East Cork Early Music Festival LIVE 2021
Cork & Kinsale
7th-10th October 2021
Tickets are very limited and must be booked in advance due to COVID-19 restrictions. Follow the link below to book.

East Cork Early Music festival is back this October with a programme full of favourites old and new. Bringing historic music to life in a selection of beautiful locations in Cork city and Kinsale, the festival this year traverses tales of rivalry, secrecy, celebrity, and exploration.

Special guest artist harpsichordist Bridget Cunningham takes on the superstar of the 18th century with a solo recital following Georg Frideric Handel’s adventures in Ireland in UCC’s Glucksman Gallery on Friday 8th October.

Galway soprano Aisling Kenny and renowned harpist Siobhán Armstrong explore a more hidden stream of women’s early music – from the songs of the secret Ferrarese Concerto delle Donne, to music attributed to Anne Boleyn in captivity.

On Saturday 9th October Bridget Cunningham directs the Cork Baroque Orchestra in Kinsale with mezzo Sharon Carty and countertenor Francesco Giusti, singing the divas of rival 18th century opera houses, a musical world fed by sponsorship from the 4th Earl of Cork.

Cellist Carina Drury’s programme Irlandiani with her accomplished trio, lilts through the favourite Irish tunes of Baroque audiences and sees the favoured role of the cello amongst Irish-based composers. Cork Baroque Players bring to life another touring virtuoso of the 18th century, with a sparkling programme by Venetian violinist Maddalena Lombardini.

Closing the festival on Sunday 10th October, Vlad Smishkewych’s trio cross genre and national boundaries in their programme Trans-Pyrenaïc, following threads of Baroque and folk music across the Pyrenees mountains over the centuries.

For those who can’t make the live festival, the concerts will also be broadcast online in the weeks following.

East Cork Early Music is grateful for the major support of the Arts Council, and generous support from Cork County Council, Cork City Council, partners Nano Nagle Place, MTU Cork School of Music, FUAIM, Cork Orchestral Society, and many other supporters and friends.