Berkshire Bach Society presents MUSIK VOR BACH: 17th CENTURY FRENCH AIRS DE COUR

Start: Saturday, June 6, 2026 3:00PM
End: Saturday, June 6, 2026 4:30PM

Berkshire Bach presents MUSIK VOR BACH: 17th century FRENCH AIRS DE COUR, a concert of early Baroque music featuring James Reese, tenor, and Brandon Acker, Baroque guitar and lute. Airs de cour—songs of the court—are secular songs with guitar and lute accompaniment that were popular in France particularly at the court of Louis XIII and pushed music past the Renaissance and into the Baroque era. The event is a rare opportunity to hear private, small-scale art songs that ran parallel to the public world of instrumental and large vocal works normally associated with the Baroque period. It provides a glimpse into the work of some of the most important composers of the time—Antoine Boësset, Michel Lambert, Étienne Moulinié, José Marín, Gaspar Sanz, and others – and includes pieces for solo lute in a nod to the aesthetic of the day. Tenor James Reese is a GRAMMY-award-winning singer who specializes in Baroque music performance. Brandon Acker is a lutenist and Baroque guitarist who is one of the most-watched classical guitar and lute players on the internet. Together they bring to life the individualistic art of the air de cour, and provide an uncommon musical experience for audiences in the Berkshires.