News Scrapbook 1982-1984

SAN DIEGO UNION NOY 7 1982

fj/RDS, PLANTS, ANl;x;MrJATLTll/F.~E~--~-~--~~-~ Prized Paintings Of Mexican Botanist Jose Mocino Studied (Continued from B-1) 'Engstrand is now studying them.

•

Joseph," said Engstrand. But when the Spanish people rose and threw the French out, Mocino's willingness to work under Joseph Bo- naparte was seen as collaboration witlj the enemy, and he was put in chains with other scientists and led off to prison. It was a French general that came upon the group and set them free. Mocino fled quickly to Madrid to col- lect a few treasured possessions, in- cluding his drawings and paintings, which he threw in a handcart and pushed it towards the French border. But another French officer seized the cart, leaving Mocino clutching only the paintings, which he ulti- mately carried to Geneva. It was 1817 before Mocino was in- vited back to Spain on the journey he never completed. He died in Barcelona and was bur- ied in the parish church cemetery of St James. But what happened to his personal effects and paintings, no- body knew. In the 1880s, an unrecognized col- lection of books, writings and paint- ings passed into the hands of the Torner family of Barcelona. It passed to a brother, and ulti- mately to Jaime and Luis Torner Pannochia, the brothers who late in life, remembered the pretty pictures thay bad frequently leafed through in their grandfather's library, and the invaluable treasure came back to the light. But the Spaniards of Barcelona and the Spaniards of Madrid have a long-standing feud, and the Barcelo- na family was not anxious to see the collection go to Madrid. Thus, it found its way to Pittsburgh and the scrutiny of Engstrand. The USD historian already has written seven books of the Spanish scientific explorations of the New World in addition to many popular and respected history books on San Diego and California. other historians have paid scant attention to what she calls the "truly remarkable scientific work of the Spaniards in the late 18th and early 19th centuries," this newly-found col- lection of paintings, "a sts to the brilliance of their work,' she said.

scientific ventures in space, Britain's Captain Cook observed the I769 transit of Venus from Tahiti, while the French and Spanish watched it from Baja California. Scientists ranged from Peru to Alaska in one of the world's greatest studies of nafural life, and Mocino was in the forefront. But while he trekked the moun- tains and deserts, Europe was in tur- moil. As the new century dawned, Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Spain and put his brother Joseph on the throne, and Joseph encouraged scien- tific discovery. "Not unlike today, scientists often transcend politics, and work togeth- er, even with unfriendly govern- ments, and so it was with Mocino who was appointed director of the Royal Museum of Natural History by

"We expect to find drawings of birds, animals, fish and flowers that may well now be extinct," said Eng- strand. Expert botanists and biologists say the drawings are detailed down to the last fish spine and bird feather, and are of almost photographic qual- ity, she said. Mocino was born in Temascal- tepec, Mexico, and was in the class of '89 - that is 1789 - at the university in Mexico City, ultimately becoming a doctor and professor of theology. It was a time when the nalions of Europe were cooperating in scientif- ic ventures while their armies fought wars and their politicians waged bit- ter conflicts between themselves. Like a forerunner of today's joint

•'

Works of Mexican botanist Jose Mariano Mocino show painstaking devotion to detail. Prized Mocino Paintings Studied By MICHAEL SCO'IT-BLAIR Education Writer, The Son Diego Union

more than 2,000 meticulously drawn color art works dropped from sight. More than 100 years later, two small boys came upon some old books in their grandfather's library and the first seed of rediscovery was sown. But it was almost another 60 years before those two boys, now grand- parents themselves, remembered those books of color pictures and re- alized they might be of value. Mocino's old paintings had been rediscovered, and Engstrand calls it a "magnificent collection." She first learned about the missing paintings during a year's research in Madnd and Geneva in 1960, but found the Spanish authorities to be "surprisingly uninterested in them." They were ultimately acquired by , the Hunt Institute of Botanical Docu- mentation at Carnegie Mellon Uni- versity in Pittsburgh, Pa., where (Continued on B-2, Col. I)

