The chamber choir Musica Ficta is considered on of the most outstanding ensembles as far as a reformed interpretation of ancient music in our country is concerned. Since its foundation in 1992 they have been on tour and given concerts at the most important music festivals, such as “Siglos de Oro”, “Quincena Musical Donostiarra” in San Sebastian, “Sociedad Estatal Carlos V y Felipe II”, “Festival del Camino de Santiago” etc. In order to reproduce faithfully the sound of the choirs of the Renaissance period, they cooperate on a regular basis with the Ensemble Fontegara who use original instruments from that period. Up until now they have launched four compact discs, recording with the Cantus and Enchiriadis labels music by T.L. de Victoria, F. Guerrero and C. de Morales, and they have received a great welcome in the United States and Japan and have won important prizes such as the “10 de Répertoire” in France or the five stars by the magazine Goldberg. In 2001 their fifth CD, a homage to medieval monodies (singing with only one voice) entitled Cantus Firmus was released.
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Anselmo Serna was born in Villamayor de Teviño (province of Burgos). He studied music at the Royal Conservatoire in Madrid with the following subjects: musicology under P. Samuel Rubio, harpsichord under Genoveva Gálvez and organ under Miguel del Barco. He also obtained a diploma in Gregorian chant at the College of Sacred Music under P. Tomás de Manzárraga. In 1974 he won an honour’s prize in his speciality of organ playing. Later he went to Rome to study under the guidance of maestro Fernando Germani. He did advanced studies with maestros S. Kastner, M. Radulescu, H. Meister, G. Bovet, M. Torrent and others. For the last twenty years he has played regularly with the RTVE (Spanish Broadcasting Corporation) Symphony Orchestra, the Madrid Symphony Orchestra and the Spanish National Orchestra. He also worked with the Orchestra of the Autonomous Community of Madrid, the Israel Symphony Orchestra, the Malaga Symphony Orchestra and others. As a soloist he has taken part in all major music festivals in Spain. He has recorded more than 15 compact discs with the RTVE Symphony Orchestra. Since 1978 he has been Professor of Organ at the Madrid Conservatoire.
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This artist was born in Oviedo in 1970. He began his music studies with his father, Juan Bautista Mallavibarrena. Later he studied the guitar under Carmen Ros at the College of Music in Madrid. He started conducting choirs at the age of 17, specializing in the music of the Renaissance and Baroque period. He studied the flute under Giulio Capocaccia, Musical Theory under Álvaro Zaldivar, Chamber Music under Emilio Moreno, Gregorian chant under Ismael Fernández de la Cuesta and conducting under Martin Schmidt and Helmut Rilling. He is the founder and conductor of the ensembles Musica Ficta, Ensemble Fontegara and Civitas Harnoniae. He has given numerous concerts with these groups at various festivals and musical cycles. He is also the founder of the CD label Enchiriadis. Raúl Mallavibarrena has run courses on Renaissance polyphony in Buenos Aires and Montevideo.
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Vicent Andrés Ballester was born in Denia. He started playing the guitar under the guidance of the teacher Joaquín Boscá, who advised him to continue at the Conservatoire Oscar Esplá in Alicante. He widened his studies at the Royal Conservatoire in Madrid and finished his higher education under the maestro José Tomás at the Conservatoire in Alicante. He conducted the choral society Orfeó of Denia since they appeared in public for the first time in 1982 until the year 1987. He was a coordinator of the International Course of Music, the International Singing Course Tenor Cortis and of the International Denia Music Week from its first edition in 1988 until 1998. He has been a guitar teacher for professional musicians at the Conservatoire Tenor Cortis since its foundation in 1983. He has given classes during the Musical Summer Courses organized by the town of Pedreguer. He joined the poet Germain Droogenbroodt in his readings playing the guitar, and worked with Belgian television, too, on a feature on this poet. He also played a part in various chamber ensembles, formed a duo with the organist and harpsichord player Josep Vicent Giner, and a duo with the guitarist Miguel Pérez Perelló with whom he is currently working on the recording of a CD on Spanish composers. He premièred works by the composers Thierry Laforge and Vicent Roncero. He has given concerts at various festivals in cities like Paris, Aix en Provence, Evián (France), Geneva, Vevey (Switzerland), Bottrop (Germany), at the Auditorium of the Olympic Museum of Lausanne and in other places.
