'Downton Abbey' costumes at Winterthur

If you missed Winterthur's splendid Downton Abbey costume exhibit which closed Sunday after a 10-month run, here are some photos of the display. The former home of Henry F. du Pont (1880-1969), Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library in Winterthur, Delaware will re-open to the public March 1 when spring starts up.

 

Let yours blossom with a day trip up to Winterthur, less than two months and about two hours away, north on Interstate 95.  (Take $16 for tolls north and about $12, heading home.) Winterthur has a garden calendar, too. An excellent day trip from Washington combines Winterthur and Brandywine River Museum, the home and studios of N.C. and Andrew Wyeth, just six miles from Winterthur.  Would you believe they both have places to eat and to shop?/Photo by Patricia Leslie 

 This is one of the gowns worn by Maggie Smith in Downton Abbey/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Maggie Smith in Downton Abbey, in the gown above/Photo of a photo by Patricia Leslie

An array of finery, including Maggie Smith's gown, at Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library/Photo by Patricia Leslie

A summer's day at Downton Abbey and at Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library/Photo by Patricia Leslie

"Oh, Bill! Am I ever gonna see my wedding day?" Worn in Downton Abbey/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Close-up of the wedding dress above/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Downton Abbey gowns at Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Close-up of the dress on the left, above/Photo by Patricia Leslie

"M'lady, where are your gloves?"  "In the case where I left them." A label at the Winterthur show quoted Emily Post from 1922:  "Ladies always wear gloves to formal dinners but take them off at the table.  Entirely off....Both glove and fan are supposed to be laid across the lap, and one is supposed to lay the napkin folded once in half across the lap too, on top of the gloves and fan."/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Downton Abbey gowns, three  of the 40 costumes in the show/Photo by Patricia Leslie

From Downton Abbey/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The wife of Henry du Pont was Ruth Wales du Pont (1899-1967) ("the best thing that ever happened to him") and this is her "quite heavy" travel case (of alligator or crocodile and carried by the maid) made c. 1920 in England.  Among other items, it contained an address book, ink well and sketch pad, 10 gold-plated and capped cosmetic bottles, an ash tray, photo case, clock, thimble, needle case, shoe horn, button hook, two lipstick cases (one with a lipstick), hairbrush,  combs, hair pin box, soap case, two toothbrushes, a mirror and jewelry box/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Downton Abbey gowns/Photo by Patricia Leslie

This is what you wear for a wedding proposal.  Mine were a trifle removed from these/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Downton Abbey gowns/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 

What: Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library

When:  Opening for the 2015 season on March 1

Where: 5105 Kennett Pike (Route 52)
Winterthur, DE 19735 (Winterthur says Google Maps sometimes gives incorrect directions, so it recommends MapQuest.)

Admission: Members are always admitted free. Adults, $25; seniors and students, $23; children, 2-11, $5, and no charge for children under age 2.

For more information: 800-448-3883 

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Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library/Winterthur

Free Hindemith sonatas concert Wednesday at St. John's, Lafayette Square

 

Composer Paul Hindemith (1895-1963), age 28/Wikipedia

Iris Lan will play the complete organ sonatas of German composer Paul Hindemith (1895-1963) in a free performance at St. John's Episcopal Church on Lafayette Square on Wednesday, beginning at 12:10 p.m.

The program, part of St. John's First Wednesday series, is scheduled for just 35 minutes, a rare opportunity to hear the complete sonatas by one composer at a single concert.  The sonatas are based on old folk songs.

Hindemith, also a violinist, teacher, and conductor, learned to play the violin when he was a child.  When he was 19, he was chosen assistant leader of the Frankfurt Opera Orchestra, and he gained an international following at age 27 when some of his compositions were played at a Salzburg music festival.  

