PERFORMANCES

Hudson River Concert Series 2025

The Many Nations

The masterful and exquisite chamber works of Couperin called Les Nations have given us our name, The Four Nations Ensemble. Couperin's grandest and most luxurious sonatas have inspired us throughout our careers. How is it that we have never performed them for you? For this year both in New York and in the Hudson Valley we call upon Couperin and these works to serve as guides through the contrasting worlds of music in 18th century Europe.

Our first concert, L’Espagnole, in the barns of Brian and Lindsay Shea, will contrast the dances that ARE France and Spain; The sensual chaconne and the savage fandango. To give this program gravity, we offer Domenico Scarlatti’s final work, a moving Salve Regina, written for the great castrato Farinelli who worked alongside Scarlatti for the King and Queen of Spain. Foreign composers like Scarlatti and Boccherini were transformed by the vivacious, thrilling, and savage music of Seville and Madrid.

Our Second concert, our Ensemble’s choice, is filled with the music of the English and American stage. We are joined by the brilliant pianist and composer Joseph Thalken. Along with other familiar works from the American Songbook, we place Camelot of Lerner and Lowe alongside King Arthur of Henry Purcell. This is a concert for you and Merlin the wizzard.

And our final concert looks at Couperin’s La Françoise includes surprisingly passionate music of Rameau, astonishing virtuosity of Leclair, and of course the tender and moving sonade and suite of François.

Each concert offers musical masterworks, breathtaking locations, delicious foods and wine, all ideal for the most colorful of seasons in the Hudson Valley.

And so, if Dante could rely on Virgil to serve as guide through strange nations or circles, we ask you to join us as we take the hands of Couperin, of our generous hosts in their beautiful homes, and of our musicians to serve as guides through the nations of magnificent 18th century music.


France
Nov
1

France

The Performers
Pascale Beaudin, soprano
Charles Brink, flute    
Olivier Brault & Aniela Eddy, violin
Kristen Linfante, viola  
Loretta O’Sullivan, cello
Scott Pauley, lute
Andrew Appel, harpsichord

Program
François Couperin: Premier Ordre: La Françoise
Jean Philippe Rameau: Le Berger Fidele Cantata for voice and instruments 
Jean Marie Leclair: Concerto for flute and strings in C major, opus 7 #3                                

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Marie Fel: from Pompadour to Recamier
May
24

Marie Fel: from Pompadour to Recamier

Marie Fel with eyes full of love by Maurice Quentin de La Tour

The Performers
Pascale Beaudin, soprano
Charles Brink, flute
Olivier Brault & Evan Few, violin
Nicole Divall, viola  
Loretta O'Sullivan, cello
Scott Pauley, lute  
Andrew Appel, harpsichord

Program
Mondonville: Trio in C minor
Rameau: Two arias
Rameau: Premier pieces en concert
Pergolesi: Air from La Serva Padrona
J. J. Rousseau: Air from Devin du Village
H. Jadin: String Quartet in F minor

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Marie Fel: from Pompadour to Recamier
May
22

Marie Fel: from Pompadour to Recamier

Marie Fel with eyes full of love by Maurice Quentin de La Tour

The Performers
Pascale Beaudin, soprano
Charles Brink, flute
Olivier Brault & Evan Few, violin
Nicole Divall, viola  
Loretta O'Sullivan, cello
Scott Pauley, lute  
Andrew Appel, harpsichord

Program
Mondonville: Trio in C minor
Rameau: Two arias
Rameau: Premier pieces en concert
Pergolesi: Air from La Serva Padrona
J. J. Rousseau: Air from Devin du Village
H. Jadin: String Quartet in F minor

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Esther Charlotte Brandes: Melodrama
Mar
29

Esther Charlotte Brandes: Melodrama

Anton Graff, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Performers
Pascale Beaudin, soprano
Olivier Brault & Chloe Fedor, violin
Nicole Divall, viola  
Loretta O’Sullivan, cello
Andrew Appel, harpsichord
 
Program
G. Benda: Ariadne Overture & scene
Janitsch: Sonata for violin, viola & continuo
F. Benda: Sonata in F for violin & continuo
C. H. Graun: Barbaro Barbaro!
C. H. Graun: A tanti pianti miei
C. P. E. Bach: Trio Sanguineus und Melancholicus