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Josep Mª Mas i Bonet studied at the Municipal Conservatoire of Barcelona and finished his course with the award of the higher level Special Prize for Organ and the Higher Organ Teacher Diploma. He enrolled in various advanced courses in Holland run by Piet Kee and Anton Heiller, and in France he did an advanced course with Xavier Darasse. Between 1974 and 1983 he lived in Basle (Switzerland), where he studied under Eduard Müller and Anton Heiller, and in 1979 he received the Diploma de Virtuosismo (soloist’s diploma) of the Basle Conservatoire by a unanimous decision on the part of the examining board. He also studied harpsichord and bass at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. Later he studied musicology and interpretation of Iberian Music, ranging from the XVth to the XVIIIth century, under the guidance of the musicologist M.S. Kastner with the help of a scholarship granted by the Foundation Calouste Gulbenkian of Lisbon. In order to make this music and historical Catalan organs better known, he founded the International Courses on the Interpretation of Ancient Iberian Music in the year 1980. These courses are held in Torredembarra and Montblanc, where he teaches every summer. He gives music lessons in Iberian music at various European Conservatoires. He has recorded several compact discs of Iberian music on the organs of Torredembarra, Montblanc and Sa Pobla in Mallorca for the collection Los órganos históricos de España, released by the Auvidis – Valois label. He has made recordings for French, Dutch, Italian and Swiss broadcasting corporations, as well as for Radio Nacional de España, Catalunya Música and others. His repertoire comprises works by contemporary and old masters, works written by romantic composers and chamber music including the organ. Amongst others the complete Livre du St. Sacrement by O. Messiaen has to be mentioned in particular, which he performed for the first time in Spain at the Barcelona Cathedral in 1994 and in Switzerland in Geneva in the year 1995. He has given a great number of concerts in Catalonia, throughout Spain and in almost all of the European countries, also in Turkey and South America. He is a professor for organ and bass, for aesthetics and history of music at the Conservatoire of the Liceo, the Barcelona opera-house, and permanent organist at the Priory Church of San Pedro in the town of Reus, where he lives.
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Esteban Elizondo was born in San Sebastian in 1945. On finishing his piano and organ studies he gets first prize for his achievements with both instruments. After that he starts at the Higher College of Music of Vienna where for a period of three years he furthers his organ studies under Anton Heiller. Later he does various specialization courses in Haarlem (Holland), in Palma de Mallorca, Torredembarra and other places. He starts as a lecturer at the San Sebastian Conservatoire in 1971. From that moment onwards he works intensively both in the field of teaching and as an artist, performing as an organist in most European countries, in the United States, Canada and Japan. He has also worked as a soloist with various orchestras, playing in concerts written by F. Poulenc, G.F. Händel, F.X. Brixi, F.J. Haydn, D. Cimarosa and other composers. Esteban Elizondo is also the founder and coordinator of the International Course of Romantic Music for Organ, which is held every year in San Sebastian and visited by organists from all over the world. In addition, he acts as adviser in respect of the restoration of organs of all styles. In the last few years he has recorded twelve compact discs, thereby making known Spanish authors from the XVIth to the XVIIIth century and the music of the end of the XIXth up to the beginning of the XXth century, which to a large extent still remains in obscurity. Recently he has recorded for the very first time the entire works for organ by Jesús Guridi with the record company Aelus from Germany. This year he handed in his doctoral thesis entitled The Romatic Movement of Organ Building in the Basque Country and Navarre, which has aroused great interest in various European countries.