one of the few historians in the world with a special interest in the exten- sive scientific expeditions sent out by Spain to the Americas in the late 1700s. They were remarkable expedi- tions, ranging from Peru to Alaska, but much of the work was ignored as Spain of the 18th and 19th centuries erupted in political turmoil. Mocino was a victim of that tur- moil. After years of painstaking work in the emerging New World, he returned to Spain, not to acclaim, but to social upheaval which ultimately drove him from the country. But he always kept his beloved pictures with him. He had pushed his prized paintings halfway across Spain on a handcart, protected them from ungrateful Spanish rulers, and saved them from an angered Spanish people who sent him to work on a chain gang. But when he died in Barcelona, the

In 1820, Mexican botanist Jose Manano Mocino had been forgiven by the Spanish king for allegedly col- laborating with the French, and was making his way slowly back from Geneva to Madrid. But he never made it. Mocino - one of the greatest chroniclers of plants, bird and animal life m early Mexico and California - died in Bar- celona and never reached Madnd. And that would probably have been the end of that, except for a large box of over 2,000 paintings that Mocino had painstakingly collected, illustrating his studies of the won- ders in the New World of the late l700s, and the determin11tion of a University of San Diego history pro- fessor that his efforts should not lan- guish in obscurity. Dr. Iris H.W. Engstrand of USO is

The Sm Diego U n/Tooy Doubek

•

. Iris H. W. Engstrand examines photographic slides.

SAN DI EGO UNION NOV 2 8 1912

Spinoffs

NOV 2 8 1982

County Choral Concerts Herald the Holidays

University of San Diego Auxiliary will wel- come 77 new members at a luncheon Wednes- day at Cafe del Rey Moro, Balboa Park. The social hour will begin at 11 a.m. Patty Edwards will present a check for $13,500 - proceeds from the recent fashion show - for student financial aid at USO. Following lunch, they will go to the "Celebrate the Holidays" exhibit at Casa de Balboa.

By KENNETH HERMAN From a massive Messiah singalong at the San Diego Civic Theatre to an evening of medieval carols and Renaissance motets, San Diegans have a surfeit of Christmas choral concerts from which to choose. No season is more hospitable to the medium. This year, San Diegans not only have the opportunity to hear fine performances, but two "Messiah" singa- longs will let them drop in-score in hand-and participate in the music-making. For sheer size, nothing equals the San Diego Master Chorale's "Messiah" singalong next Sunday at the Civic Theatre. With orchestra and the Master Chorale, as well as the 3,000 voices assembled in the theater, conductor Charles Ketcham is bound to raise the roof with the mighty Handelian choruses. Solo arias will be sung by soprano Anna Djarnson- Carson, alto Paula Chastain, tenor James Flynn and bass Cleve Genzlinger. The program begins at 7 p.m. Doors will open an hour earlier since there is no reserved seating. The following Saturday, Dec. 11, a more modest Messiah singalong will be held at St. James-by-the-Sea Epsicopal Church in La Jolla, under the auspices of the La Jolla Civic University Symphony Orchestra. UC San Diego music professor Thomas Nee will conduct the orchestQ, chorus and audience in this 3 p.m. perfor- mance. Bach Cantatas For a more traditional music program, the complete "Christmas Oratorio" by J.S. Bach will be presented as the final offering of the San Diego Bach Festival at the First United Methodist Church at 6 p.m. in Mission Valley next Sunday. Music Director Robert Cooper will conduct both the church's Chancel Choir and the Masterwork Chorale, about 120 voices, as well as orchestra and soloists in this performance. The Christmas Oratorio is actually a composite of six ind1v1dual cantatas Bach composed for all of the festivals from Christ.-nas Day through New Year's Day and Epiphany. Although less frequently performed than the "Messi

