RACHEL BAPTIST: "Ireland's Black Syren"- Rachel Baptist was a Black Irish
soprano, who predominantly appeared in Irish "pleasure gardens” in the 1750s and 1760s performing arias by Handel and Arne among others. She was credited with turning Kilkenny into “a town of pleasure” following appearances at the Tholsel in the 1750s.

BAROQUE BRILLIANCE: Handel's Water Music- Join the bright young talents of the award-winning Irish Youth Baroque Orchestra with their director, Claire Duff, to experience this fantastic piece at Dublin Castle. The Irish Youth Baroque Orchestra is presented in partnership with the Irish Association of Youth Orchestras.

TRAD MEETS BAROQUE- A scribble in the manuscript of Handel’s ‘Messiah’ forms the starting point for an evening session exploring a point in time where the Trad and Baroque languages cross over. Come on a journey to 18th century Ireland, illuminated by music and stories. ‘Trad Meets Baroque’ explores the Irish influences on Italian, Czech, and German composers who visited Ireland and their influence on traditional music in turn.

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: Malcolm Proud - Irish harpsichordist Malcolm Proud is one of the most renowned period performance specialists performing today. Since winning the Edinburgh International Harpsichord Competition in 1982 his career has taken him around the world, including concerto performances with the Academy of Ancient Music, the European Union Baroque Orchestra and the English Baroque Soloists under Sir John Eliot Gardiner. In this special performance Malcolm Proud will play Christopher Nobbs’ 1985 copy of a Donzelague harpsichord built in Lyons in 1711. The programme includes music by Handel, Haydn and Duphly, and a suite from Rameau’s collection of harpsichord pieces published in Paris in 1724, exactly 300 years ago. Join us in the intimate performance space of the Chapel Royal for this solo programme, especially-curated for Dublin HandelFest, and experience an evening of virtuosity on the harpsichord.