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This artist was born in Catarroja. Ángel Marzal studied flute at the Conservatoire of Valencia and later did advanced studies under Antonio Arias in Madrid and under Kate Hill in London. He won First Prize at the Standing Competition for Young Artists in Spain in the year 1989, which was a stepping stone for him to be presented at the National Auditorium the following year. He was also awarded a prize at the IIIrd National Competition of Interpretation, organized by the ONCE organization in 1988, and at the XVIth López-Chavarri Competition of Interpretation. He received a scholarship by the Barcelona-based Foundation “International Academy of Chamber Music” and was invited by the Ministry of Culture to take part in the Muestra Nacional de Música de Cámara (the National Congress of Chamber Music) in 1988. He was a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Spain and recorded Music by Manuel de Falla and Robert Gerhard with them and performed with this orchestra at the Paris Festival in 1989 and at the Carnegie Hall in New York in 1991. He recorded Spanish music of the baroque period and also made recordings for Radio Nacional de España and for Catalunya Radio. He has given première performances of works by contemporary composers, and recently he started a career as a composer himself, premièring his first work for voice and piano based on a text by Ausiàs March. He has worked with the National Orchestra of Spain and with the Orchestra of Valencia, and he is frequently invited by the Grup Instrumental de València, the Collegium Instrumentale, the Sinfónica del Mediterráneo and the quartet Martín i Soler and other chamber ensembles. He has performed as a soloist with the Czech Chamber Orchestra. He has taken a course on choir and orchestra conducting under Eduardo Cifre and Manuel Galdulf, making his debut in May 2001 with Le Carnaval des animaux by Saint-Saëns, conducting the Ensemble Instrumental de Castelló. He is a flute teacher at the Castellón Conservatoire and a flute soloist with the Valencia Symphony Orchestra.
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Organist and harpsichord player, born in Denia in 1970. He began his organ studies under the guidance of Dutch professor Rynko Ottes and continued his education at the Conservatoires of Barcelona and Murcia with professors Josep Mª Mas i Bonet (organ) and Javier Artigas (harpsichord), and at the Faculty of Music and Dramatic Arts in Vienna (Austria) with professor Michael Radulescu (organ) and Karl Östereicher (conducting). He finished his higher studies of music, obtaining the highest marks in both special fields, i.e., organ and harpsichord, and winning the Special End of Study Prize for organ at the Liceo de Barcelona Conservatoire, which must be mentioned in particular, as well as second prize of the Standing Competition for Young Artists organized by Juventudes Musicales Españolas in Seville in 1992. He also obtained the academic degree of “Magister Artium” from the University of Vienna with a “Cum Laude” distinction, and the Prize for Artistic Excellence conferred by the Austrian Ministry of Science and Culture. He is invited regularly to take part as solo organist and harpsichord player at festivals, both in the Iberian Peninsula as well as in the rest of Europe, where his repertoire includes renaissance, baroque, romantic, contemporary and chamber music. He is conductor of boys’ choirs in Denia and Pedreguer. He has made recordings for Spanish radio stations such as Radio 2 Clásica, Canal 9 and Cataluña Música, WDR 3 and others. At present he is recording a collection of seven compact discs for Producciones Ciutat Barroca titled “Colección Instrumento Rey”, the first of which, dedicated to the romantic period, was recorded playing the grand organ of Cavaillé-Coll of the Basilica of Santa Maria del Coro situated in San Sebastian. He is a member of the chamber ensemble Academia Arcadia and of the Joan Baptista Comes Trio. He plays with the Valencian Orchestra and the Galician Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on a regular basis. He is the artistic director of the international organ festival which is held each year in the church of Iglesia de la Santa Cruz in the town of Pedreguer, situated in the province of Alicante. He is a lecturer in music aesthetics and history at the Valencian Conservatoire.
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Juan María Pedrero is born in Zamora in 1974. He starts his piano studies in his home town under Natividad Gamazo, and his organ studies under professor Josep María Mas i Bonet. During the 1992-93 course he attends a series of classes on the entire works for organ by J.S. Bach, given by the maestro Michael Radulescu in Barcelona. In 1993 he moves to Barcelona, where he studies the organ at the Conservatoire of the Liceo (opera-house) under the guidance of professor Mas I Bonet. He finishes his studies with the highest marks receiving a Prize of Honour both at the medium and high level of his organ studies. He is also awarded the Higher Piano Diploma with the highest marks in professor Ramón Colls’ class. He continues his education in France, where he studies interpretation and improvisation under Francois-Henri Houbart at the Conservatoire of Orleáns, receiving a Premier Prix de Perfectionnement in 1999. The same year he wins a scholarship from the Barcelona Foundation La Caixa which allows him to continue his advanced studies in Paris under Marie-Claire Alain. In May 2000 he wins First Prize of the Concours Interconservatoires de France (a competition between conservatoires in France), held in Angers. He has given numerous recitals in Spain and France, apart from making up a regular duo with the trumpet player José Miguel Martín. In September 2001 he is appointed permanent organist of the Kitara Concert Hall in Sapporo, Japan, which allows him to unfold an intense organ-playing activity: recitals in Sapporo, Tokyo, Yokohama, Kyoto, Niigata, Morioka etc, concerts with orchestras and choirs, such as with the Sapporo Symphony Orchestra (Concert for organ by F. Poulenc), the Sapporo Academy Chorus (Requiem by G. Fauré), the Pacific Music Festival Orchestra, conducted by Charles Dutoit. His appointment also gives him the opportunity of gaining valuable experience in the field of teaching, as he runs seminars and gives organ classes. In 1997 he records his first CD, dedicated to Iberian music of the 16th, 17th and 18th century for the exhibition Las Edades del hombre (life stages), and recently he recorded his second CD on the Kitara organ with works by J.B. Cabanilles, L.N. Clérambault, J.S. Bach, J. Brahms and M. Duruflé.