ah," the "Christmas Oratorio" is by far the most grandiose Baroque Christmas offering, not only in scope, but in its brilliant and colorful orchestration. The Early Music Ensemble, San Diego's premiere performers of early music, will give its Christmas program twice, first at St. Brigid's Roman Catholic Church in Pacific Beach at 7,30 p.m. next Sunday and again at 8 p.m. Dec. 15 at the La Jolla Congregational Church. Medieval English carols, motets by Sweelinck and Dufay, as well as early Baroque works by Schein and Marenzio will be sung by this five-voice virtuoso ensemble. College Programs Although university campuses are the scenes of frantic end-of-semester activity, they still find time for musical celebration. San Diego State University Prof. Frank Almond will lead the Aztec Concert Choir and Chamber Singers at 8 p.m. Dec. 10 in a program featuring Dame! Pinkham's contemporary Christmas Cantata for chorus and brass choirs. In addition to the PinkhaM, traditional Spanish carols and American spirituals, Almond will conduct San Diego composer Keith Heldman's "Lo, the Newborn King of Glory" in a premiere performance. This program, art of the university's Friday Night Concert Series, will be given in the Smith Recital Hall of the Music Building. At the University of San Diego, the USD Choir under the direction of Father Nicolas Reveles will present its Christmas offering Dec. 10, 11 at 8 p.m. in the school's Camino Theatre. Michael Haydn's "Run Ye Shepherds" and Dietrich Buxtehude's "In Dulci Jubilo" will be among the anthems and carol settings on the program. Another J. S. Bach work, the Advent cantata MUSIC

"Wachet Auf," will be performed in German by the First Unitarian Chorus at 4:30 p.m. Dec. 12 in that church's auditorium. Soloists Ruth Dixon, Vicki Ratelle and John .Stephen Hubbard, as well as a chamber orchestra, will be conducted by choral director Dan Ratelle. Williams' Work Ralph Vaughan Williams' Romantic tapestry "Hodie" will be presented at 7 p.m. Dec. 12 in the Sacred Music series of the La Jolla Presbyterian Church. Minister of Music L. Robert Slusser will direct his 00-voice Chancel Choir with orchestra and soloists in this traditional musical melange of carols and narration. A program that is actually a service based on 19th-Century English cathedral tradition is "Christmas Lessons and Carols," to be sung at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in San Diego, at 5 p.m. Dec. 19. That unique English sound of men and boy's voices renders with ethereal serenity the medieval carols and Renaissance motets that intersperse the readings of the service. The St. Paul Choristers are directed by organist-choirmaster Edgar Billups. For the musical purist, St. Paul's Parish Choir and Orchestra will give the complete Handel's "Messiah" with original instrumentation at 7 p.m. on Jan. 2. Director Billups chose not to present the favorite oratorio before Christmas, but during the traditional season from Christmas Day to Epiphany, those 12 days of Christmas celebrated in the work. Original Score :Sillups will _use what musicians call the Urtext, or original score, including many of the variant versions of arias _and choruses left out by 19-Century Handelian traditions of performance. In addition to the usual complement of soloists, Billup's Messiah will feature countertenor Tom Hodge in many of the arias sung by an alto m modern performance. Vocalists joining Hodge in this performance will be soprano Marge Osgood, alto Katherine Bjornson, tenor John Peeling and bass Philipp Larson. Anthony Porto of the Gtossmont College music faculty is Billups' concert- master.

--~

SENTINEL NOV 2 8 1982

+++ FR. NICOLAS Reveles will play in concert Tuesday, at 8 p.m. in the University of San Diego's Camino Theater. Reveles, a USD fine arts department faculty member, will play "Partita No. 5 in G major," by J.S. Bach; "Sonata in B minor," by Liszt; "Sonata Opus 110 in A flat major," by, Beethoven, and "Sonata No. 8 in B flat major," by Prokofiev.

SAN DIEGO UNION

NOV 2 8 '1982

•

Founders Gallery. "A Passion for Detail; Sculpture From the Grand Tour throug~ Dec. 9. Unl•.-ersity cf San Diego. Weekdays. noon tc 5 p.m., Wedn€sday8 10 9 pm.