He had a rocky relationship with the Nazis who criticized his music but thought they could use him as a tool. In 1935 he was hired by the Turkish government to reorganize its musical education program which he achieved to worldwide acclaim, and his influence is still experienced and appreciated there today, according to Wikipedia.  Hindemith became an American citizen in 1946 and taught at Yale University, before returning to Europe in 1953 where he died in Frankfurt, near his birthplace.

Juilliard-trained Lan, a renowned Harvard University graduate, is the organist at Manhattan's Church of St. Andrew and a former choir member at St. John's.

St. John's Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

 
St. John's, known to many Washington residents as the yellow church at Lafayette Square, is often called the “Church of the Presidents.” Beginning with President James Madison, who served from 1809 to 1817, every president has been a member of St. John's or has attended services at the church. A plaque at the rear of St. John's designates the pew where President Abraham Lincoln often sat when he stopped by the church during the Civil War.

All concerts start at 12:10 p.m. (with an exception in April), and last about 35 minutes. Food trucks are located at Farragut Square, two blocks away, for those on lunch break.

Who:  Organist Iris Lan plays Paul Hindemith's sonatas

What: First Wednesday Concerts

When: 12:10 p.m., January 7, 2015

Where: St. John’s, Lafayette Square, 1525 H Street, NW, at the corner of 16^th, Washington, D.C. 20005

How much: No charge

Duration: About 35 minutes

Wheelchair accessible

Metro stations: McPherson Square (White House exit), Farragut North, or Farragut West

For more information: Contact Michael Lodico, St. John's associate organist and choir director, at 202-270-6265 or 202-347-8766

Future dates and artists of the First Wednesday Concerts are:

February 4: Lena Seikaly, jazz vocalist, with the Dan Dufford Trio performing works by Duke Ellington and friends

March 4: Jared Denhard, bagpiper, assisted by Michael Lodico, St. John's organist and choirmaster, performing Pipes and More Pipes

April 19 (Sunday), 4 p.m.: Spring Concert by St. John's Choir

May 6: The U.S. Air Force Strings accompanied by Benjamin Hutto performing a Handel organ concerto and other pieces

June 3: Benjamin Straley, organist at the Washington National Cathedral


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Yuletide at Winterthur

If you missed this year's Christmas finery at Winterthur, the former home of Henry F. du Pont (1880-1969) in Winterthur, Delaware, now's a good time to make a New Year's resolution to get your tickets early for next season.   This picture is a close-up of one of the Christmas trees at the museum where tickets are timed for entry/Photo by Patricia Leslie

An aerial shot of Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library, a portion which du Pont opened to the public in 1951.  The "premier museum of American decorative arts"  has 1,000 acres, 175 rooms,  and 90,000 objects made or used in the U.S. between 1640 and 1860.  Winterthur (pronounced "Winter-tour" and named after a DuPont ancestral home in Winterthur, Switzerland) is only six miles from Brandywine River Museum which operates N.C.'s and Andrew Wyeth's homes and studios in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania.  A wonderful day trip from Washington is a visit to Winterthur and Brandywine,  about two hours up Interstate 95.

The public entrance at Winterthur/Photo by Winterthur

One of Winterthur's Christmas trees/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The dining room at Winterthur/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Paul Revere urns in the dining room at Winterthur/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Winterthur's hors d'oeuvres room/Photo by Patricia Leslie

From a Winterthur Christmas tree/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The card room at Winterthur where playing bridge was de rigueur/Photo by Patricia Leslie

If you are lucky, you'll get to hear a pianist play carols during the Yuletide tour at Winterthur/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Winterthur's "basket room" of Christmas gifts, all set for unwrapping/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Most of the Christmas trees at Winterthur are artificial, but not this one in the green house extension off the main house. Uneven branches and natural drooping add to the tree's appeal/Photo by Patricia Leslie

A room for the housekeeping staff at Winterthur.  In the boxes on the wall are sounds of summons/Photo by Patricia Leslie

A room for the housekeeping staff at Winterthur/Photo by Patricia Leslie

What:  Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library

When:  Monday - Sunday, 9:30 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Where: 5105 Kennett Pike (Route 52)
Winterthur, DE 19735  (Winterthur says Google Maps sometimes gives incorrect directions, so it recommends MapQuest.)

