Wednesday, September 24
St. Nichola's Church 8:00 p.m.
Francesca Lombardi Mazulli, soprano
Camerata Kilkenny
Bojan Čičić, violin
Marja Gaynor, violin
Sarah McMahon, cello
Malcolm Proud, harpsichord
Georg Friedrich Händel
Dietro l’orme fugaci (Armida Abbandonata), HWV 105
Cantata for soprano, two violins and basso continuo
Recitativo: Dietro l'orme fugaci
Aria: Ah! crudel e pur ten vai
Recitativo: Per te mi struggo, infido
Aria: Venti, fermate
Recitativo: Ma che parlo, che dico?
Aria: In tanti affanni miei
Georg Muffat
Sonata in D major for violin and basso continuo
Adagio
Allegro
Adagio
Allegro
Adagio
Georg Friedrich Händel
Agrippina condotta a morire, HWV 110
Cantata for soprano, two violins and basso continuo
Recitativo: Agrippina condotta a morire
Aria: Se infelice al mondo vissi
Recitativo: Ma che parlo?
Aria: Non ho cor che per amarti
Recitativo: Dunque è vero, o Cielo!
Aria: Col peso del tuo amor
Recitativo: Or ch'è tempo di morire
Aria (Finale): Come, oh Dio!
Francesca Lombardi Mazzulli graduated from the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan and completed her second-level degree at the Girolamo Frescobaldi Conservatory in Ferrara. She furthered her training with Mirella Freni, Luciano Pavarotti, Sonia Prina and Fernando Opa, and is currently working with Vivica Genaux and Francesco Miotti. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Jury Prize of the Varaždin Baroque Evenings, second prize at the Pietà dei Turchini competition in Naples, and was a finalist at the Handel Singing Competition in London. Specialising in the Baroque repertoire, she regularly performs with leading ensembles and conductors dedicated to historically informed performance, such as Europa Galante (Fabio Biondi), Les Talens Lyriques (Christophe Rousset), Accademia Bizantina (Ottavio Dantone), Modo Antiquo (Federico Maria Sardelli) and Arte del Mondo (Werner Ehrhardt). She has appeared at major festivals across Europe and beyond, including the Händel Festspiele Halle, Innsbrucker Festwochen, Resonanzen in Vienna, Styriarte in Graz, Enescu Festival in Bucharest, Valletta Baroque Festival, and Misteria Paschalia in Kraków. Deeply engaged in Baroque musical theatre, she has played leading roles in revivals of forgotten works such as La Rosinda, Artemisia and Veremonda by Francesco Cavalli, Achille in Sciro (Sarro), La Dori (Cesti), Antigono (Gluck), as well as in canonical operas – Cleopatra (Giulio Cesare), Oberto (Alcina), Vitellia (La clemenza di Tito), Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni) and Angelica (Orlando). She has also performed outside Europe – in Japan, Korea, the United States, Colombia and Bhutan – participating in numerous operatic and concert projects that bridge diverse cultural traditions. Her discography includes acclaimed recordings for Glossa, Berlin Classics, Oehms Classics and Deutsche Harmonia Mundi.
Founded by Irish harpsichordist and organist Malcolm Proud and Swiss violinist Maya Homburger, Camerata Kilkenny is a period instrument ensemble specialising in the performance of Baroque music. Many of its programmes combine 17th- and 18th-century works with compositions by contemporary composers. Camerata Kilkenny gave its debut recital at the Kilkenny Arts Festival in August 1999, and since then has performed in Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Italy, Finland, Belgium, Estonia, Croatia, Malta, and at all of Ireland’s major music festivals. Their CD recordings include H.I.F. Biber’s Mystery Sonatas with Maya Homburger (which was included in the “Bestenliste” of the prestigious Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik in 2007), J.S. Bach’s The Musical Offering (2010), Bach Arias and Swedish Folk Chorales with soprano Maria Keohane (2018), and The Piper and the Fairy Queen with Uilleann piper David Power (2018).