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Esther Charlotte Brandes: Melodrama
Mar
27

Esther Charlotte Brandes: Melodrama

Anton Graff, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Performers
Pascale Beaudin, soprano
Olivier Brault & Chloe Fedor, violin
Nicole Divall, viola  
Loretta O’Sullivan, cello
Andrew Appel, harpsichord
 
Program
G. Benda: Ariadne Overture & scene
Janitsch: Sonata for violin, viola & continuo
F. Benda: Sonata in F for violin & continuo
C. H. Graun: Barbaro Barbaro!
C. H. Graun: A tanti pianti miei
C. P. E. Bach: Trio Sanguineus und Melancholicus

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Elizabeth Ann Linley: An English Nightingale
Mar
1

Elizabeth Ann Linley: An English Nightingale

By Thomas Gainsborough - National Gallery of Art

The Performers
Pascale Beaudin, soprano
Charles Brink, flute
Olivier Brault & Aniela Eddy, violin  
Kristen Linfante, viola
Loretta O’Sullivan, cello
Scott Pauley, lute
Andrew Appel, harpsichord

Program
J. C. Bach-Mozart: Concerto in G major
Handel: A scene from Semele
J. C. Bach: Flute Quartet in C
Thomas Linley: Tune Philomel
Handel: Oh Sleep why doest thou leave me
Haydn-Solomon: Symphony 98 in B flat

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Elizabeth Ann Linley: An English Nightingale
Feb
27

Elizabeth Ann Linley: An English Nightingale

By Thomas Gainsborough - National Gallery of Art

The Performers
Pascale Beaudin, soprano
Charles Brink, flute
Olivier Brault & Aniela Eddy, violin  
Kristen Linfante, viola
Loretta O’Sullivan, cello
Scott Pauley, lute
Andrew Appel, harpsichord

Program
J. C. Bach-Mozart: Concerto in G major
Handel: A scene from Semele
J. C. Bach: Flute Quartet in C
Thomas Linley: Tune Philomel
Handel: Oh Sleep why doest thou leave me
Haydn-Solomon: Symphony 98 in B flat

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London: Kings & Shepherds
Sep
14

London: Kings & Shepherds

David Playing the Harp to Saul

The Performers
Pascale Beaudin, soprano
Daniel Moody, alto
Robert Getchell, tenor
Douglas Williams, bass
Oliver Brault & Chloe Fedor, violin
Kristen Linfante, viola
Loretta O’Sullivan, cello
Scott Pauley, lute
Andrew Appel, harpsichord

The Program
Byrd: Mass of 4 parts: Kyrie & Agnus Dei
Purcell: Scenes, suites, & arias
Handel: Arias

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From the Salon the the Scaffold
Jul
13

From the Salon the the Scaffold

The Artists
Pascale Beaudin, soprano
Charles Brink, flute     
Oliver Brault, violin
Scott Pauley, lute
Andrew Appel, harpsichord

The Program
J. M. Leclair
Deuxieme Recréation, Opus 8
Nightingales in love
Jean-Phillippe Rameau
Viens Hymen
Jean-Baptiste Bousset
Pourquoy doux Rossignol
Francois Couperin
Le Rossignol en amour
J. Ph. Rameau
Rossignols amoureux

J. Ph. Rameau
Pieces de Clavecin in E
Jean-Paul-Égide Martini
Plaisirs d’Amour
Songs of Revolution
Francois Devienne
Trio in G minor, Opus 66 #2

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The School of Naples
May
30

The School of Naples

No center of art and thought is so undervalued as Naples. Yet, for musicians, it is the engine of brilliant composition, singing, and instrumental performance with its conservatories and public institutions of music. This program will change your mind about this vibrant, disturbing, thrilling city.

