A journey through Baroque Europe
With Alice and Bernard Foccroulle
◇ 24 January 2025
As part of the Alechinsky, pinceau voyageur exhibition, the Boghossian Foundation is organising a recital by soprano Alice Foccroulle, accompanied on the harpsichord by Bernard Foccroulle. This exceptional evening will be held in the salons of the Villa Empain, as part of the exhibition devoted to the great artist. Bernard Foccroulle will play scores by the greatest composers on the harpsichord designed by Alechinsky. Decorated with Jiři Kolař, the Czech poet and collagist, it was built in 1986 by Reinhard von Nagel. This work of art bears the memory of Cobra’s time and the work of four hands. The duo will perform works by greatest composers: Girolamo Frescobaldi, Tarquinio Merula, Barbara Strozzi, Luigi Rossi, Matthias Weckmann, Henry Purcell, J.S. Bach…
“I was asked to decorate a harpsichord. To determine the number of Taiwanese papers required for my paintings and to marouflage them on the woodwork, I went around the musical instrument holding a sheet of paper at arm’s length. As I was going past the lid of the keyboard, I discovered a subtle difference between the actual distance between the arms of a harpsichordist—from low to high notes—and the widest possible width of a piece of paper that would allow a craftsman to pick it up with both hands, arms stretched out exactly right, not too wide, not too close.” P.A.
