on manuscript illumination in the style of the Medieval Book of Hours.   Students were taught to grid their own pigments, to make gouache, and to gild with gold leaf.  This workshop focused on painting an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. We were pleased that two members of the Epiphany Sacred Arts travelled all the way from Vancouver to participate in the workshop.

Art of the Book Conference & Exhibition in Calgary

The Canadian Bookbinders and Book Artists Guild will be holding it annual conference in Calgary between July 11 and July 13.  This is the first time that their annual conference has been held outside of Toronto.

There will be several presentations and exhibitions open to the public during the conference.  In addition, an exhibition on the Art of the Book will be held at Endeavor Art Gallery from July 12 until July 25. Check out their website for more details:  Canadian Bookbinders & Book Artists Guild

Summer Side Trips: Westminster Abbey, Mission, B.C.

Summer is the time when many of us have the opportunity to hit the road and explore the Pacific Northwest.  It is also an opportunity to see some of the sacred archectiture and art that can be found in this part of the country.  In the coming weeks, I will highlight some of my favorite side trips. Perhaps readers will have some suggestions of their own that might be featured.

If you happen to be driving to Vancouver this summer, you might consider making a detour to visit Westminster Abbey in Mission, B.C.  Located on a ridge overlooking the Fraser River, Westminster Abbey is home to a community of Benedictine monks.

The present community dates back to 1939, when a group of monks were sent to British Columbia from Mount Angel Abbey in Oregon to found a monastery and seminary.  In 1953 the priory was raised to the status of an abbey, under the title of Westminster Abbey, and was relocated to its present site in Mission.

When the monks decided to build an abbey church and seminary, it contracted a Vancouver based architectural firm to develop the design for the buildings.  The firm sent its newest architect, Norwegian born, Asbjørn Gåthe, to work with the monks.  Gåthe was asked to design a building which combined contemporary advances in structure and design while expressing "something of the a Benedictine antiquity."

Work began on the complex of buildings in 1954.  A bell tower, a seminary, a monastic residences and guest house were completed in the coming decades.  Although plans for the Abbey Church were approved in 1960, it was not until 1982 until it was finally completed and dedicated by the English Benedictine monk and Cardinal, Basil Hume.

Although modernist in design and constructed of poured concrete, the interior of the Abbey church invokes the grandeur and feel of a Gothic cathedral. 

What makes the interior of the Abbey Church particularly impressive are the 64 stained glass windows, each 24 by 4 feet, totalling 7,000 square feet.  Abstract in design, the windows bring a brightness to the interior at any time of the day.   In the morning, the sanctuary is bathed in cool blues from the eastern windows, while in the evening the reds and yellows of the western windows caste a warm glow.  

Of particular interest are the bas reliefs of 30 saints,  created by Fr. Dunstan, the resident artist, which surround the Abbey interior.   It took Fr. Dunstan 16 years to complete the project.  After designing each sculpture, a casting box was made for each one, strong enough to contain 1,500 pounds of clay and plaster.  (More about Fr. Dunstan in a later post.)

If you decide to visit Westminster Abbey, be sure to ask about the pathway walk which leads out to a bluff over looking the Fraser River.   It offers a spectactular view of Mt. Baker and the Fraser Valley. 

Historic 700 Year-Old Icon Visits Calgary

The Orthodox community in Calgary was recently privileged to host one of the most ancient and famous icons of the Russian Church.  The Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God dates from the 13th century.  According to tradition, a hunter found the icon lying on a root of a tree facing downwards near the city of Kursk in September 1259.  The hunter and his friends rebuilt an old small chapel to house the newly found icon.  Those that came to venerate the icon soon began reporting miraculous healings.

Since then the Kursk Icon of Our Lady of the Sign has been associated with many significant events in Russian history and countless miraculous stories.  Because of political turmoil  in the region, the icon was moved many times during the following centuries, eventually  taking up residence in New York City.  Since then, the Kursk Icon has visited many Russian diaspora churches in North America.

At the end of May, the Kursk Root Icon visited the Church of St. John Chrysostom.   Located at the foot of the St. Mary's University College campus, the Church of St. John Chrysostom occupies the space that what was once the original church building of St. Patrick's Catholic parish in Midnapore.  The famous missionary priest, Fr. Lacombe, served as the first parish priest.  The church building dates back to 1904 and served the Catholic community until 1983 when a new parish church was built.  Although it is the oldest existing Catholic church building in Calgary, efforts to raise funds for its restoration were largely unsuccessful. The diocese applied to demolish the building in 2001, but provincial designation of the structure as a historic site saved it from destruction.  In addition, facing the ravages of time and the graffiti of vandals, the building narrowly escaped burning down at the hands of arsonists more than once.

In 2012, a small Russian community received permission to restore the building and convert it into an Orthodox place of worship.  A dedicated group of volunteers have carefully cleaned and restored the building. The original bell has been restored and once again sounds the call to worship.  As the photos taken during the visit of the Kursk Root Icon show, the interior space has been totally transformed to meet the liturgical needs of the Russian Orthodox community that now occupies this historic site.

Fall Workshops on Stained Glass Making and Gregorian Chant

St. Mary's University College will be offering two workshops this fall as part of its Sacred Arts Program.

Malcolm Edwards and Jean-Loius Beau will be offering a weekend workshop on Gregorian Chant on September 27, 28, and 29.  The workshop will end with a public performance on the Sunday afternoon.

Jody Martin will be offering a workshop on Stained Glass Making for Beginners in October 18th and 26th.  There is only one space left in the Stained Class workshop, so register now if you are interested!

Check out stmu.ca/sacredarts/  for details regarding course fees and registration.

Highlights From St. Mary's Iconography Workshop with Aidan Hart

Aidan Hart traveled from England to offer the first iconography workshop under St. Mary's new Sacred Arts program.  The class painted an icon of the Archangel Michael.  This was Aidan's first visit to Canada.  Here are a few photos from the workshop:

Highlights From the St. Mary's Calligraphy Workshops

This spring Renate Worthington offered three short workshops at St. Mary's University College on calligraphy related to the St. John's Bible.  Here are a few photos from the workshop.

Highlights From Martinho Correira's Workshop 

Martinho Correira led off the St. Mary's University College Sacred Art's Program with a workshop on oil painting in the Old Master's tradition.  Each student selected a masterpiece and worked on creating a copy using the traditional oil painting techniques used by the Old Masters.  Here are a few photos from the class:

New Sacred Arts Program at St. Mary's University College

In September 2012, St. Mary's University College in Calgary became the home of Western Canada's only fine art reproduction of the St. John's Bible, the first handwritten and illuminated Bible commissioned by Benedictine monks in more than 500 years.  The creators of the Saint John's Bible employed the same techniques used in the creation of the ancient illuminated manuscripts.  In doing so, they created a masterpiece of art that speaks to our own time.

To celebrate the arrival of the Saint John's Bible, St. Mary's University College launched a series of workshops and courses focusing on the Sacred Arts.  Courses in the program cover a wide range of topics including oil painting, iconography, calligraphy, manuscript illumination, stained glass making, and Gregorian chant.

The intent of the program is to enable students to enhance their understanding of the principles, practices, and methods of Sacred Art and its role in both public worship and personal devotion.  These courses combine hands-on instruction with a theoretical understanding of the theological and aesthetic principles that underlie the development of excellence in the various fields of Sacred Art.  For more information go to: Study Sacred Arts at St. Mary's University College