September 2026
Saturday September 26, 2026 7.30 PM (Pasadena)
Musica Transalpina baroque ensemble, Bryan Roach, director., Eric Tinkerhess, special guest conductor.: BEYOND VERSAILLES: FORGOTTEN MASTERPIECES OF THE FRENCH BAROQUE
PROGRAMME: MARC-ANTONIE CHARPENTIER Messe à 8. voix et 8. violons et flûtes, H. 3, Elevation O Salutaris Hostia, H. 236, Domine salvum fac regem, H. 283, Motet pour S. François de Borgia, H. 354; FRANÇOIS COUPERIN Selections from the Messe a l’usage ordinaire des paroisses, pour les Festes Solemnelles (pub. 1690); FRANCESCO FOGGIA Offertory Veritas mea (pub. 1681); Plainchant from the Graduale juxta missale Parisiense (pub. 1662).
Musica Transalpina is proud to present a mass setting by Charpentier which was commissioned to celebrate a very important religious event – and was most likely commissioned by the Jesuits – around the year 1670. This mass combines Charpentier’s love for Italian polychoral sacred music with a uniquely French orchestration. Performances of Charpentier’s mass settings are an unusual treat in the United States, and we are confident that this event will be a unique musical experience for all in attendance!
Sacred music during the Age of Absolutism played an indispensable rôle in helping a ruler convey an image of piety, prestige, and power. While the Holy Roman Empire was busy combatting heresy with resplendent polychoral music in a highly Italianate style, the French court––beginning with Louis XIII. and continuing with even greater splendor during the reign of Louis XIV.––promoted highly idiosyncratic liturgical music that had less to do with Romanitas and more to do with reinforcing the idea that France, as “Eldest Daughter of the Church”, was unique among Christian nations and therefore deserving of a distinctly Gallican musical style.
The liturgical sensibilities of seventeenth-century France were notoriously lax, with a preference for low masses & paraliturgies like Benediction which permitted greater musical flexibility than the high masses favored by the Austrian court. Eventually (and sometimes controversially), the grands motets intended for the chapel royal at Versailles made their way into secular spaces, in particular with the first public concert series in history, Le Concert Spirituel, which was a program of sacred music produced during the season of Lent, when secular forms of musical entertainment like opera were forbidden.
Musica Transalpina pays homage to the opulent sacred music of the French court which formed the basis of this first public concert series, featuring large-scale compositions by Campra, Delalande, and other composers which could have been heard during low mass at the chapel royal in Versailles, or at a concert in the Salle des Cent Suisses in the Tuileries.
The Parish Church of St. Andrew 311 North Raymond Avenue Pasadena CA 91103
Free parking in the lot diagonally across from St. Andrew’s.
more info and tickets:
https://musicatransalpina.org/2026/03/02/frenchbaroque/
Saturday, September 26, 2026, 3:00PM (Manhattan Beach)
The Corelli Ensemble : Bach and Friends
An enchanting afternoon of orchestral music by Bach, Handel, and Platti
Conductor: Richard Babcock
Featured soloists: Angela Wells, oboe; Shahid Osuna, flute; Sonia Lee, piano
Program
George Frideric Handel, Sinfonia in B-flat Major, 3. Allegro
J. S. Bach, Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor, BWV 1067
J. S. Bach, Giovanni Benedetto Platti, Oboe Concerto in G minor, I47
J. S. Bach, Keyboard Concerto no. 6 in F major, BWV 1057
J. S. Bach, Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major, BWV 1048
Freewill offering.
Manhattan Beach Community Church, 303 S Peck Ave, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Parking options: 1) Front parking lot. Enter at 303 S. Peck Avenue. 2) Rear parking lot. Located near the intersection of S. Rowell Avenue and Voorhees Avenue, just south of Pennekamp Elementary School.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/events/1272950944845985/; https://www.facebook.com/TheCorelliEnsemble.
Sunday, September 27, 2026, 4:00PM (USC, Central LA)
Erin Young Early Music Recital
Music from Italy and England in the late Renaissance, with works by John Dowland, Giovanni Girolamo Kapsberger, Alessandro Piccinini, Thomas Campion, and more. Also featuring Marjana Jocif, Phoebe Rosquist, Cameron Shubert, & Nicole Young.
Free Admission
USC Alfred Newman Recital Hall, 700 Childs Way, Los Angeles, CA 90089
MAP:
more info:
https://www.facebook.com/USCEarlyMusic/
October 2026
Sunday, October 18, 2026 at 7 p.m. (Westchester)
Sunday, October 25, 2026 at 4 p.m. (Monrovia)
Jouyssance Early Music Ensemble: A Saintly and Sinful Concert
A concert of sinful secular and saintly sacred music from the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Join us for a concert of repertoire ranging from 15th century English drinking songs and bawdy chansons by Lassus and Josquin, to the glorious Ave Maria a 8 by Victoria and Justorum Animae by Palestrina.
Sunday, October 18, 2026 at 7 p.m. (Westchester) Holy Nativity Episcopal Church 6700 W 83rd Street, Westchester
Sunday, October 25, 2026 at 4 p.m. (Monrovia) St. Luke’s Episcopal Church 122 S. California Ave., Monrovia
Concert tickets will be available in advance or at the door.
$25 General Admission, $20 Senior / SCEMS member , $10 Students with current ID
more info and tickets: https://www.jouyssance.org/current-season
Master Calendars
Credit: Renaissance minstrels in Augsburg (1520). iStock.com/© gameover2012
Early Music Around Town
A timely shortlist of local early music concerts and events.
To view the entire season of concerts and events, consult the current Master Calendar.
Please note that SCEMS does not present or sponsor concerts.
The listings below include early music related concerts and events offered by organizations throughout the Southern California area. Readers are advised to call ahead to verify events, times, and ticket availability, which are subject to change.