Croatian-born violinist Bojan Čičić is recognised as one of the leading specialists in historically informed performance of 17th- and 18th-century music. He is the concertmaster of the Academy of Ancient Music and regularly directs renowned ensembles such as Lyra Baroque Orchestra, De Nederlandse Bachvereniging, Dunedin Consort, the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, and Phion Orkest van Gelderland & Overijssel. He is the founder of the Illyria Consort, an ensemble dedicated to exploring lesser-known Baroque repertoire, particularly from the Habsburg Monarchy and the Venetian Republic. Their acclaimed recordings on the Delphian label – including Carbonelli’s Sonate da camera, Jarnović’s London Violin Concertos, Adriatic Voyage, and Pyrotechnia – have received prestigious awards and critical praise. Since 2016, he has been Professor of Baroque Violin at the Royal College of Music in London. In 2025, he was appointed Artistic Director of the Lyra Baroque Orchestra in the United States. His recording of Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas was nominated for several major awards, while his most recent album, Heinrich Biber: Violin Sonatas 1681, was named Recording of the Month by Gramophone magazine.
Originally from Finland, Marja Gaynor is a Cork-based violinist and violist. She is a member of the Irish Baroque Orchestra and has also performed with the Irish Chamber Orchestra, Ensemble Marsyas, Dunedin Consort, London Handel Players, and Helsinki Baroque Orchestra. Marja is known as a versatile musician fluent in many styles, an accomplished improviser, as well as an arranger and curator. Upcoming projects include chamber music tours with the Solas Quartet and The Vanbrugh, and performing and arranging as part of a trio with uilleann piper David Power and flamenco guitarist John Walsh. She teaches violin and chamber music at the MTU Cork School of Music.
Irish cellist Sarah McMahon enjoys a diverse career as principal cellist with the Academy of Ancient Music, the Irish Baroque Orchestra, London Handel Players, Ensemble Marsyas, and Camerata Kilkenny, working closely with Peter Whelan, Malcolm Proud, Richard Egarr, and Laurence Cummings. She also regularly appears as guest principal cellist with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Aurora Orchestra, Arcangelo, Florilegium, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and Dunedin Consort. Sarah is passionate about chamber music and is a founding member of the Callino String Quartet. Their recent recording of Haydn’s Seven Last Words (Op. 51) for the Coro label received critical acclaim. Their collaboration on this work with Canadian filmmaker Kaveh Nabatian premiered at the International Film Festival in Rotterdam in 2019 and later toured to Montreal. She is Professor of Historical Cello at the Royal College of Music in London and at the Berwick Academy at the University of Oregon.
Since winning First Prize at the Edinburgh International Harpsichord Competition in 1982, Malcolm Proud has enjoyed a distinguished international career as both a recitalist and ensemble performer on the harpsichord and organ. From 1980 to 1981, he studied at the Amsterdam Conservatory with Gustav Leonhardt. A dedicated chamber musician, Malcolm has collaborated with many leading Early Music specialists, including violinists Maya Homburger and Pavlo Beznosiuk; flautists Wilbert Hazelzet, Rachel Brown, and Lisa Beznosiuk; and singers Emma Kirkby, Lenneke Ruiten, Mark Padmore, Maarten Koningsberger, John Elwes, Isabelle Poulenard, and Maria Keohane. He has recorded over 50 CDs and performed across Europe, North America, and Japan with renowned ensembles and soloists, including the Irish Baroque Orchestra, English Baroque Soloists, Academy of Ancient Music, Purcell Quartet, Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, and Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, among others. Malcolm Proud is Emeritus Organist at St Canice’s Cathedral in Kilkenny, Ireland, and has given recitals on historic organs in Valère-Sion (Switzerland), Mantua (Italy), Frederiksborg (Denmark), and Ottobeuren (near Munich, Germany).
