Concert series returns chamber music to its roots--a private residence.

The passionate, sometimes stormy music of a Glinka trio filled the large living room of the elegant, Mediterranean-style Manhattan Beach home.

Pianist Dragana Bajalovic, cellist Matthias Naegele and clarinetist Eric Thomas drew a pallet of musical color from their instruments as their audience of 45 sat on sofas, chairs and settees. Some sipped wine or soda from stemmed glasses; others held hands.

“What did you think of that?” one man called out after the last note had sounded. “Great!” another replied.

These days, chamber music is usually played in concert halls. But on this particular evening, it had returned to its roots--a private home.

Granted, the residence of Mac and Joan McClellan wasn’t the sort of grand European palace that gave birth to the serenades and quartets of Mozart and Haydn. But it qualified as a South Bay palace with its grand staircase, parquet floors, imposing fireplaces and a terrace overlooking half of Manhattan Beach.

“This is a wonderful setting,” said Bajalovic, a Hermosa Beach pianist and teacher who began giving home concerts with musician friends last summer under the banner of the Hermosa Chamber Ensemble.

So far, there have been 16, including one in the Pacific Palisades on the Westside. A new series begins at the end of March.

People pay $20 for the evening, which includes about an hour of music, refreshments--the McClellans’ spread included pate and caviar--and a chance to socialize with other chamber music lovers and to mingle with the musicians.

Bajalovic said she started the home concerts to give classical musicians somewhere to perform. “Playing music is like taking a bite out of an apple. You just want to go on and on,” she said.

But if they’re good for musicians, she said they also give audiences a musical intimacy they don’t find in concert halls. “The people listening can’t help but get involved in the music,” she said. “I feel we’re breaking barriers . . . making this music a part of their daily life.”

One audience member, Ed Venable, said he and his wife frequently hear chamber music, but this was their first home concert.

“I was right there, four feet from the cellist. You can’t beat that,” he said.