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This artist was born in Algemesí. She did a degree course in singing at the Higher Conservatoire for Music in Valencia under the auspices of Ana Luisa Chova. Later she did advanced courses with Helmut Lips, Carlo Bergonzi, Elena Obratsova, Miguel Zanetti, Ileana Cotrubas and Isabel Garcisanz. As a scholar of the foundation Música 92 she spent two years studying in Paris under the guidance of Mady Mesplé and Susanne Sarroca. She won 2nd prize at the Festival Lírico de Callosa d'en Sarrià awarded by Elena Obratsova and 3rd prize at the singing contest organized by the town of Logroño. She was European finalist at the Vth singing contest Luciano Pavarotti. As a Lied performer she has been giving numerous recitals at the Palau de la Música in Valencia, at the Juan March Foundation in Madrid, in Cuenca, Mallorca, Sevilla, Paris and other cities. She recorded songs written by the Valencian composer J.M. Gomis. She performed in operas such as “The Elements ” and “Jupiter and Danae” by Antonio Literes, “La Madrileña” by the composer Vicente Martín y Soler and in the “Oratorio Sacro” by Teodoro Ortells with the group of ancient music La capella de ministrers. She made her debut in opera during the lyric season of the Liceo, singing the part of Flor in Parsifal conducted by A. Ros Marbá. Furthermore, she sang the part of Ama in “El Triomf de Tirant” by Armando Blanquer, as well as the parts of the Lady in Macbeth by G. Verdi, conducted by Antonello Allemandi, Micaela in Carmen, Mimí in La Bohème and that of the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro by W.A. Mozart. She is a singing teacher at the Conservatoire of Valencia.
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Pepa Álvarez was born in Ondara. She did music studies at the Conservatoires of Alicante and Valencia , receiving a Piano Teacher Diploma. She continued her education under the guidance of the professor and soloist José Ortiga Belmonte. For a period of four years she attended courses on special music teaching techniques (Ward), run by professor Luis Elizalde at the College of Sacred Music in Madrid, at the Complutense University of Madrid, the Institute Joan Llongueres of Barcelona (Dalcroze), and she also attended the courses of the Kodály Institute of the Schola Cantorum of the town of Algemesí. She took part in various courses on choir conducting, among which the International Courses of the Orfeó Lleidatà, the Courses on Choir Conducting held in the towns of Panticosa and Segorbe and the Course on Children’s Choir Conducting (SIC) held in Barcelona by the conductors Viky Lubroso, Diego Ramón Lluch, Naomi Farahn and Carles Ponseti have to be mentioned in particular. She worked as a piano teacher and a teacher of musical language at the Alicante Conservatoire, at the Tenor Cortis Conservatoire in Denia and at the Municipal School of Music in Pedreguer. From 1994 until 1999 she worked as a teacher for choir conducting during the Courses on vocal techniques held in Denia. In 1989 she took over the job of conducting the choir Orfeón de Denia which took part in musical events such as the Choir Festival of the Valencian Community, the Choral Competition of the Marina Alta and La Ribera, The Choral Singing Competition of the town of Denia and the IVth International Pedreguer Organ Festival, on which occasion she premièred the work by Josef Lammerz entitled Fuente de Vida (source of life).
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