Admission:  Members are always admitted free.  Adults, $25; seniors and students, $23; children, 2-11, $5, and no charge for children under age 2.

For more information:  800-448-3883

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The New Year's Eve Concert at St. Columba's

St. Columba's Episcopal Church/Photo by Wayne C. Fowler

At the New Year's Eve concert at  St. Columba's Episcopal Church,  there were several crowd favorites.

Prelude and Fugue in A Minor by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) is one of the composer's "most famous and celebrated works," and organist J. Reilly Lewis gave the audience what it longed to hear in dramatic fashion. 

Rose Lamoreaux rendered beautiful selections from "The American Songbook," and even if you don't especially like "sing-alongs," the concert ending with the "sing-along" to "The Gloucestershire Wassail" was fun.

The church crowd, no different from most, warmed up to the music it knew best, like Lamoreaux's "Embraceable You," which she delivered with an operatic voice which seemed as natural as candles burning brightly at Christmastime.

"The 12 Days of Christmas" is not heard much anymore, ("Hallelujah!  Hallelujah!"), but Lamoreaux sang a well-received comedic version, although some of the words were inaudible at the back of the church.

John Hurd, St. Columba's director of music, accompanied her on the piano, and the combination suggested a pleasing piano bar. 

With eyes closed to some of her selections, a Pat Boone movie came to mind, a name unknown to millennials, no doubt, but where were they?  Not in church on New Year's Eve, that's for sure.  The youngest person seen or heard was a baby at the rear of the church who gave a couple of quick shout-outs during the concert.

Truly, the best part of the evening was saved for the last since the first part of the program seemed a weird assortment with no hint of celebration in the air.  Perhaps, the programmers had heard the newscasters all label 2014 "a terrible year; an awful year," and they followed suit.

Opening the concert was Grand Dialogue in C by Louis Marchand (1669-1732), "a good representative of the early French organ school" which church organist, Diane Heath, played splendidly, but "funereal" is a good adjective to describe most of the contents.

Concerto No. 6 in D Major by Antoni Soler i Ramos (1729-1783) for organ (played by Lewis) and harpsichord (Ann Colgrove) was at times energetic and joyful, but that the composer was a monk came as no surprise since the mix of instruments promised a more pleasing outcome than what was enjoyed.

The most beautiful piece of the evening was "The Beatitudes" by Arvo Part (b. 1935), sung by The New Year's Eve Chorale whose names were omitted from the program. Judy Dodge, St. Columba's director of music emerita, conducted.
 
The writer of the excellent program notes, Cathy Kreyche,  was recognized for her skill and concise descriptions of music histories and biographies. 

Thirty minutes before the program began at 6 p.m., the church's pews were already about two-thirds filled, and concertgoers continued to drift in 40 minutes after the music started.  

When the concert ended around 7:15 p.m., all were invited to a champagne reception at the church before partiers headed out into the evening to renew auld acquaintances and welcome new ones, and maybe, a new year that's not so "awful."

Inside the church, arrangements of greens with small pine cones and tiny white carnations stood tall at the end of every other row of pews, and one wished the candles in their centers had been lighted to complement the seasonal setting.  Large green wreaths festooned with big red, velvet ribbons hung on the walls above heaters where members of the audience laid their coats for post-concert warmth.    

About 250 attended the concert which charged a "suggested" $20 per adult.  The money will be used for the church's music program, said a staff member.

The concert is held annually, a wonderful tradition for the end of the year.

St. Columba's, located in northwest Washington at 4201 Albemarle Street, has more than 3,000 members.  It was founded in 1874.

