BAROQUE MUSIC AND SATURDAY SUPPER ON TAP AT CLARK ART INSTITUTE

For Immediate Release
January 7, 2016

Williamstown, Massachusetts—The Four Nations Ensemble performs at the Clark Art Institute on Saturday, January 30 at 6 pm for the first in a series of three evenings of Baroque music inspired by paintings in the Clark’s collection. Tickets are $20 for adults; free for children under 12 and students with a valid ID. After the performance, a Saturday supper featuring comfort food will be served at 7:30 pm. Tickets are for $45 for adults ($40 members) and $15 for children under 12. For tickets to either or both events, visit clarkart.edu.

Musicians embrace the theme of “goddess and laundress” in French eighteenth-century music to complement works by François Boucher and Hubert Robert. The core ensemble of soprano Pascale Beaudin, two violins, cello, and harpsichord are joined by Grammy Award-winning tenor Aaron Sheehan and master viola da gambist Josh Lee for music by François Couperin, Jean-Féry Rebel, Louis-Gabriel Guillemain, Jean-Philippe Rameau, and Louis-Nicolas Clérambault.

After the concert, Executive Chef Dan Hardy prepares a French country supper featuring chicken cassoulet served with a family-style butter lettuce salad, followed by opera cake for dessert. Vegetarian and gluten-free options are available with advance request. For more information, visit clarkart.edu.

ABOUT THE FOUR NATIONS ENSEMBLE

Founded in 1986, The Four Nations Ensemble brings together soloists who are leading exponents of period instrument and vocal performance to present music from the Renaissance through the Viennese Classical masterpieces of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. For three decades, Four Nations has developed a leading presence on the early music scene in New York and across the country. With a core ensemble of harpsichord or fortepiano, violin(s), flute, and cello, the Ensemble explores and performs masterpieces of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, from trio sonata to piano trio and quartet. Four Nations has performed at major houses, on prestigious series, and in festivals throughout the United States including The Kennedy Center and Lincoln Center, The Boston Early Music Festival, New York's Mostly Mozart, Amherst Festival, New Haven's International Festival of Arts & Ideas, Maverick Concerts in New York, Virginia Waterfront International Arts Festival, Chautauqua, The Indiana Early Music Festival, The Redwoods Festival in Santa Rosa, California, and Brasilseguridade in Rio de Janeiro.

ABOUT THE CLARK

The Clark Art Institute, located in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, is one of a small number of institutions globally that is both an art museum and a center for research, critical discussion, and higher education in the visual arts. Opened in 1955, the Clark houses exceptional European and American paintings and sculpture, extensive collections of master prints and drawings, English silver, and early photography. Acting as convener through its Research and Academic Program, the Clark gathers an international community of scholars to participate in a lively program of conferences, colloquia, and workshops on topics of vital importance to the visual arts. The Clark library, open to the public with more than 240,000 volumes, is one of the nation’s premier art history libraries. The Clark also houses and co-sponsors the Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art.

The Clark is located at 225 South Street in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Galleries are open daily in July and August, 10 am to 5 pm; open September through June, Tuesday through Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm. Admission is $20; free year-round for Clark members, children 18 and younger, and students with valid ID. For more information, visit clarkart.edu or call 413 458 2303.

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