The Performers
Pascale Beaudin, soprano
Steven Marquardt, trumpet
Olivier Brault & Evan Few, violin
Nicole Divall, viola
Loretta O’Sullivan, cello
Anne Trout, violone
Scott Pauley, lute
Andrew Appel, harpsichord

The Program
Handel, Eternal Source of Light Divine
A. Scarlatti, Sinfonia Il Giardino d"Amore
Porpora, Concerto V a 3 in E minor, Opus 2
Fiorenza, Concerto for cello in F major
A. Scarlatti, Su le sponde del Tebro

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The Culture of the Parisian Salon, Proust and La Fontaine
Apr
25

The Culture of the Parisian Salon, Proust and La Fontaine

Debussy, Ravel, Proust, and Renoir were besotted with the legacy of Rameau, Couperin, Watteau and Fragonard. With our inspiring guests Mark Steinberg and Anton Nel and the exquisite tenor Aaron Sheehan, we create mirror images from the Salons of the early 18th and the late 19th century with harpsichord and piano works of Debussy and Rameau, songs of Rinaldo Hahn and Henri Duparc, and the passionate Sonata for violin and piano of Cesar Franck.

The Performers
Aaron Sheehan, tenor
Mark Steinberg, violin
Anton Nel, piano
Andrew Appel, harpsichord

The Program
Songs of Hahn, Duparc, Debussy & Lambert
Keyboard evocations of Debussy, Ravel, Couperin & Rameau
Franck, Sonata for violin & piano 

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The Schooling of Bach
Mar
21

The Schooling of Bach

The School of Bach
A concert on Bach's Birthday
Sonatas, Suites, Arias

The Performers
Pascale Beaudin, soprano
Charles Brink, flute
Olivier Brault, violin
Loretta O’Sullivan, cello
Andrew Appel, harpsichord
 
The Program
Prelude and Fugue in G major WTC Book 2
Aria BWV 57 #7 Ich ende behende
Sonata for flute and harpsichord in B minor
Suite for cello
J. S. Bach BWV 249 # 5 Seele, deine Spezereien
Sonata for violin and harpsichord in G major

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The School of Corelli
Feb
29

The School of Corelli

New Year's Day 1700, and Corelli publishes his opus 5 sonatas, possibly the most influential collection of sonatas in music history. Every composer in every country followed his lead and used his trios and solos as models for their own work. The program explores the large reach and varied responses to the Italian sonata as charted by Corelli.

The Performers
Pascale Beaudin, soprano
Olivier Brault & Chloe Fedor, violin
Loretta O’Sullivan, cello
Scott Pauley, lute
Andrew Appel, harpsichord

The Program
Corelli, Sonata da camera for violin
Geminiani, sonata for cello
Couperin, Apothéose de Corelli
Handel, Sonata for violin in D major
Caldara, Cantata and Ciaconna
Locatelli, Trio sonata Opus 8

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PARIS & MADRID
Nov
11

PARIS & MADRID

Tales of Two Cities: Paris and Madrid

There is nothing more sparkling than two harpsichords, and Four Nations is thrilled to invite the brilliant harpsichordist Frederick Haas to join director Andrew Appel in a program that runs the exquisite to the savage, from the tender gavotte to the screaming joy of the Fandango.

Concert and reception: $100

Won Dharma Center
Claverack, NY

Frederick Haas, harpsichord
Andrew Appel, harpsichord

François Couperin
Jean-Philippe Rameau

Pieces for two harpsichords
Sonatas, Musettes & Chaconnes

Domenico Scarlatti
Sonatas

Luigi Boccherini
Fandango for two harpsichords


Spain has been a tempest of inspiration and horrors for French artists over the centuries.  Manet, Debussy, and Bizet all flourished with Spanish sights and sounds, yet the greatest 18th-century Spanish composers (Scarlatti and Boccherini) were expatriates from Italy.  The Spanish kings were insane, and their courts and societies reflected their extreme behaviors and delusions.  These same abnormalities created thrilling music.

Frederick Haas, one of my most revered colleagues, will fly to our fields and farms from France and join me in a program of music for two keyboards.  He is a most elegant player of French music, and we will play the works for two instruments by Couperin and Rameau.  In my mind, his Scarlatti is unsurpassed, and in Spanish mode, he will delight you with solo sonatas.  Together we end the program with Boccherini’s fiery Fandango.