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Hillwood extends Post's diamonds and rubies through Jan. 11

Marjorie Merriweather Post and her daughter, Dina (Merrill) in 1929, by Giulio de Blaas (1888-1934). On her left shoulder, Post wears one of her favorite pieces, a Cartier emerald epaulette, shown below.  Dina Merrill Hartley, the actress who turned 91 yesterday, Post's only surviving child, is a sponsor of Cartier: Marjorie Merriweather Post's Dazzling Gems at the Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens  rubies

A close up of the Cartier epaulette with seven emeralds, in the painting above.  The weight is?/Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens

 

It's always fun to see how the rich live, the one percenters, to visit their homes, a rarity for most of us, but Hillwood in northwest Washington was the home of a billionaire, Marjorie Merriweather Post (1887-1973), and it's open to the public.  There, visitors may see the special exhibition of "fabulous" jewelry Post commissioned and bought from Cartier, the French house, whose artistry is the subject of Cartier: Marjorie Merriweather Post's Dazzling Gems.

Direct from a Cartier exhibition in Paris at the Grand Palais on Champs Elysees, the Hillwood show is fitted in a small gallery with rings, necklaces, earrings, evening gowns, purses, and a dressing set, among other items, at the estate's Adirondack Building.

Also on display are jeweled boxes and elaborate enameled, painted picture frames, including a set of Russian Tsar Nicolas II's daughters, Grand Duchess Tatiana and Grand Duchess Olga, who were murdered by the Bolsheviks in Russia in 1918.

One of Post's four marriages was to Joseph E. Davies, appointed U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union in 1936. While living in Russia in 1937 and 1938, Post and her husband bought many art works from the Stalinist government which needed money to build the regime. Post developed an affinity for Russian decorative arts and her collection evolved into the world's greatest collection of Russian imperial arts, outside the homeland.

She was also an admirer of French art, bequeathing many pieces of her jewelry to the Smithsonian, including a diamond tiara Napoleon I gave to Empress Marie-Louise, on view at the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History in the Hall of Gems.  The Smithsonian loaned several gems to Hillwood for Cartier.

Marjorie Merriweather Post in 1952 by Frank O. Salisbury (1874-1962) wearing the necklace below/Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens

A close up of the Cartier emerald and diamond necklace worn by Marjorie Merriweather Post in the portrait above/Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens

Another Cartier necklace owned by Marjorie Merriweather Post/Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens

A diamond necklace owned by Marjorie Merriweather Post, designed by Cartier/Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens

Hillwood's Adirondack building where Post's Cartier pieces are displayed/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The south portico of Hillwood, the home of Marjorie Merriweather Post in Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie 

The dining room at Hillwood/Photo by Patricia Leslie 

 

The breakfast room at Hillwood/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Marjorie Merriweather Post/Hillwood Estate, Museum  & Gardens

Other items in the Cartier presentation include a cigarette box of gold, silver, enamel, agate, and diamonds with ashtrays of gold, rubies, jade and sapphires, made in "the heyday of cigarette smoking," de rigueur elements to accommodate smokers found in elegant homes of the 1920s and 1930s.

Post began her Cartier collection in the 1920s and added to it throughout most of her life. 

The Cartier firm opened its doors in Paris in 1899, and its New York shop in 1909 where Post became Cartier's best client, Hillwood says. 

For presentation in 1929 at the Court of St. James, Post wore a 21-carat Columbian emerald reportedly offered to her by Cartier and formerly worn by Austrian Archduke Maximilian (1832-1867) who crowned himself emperor of Mexico where he was executed.

The Maximilian emerald ring which Marjorie Merriweather Post gave to the Smithsonian where it is displayed in the Hall of Gems at the National Museum of Natural History/Smithsonian

Many rooms at the Hillwood mansion are open to the public, including the upstairs with bedrooms and dressing rooms (no sitting, please). While on the grounds, enjoy the peace of its 25 acres, nicely designed with tranquil gardens where visitors may sit on benches and dream.

