Inaudito: Bach, genio immortale

LUCIA CASAGRANDE RAFFI soprano

FABIO CECCARELLI traversiere

ACCADEMIA HERMANS

LUCREZIA NAPPINI - SARA MONTANI violins

FEDERICO MICHELI viola

ALESSANDRA MONTANI violoncello

ALESSANDRO SCHILLACI double bass

FABIANO MERLANTE tiorba

FABIO CIOFINI organ/harpsichord and concert master

Lucia Casagrande Raffi, a native of Gubbio, earned her first degree in Voice and subsequently in Music Education at the Conservatory of Perugia. She later completed a second-level specialist degree in Voice, with a focus on interpretation and composition. For years, she has performed both in Italy and abroad in the operatic, sacred, oratorio, and symphonic repertoire.

Over time, she has deepened her study of the Baroque repertoire, with particular attention to the 18th century, collaborating with prominent musicians and distinguished chamber ensembles such as: Accademia degli Unisoni, Solisti Aquilani, Perugia Chamber Orchestra, the Instrumental Ensemble of the Cappella Musicale S. Petronio, and Accademia Hermans, with whom she also took part in the recording of O Magnum Mysterium for the Bottega Discantica label.

She has been a guest at prestigious festivals and concert series including Festival Euro Mediterranean, Corti Chiese e Cortili, Camerino Festival, Festival Villa Solomei, Barattelli Concerts, Sagra Musicale Umbra, Festival Arti in Movimento, Todi Festival, Perdonanza Celestiniana, Artem Festival, and Hermans Festival.

With the Roma Barocca Ensemble, she released in 2020, under the Bongiovanni label, Cantata for Two Voices with Violins in Honor of Saint Anthony of Padua by Girolamo Rossi, and in 2021 and 2022, under Da Vinci Publishing, The Last Judgment , Spiritual Cantate Vol. I and Vol. II by Francesco Feo.

Fabio Ceccarelli graduated in modern flute in 1986 from the “G. Briccialdi” Music Institute in Terni under the guidance of Maestro F. Chirivì. He furthered his studies with Maxence Larrieu, collaborated with various national orchestras, and won several awards with chamber music ensembles in both national and international competitions.

In the field of early music, he earned his second-level academic diploma with highest honors in 2008 at the Department of Early Music of the “A. Pedrollo” Conservatory in Vicenza, studying under Marcello Gatti. He attended masterclasses in chamber music and baroque orchestra with renowned musicians such as Sigiswald Kuijken, Monica Huggett, Paolo Grazzi, Stefano Balestracci, and Ton Koopman, and won first prize at the Conservatory of Vicenza’s Early Music Competition in 2007.
He is a soloist with Accademia Hermans, with whom he has performed in major festivals across Italy, the USA, Canada, Japan, Mexico, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, and Finland. He has recorded for the “Bottega Discantica” label in Milan. From 1992 to 2015, he taught flute at the “A. Onofri” Civic Music Institute in Spoleto, and for fourteen editions, he was the founder and Artistic Director of the “Parco in… Musica” Early Music Festival in Valnerina (Umbria), now known as the Hermans Festival.

He performs on a traverso by C. Palanca (Turin, c. 1750), replicated by M. Wenner (Singen, 2013).

Considered one of the finest Italian baroque music ensembles, Accademia Hermans is deeply engaged in promoting early music throughout the Umbria region. The ensemble organizes educational courses, records CDs in historic venues (such as palaces and churches), and curates the artistic direction of the Hermans Festival, held each summer in the historic locations of Valnerina and on the historic organs of Collescipoli.

Its extensive discography includes releases with labels such as Brilliant Classics, Bongiovanni, and La Bottega Discantica. The recording made with Bart Van Oort of Mozart’s Concertos K.466 and K.467 was rated “exceptional” (5 stars) by leading music magazines. In October 2016, the ensemble released the critically acclaimed album “Queens – G.F. Händel” with Roberta Invernizzi under the Glossa label, which received international praise and was performed in major European venues including the Sion Festival (Switzerland), Wigmore Hall (London), Ekaterinburg Philharmonic (Russia), and the Novi Sad Festival (Serbia).

Accademia Hermans has performed for some of the most prestigious early music festivals and concert series in Italy and abroad, including in the Netherlands, Germany, Finland, England, Serbia, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Russia, Canada, Mexico, Japan, and the United States.

Fabio Ciofini studied organ, piano, and fortepiano at the Conservatory of Perugia with W. Van de Pol, M.F. Spaventi, and C. Veneri respectively, and harpsichord at the School Of Music of Fiesole with A. Fedi. He furthered his organ studies at the Conservatory of Amsterdam with J. Van Oortmerssen, earning a Post-Graduate Diploma in Baroque Music in 1999.

In 1995, he was appointed Titular Organist at the Collegiate Church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Collescipoli, where he plays the historic W. Hermans baroque organ (1678). He regularly performs concerts and gives masterclasses across Italy, Europe, the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Japan, and is frequently invited to major early music festivals such as the Lufthansa Festival, Oude Muziek Utrecht, and Vantaa Baroque Festival.

He has recorded and broadcast live for leading national European radio stations including BBC, ZDF, YLE, and RAI. His interpretations of early and baroque music have earned wide acclaim.

Also active as a conductor, Fabio Ciofini is the Music Director of Accademia Hermans. His most recent recording of Corelli’s Opus 4, made with Ensemble Aurora for Glossa, was awarded both the Diapason d’Or and the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik.

He teaches historical keyboards at the “G. Briccialdi” Conservatory in Terni and has served as Artistic Director of the Brunello and Federica Cucinelli Foundation (Solomeo, Perugia) since 2010.