The season's final concert will take place at the Won Dharma meditation hall, with perfect sound and views over the Catskills and 400 acres of conserved fields and forests.  

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PARIS & LONDON
Oct
14

PARIS & LONDON

The Concert, by Gerard van Honthorst (1590-1656)

Tales of Two Cities: Paris and London

In this program, Ensemble members Pascale Beaudin, Loretta O'Sullivan, and Andrew Appel are joined by viola da gambist Beiliang Zhu, lute player Scott Pauley, and flautist David Ross for a program of songs and suites from the worlds of Shakespeare, Sheridan, Racine, and Voltaire!

Concert & Reception: $100

19th Century Apple Barn
Lindsay & Brian Shea, hosts
Germantown, NY

Pascale Beaudin, soprano
David Ross, flute
Beiliang Zhu, viola da gamba
Loretta O'Sullivan, cello
Scott Pauley, lute
Andrew Appel, harpsichord

Shakespeare the theater
Lute songs of Morley, Campion, Arne 

William Byrd & John Dowland
Lute and Virginal pieces

Lambert & Rameau
Airs de cours

François Couperin
Pieçes de viols--Second Suite

Morel
Chaconne for flute & violin


The English so enjoyed cobbling  insults that always included FRENCH this or that!  Yet, Elizabeth I, not an easy conquest, almost gave her heart to the prince known as Monsieur from Paris.  Later on, the restoration of the monarchy after Cromwell was a French styled transformation.  Yet, the theater of Shakespeare is sprawling, tumbling genius contrasting with the tragedy of Racine which is carved marble perfection.  The Parisian air de cour is precious and tender while the London lute songs of Dowland and Morley are bawdy and overly emotional.  This program is a real Tale of Two Cities.  

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PARIS & LEIPZIG
Sep
23

PARIS & LEIPZIG

Frederick the Great Playing the Flute at Sanssouci.

Tales of Cities: Paris and Leipzig

Pascale Beaudin, Charles Brink, Krista Feeney, Chloe Fedor, Nicole Divall, Patricia Halverson, Loretta O'Sullivan, and Andrew Appel complete the ensemble with Bach's B minor Ouverture for flute and strings, Brandenburg V, a sonata of J. M. Leclair, and arias by J. Ph. Rameau for an afternoon of German brilliance and French sensuality by the best of Paris and Leipzig.

Concert & Reception: $100

Silda Wall Spitzer and Erik Stangvik, hosts
Germantown, NY

Pascale Beaudin, soprano
Charles Brink, flute
Krista Bennion Feeney & Chloe Fedor, violin
Nicole Divall, viola
Loretta O'Sullivan, cello
Patricia Halverson, violone
Andrew Appel, harpsichord

J. S. Bach
Suite in B minor for flute & strings
Brandenburg V for flute, violin, harpsichord & strings

Jean-Marie Leclair
Sonata VIII in C major, Opus 9 for violin & continuo

Jean-Philippe Rameau
Arias
Temple Sacré
Vien Hymen


Frederick the Great collected paintings of Watteau and hired artists to imitate the Fete Galante. Voltaire was an honored guest at Sanssouci. German princes and paupers idolized and copied the French.

Bach adored French dances and learned their moves and forms as a young man in North Germany. His solo suites were inspired by 17th century Parisian harpsichordists whose works he copied and served as models for his allemandes, gavottes, etc. The flute suite in B minor is a masterwork of French-German art as our greatest German composer puts on courtly attire. The Brandenburg Concertos remind us that Italian music, also available to him, offered an equally powerful model. The limpid beauty of Rameau seduces us today yet Bach was not a fan. Did he find it frivolous? Was the music not sufficiently based in traditional counterpoint? Bach did not know Leclair’s powerful chaconne from the sonata on our program, a worthy companion to his own chaconne for solo violin.

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TALENTED KIDS: the Bach Sons
Oct
8

TALENTED KIDS: the Bach Sons

Program

Sonata for two harpsichords in G major, J. C. Bach
Four Pieces for two harpsichords, C. P. E Bach
Concerto for two harpsichords in F major, W. F. Bach
Préludes and sonatas for violin & cello, J. S. Bach

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