What:  Cartier:  Marjorie Merriweather Post's Dazzling Gems

When:  Now through January 11, 2015, including New Year's Day, Tuesdays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., and Sundays, 1 - 5 p.m.  Closed on Mondays. Beginning January 12, Hillwood will closed for the month.

Where:  Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens "Where Fabulous Lives," 4155 Linnean Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20008

Suggested donation:  $15 (adults), $12 (seniors), $10 (students), $5 (child, ages 6 -18) and free for those under age 6.

Parking:  Free, on-site

Biking and walking:  Encouraged; bike racks available.

For more information:  202-686-5807

Metro station: Van Ness/UDC station on the Red Line, then walk a (mostly uphill) mile and burn off Christmas calories.  (Taxis, available.)

Metro bus stop: The L1 or L2 bus stops at the corner of Connecticut and Tilden streets, NW, about a half mile's (mostly uphill) walk from Hillwood.

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Washington Cathedral honors President Woodrow Wilson

In honor of the birth of President Woodrow Wilson (Dec. 28, 1856- Feb. 3, 1924), members of the U.S. Armed Forces assisted in a wreath-laying ceremony December 28, 2014 at the president's tomb at the Washington National Cathedral. President Wilson is the only U.S. president buried in Washington, D.C.  Here, the troops rehearse for the 10-minute ceremony which was attended by approximately 100 visitors and members of the Wilson family.  President Wilson is buried under the arch at the opposite end, between the two wreaths on the columns/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Members of the U.S. Armed Forces are ready Dec, 28, 2014 for the wreath-laying ceremony to honor the 158th birthday of President Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president of the United States/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The clergy arrive Dec, 28, 2014 for the wreath-laying ceremony at Washington National Cathedral in honor of the birthday of President Woodrow Wilson, the only U.S. president to earn a Ph.D.  The president's second wife, Edith, is also buried at the Cathedral.  His first wife, Ellen, is buried in a family plot in Rome, Georgia/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The Very Rev. Gary Hall, in white, said a short prayer at the wreath-laying ceremony at Washington National Cathedral to commemorate the December 28 birthday of President Woodrow Wilson/ At the end of the prayer, drums introduced "Taps," played by a trumpeter who stood, unseen, in the distance/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The clergy departs/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The wreath and floral tribute to President Woodrow Wilson whose birthday on December 28 is recognized every year at the Washington National Cathedral, according to a docent/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The card on the red, white, and blue bow is addressed to "The President."/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The angels herald President Woodrow Wilson's birthday on December 28 at Washington National Cathedral/Photo by Patricia Leslie

One of many 2014 creche scenes at Washington National Cathedral/Photo by Patricia Leslie

A Christmas floral display at Washington National Cathedral/Photo by Patricia Leslie

In a chapel to the west of the main altar at Washington National Cathedral/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The main altar at Washington National Cathedral/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The main altar and reredos at Washington National Cathedral/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At the altar in a chapel to the east of the main altar at Washington National Cathedral/Photo by Patricia Leslie 

The nation's first president, George Washington, stands to the right of the main entrance at Washington National Cathedral. President Washington wore a red Christmas carnation or rose in his lapel, and removed his hat in honor of President Wilson.  Lee Oscar Lawrie (1877-1963) was the sculptor/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 

 

What: Washington National Cathedral

 

When:  Open daily, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., Sunday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

 

Where: 3101 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W. , Washington, D.C. 20016

 

Admission:  No charge on Sundays.  Other days:  $10, adults; $6, students, seniors, active and retired military; free for children under age 5.

 

Free parking on Sundays

 

Metro stations:  Tenleytown, Dupont Circle, or Woodley Park, and take a bus from there.  See directions.

 

For more information:  202-537-6267

 

Extensive renovations and repairs underway, due to the August, 2011 earthquake.

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