Capella de Ministrers

Work

Capella de Ministrers was formed in 1987 in Valencia by its director, the Valencian musicologist Carles Magraner (viola da gamba). The primary importance of the group is in the focus on restoring Valencian musical culture. Part of the group's mission is the recovery of Valencian musical heritage, from their first CD of 1989 - Música Barroca Valenciana. This first release contained little-known villancicos by a number of Valencian composers: Juan Cabanilles (1644–1712), Francisco Hernández Pla (d.1722), Joseph Pradas Gallén (1689–1757), Francisco Vicente Cervera (d.1749) and Pere Rabassa (1683–1767). The productions of the group follow the historical context to musical performance and releasing books with CDs, as in the book Music and Poetry for Ausiàs March, dedicated to the 15th Century Valencian poet.

The Iberian composers promoted by Capella de Ministrers cover a span of 500 years from anonymous medieval pieces such as found in the Llibre Vermell de Montserrat, El Cant de la Sibil·la, El Misterio de Elche, etc., through baroque works such as the ensaladas of Joan Brudieu, to better-known composers such as Vicente Martín y Soler. Soler's zarzuela La Madrileña (Madrid 1778) was revived by Magraner in 1996. The group has also promoted a revival in public and academic interest in the Majorcan composer Antonio de Literes by performance of Los Elementos and other works.

Concert halls in Spain

The ensemble has performed numerous concerts since its foundation and has played in leading music venues in Spain, including the Auditorio Nacional de España, the Palau de la Música de Valencia and the Palau de la Música Catalana, Auditorio de León, Teatro de La Maestranza, El Escorial, Centro Conde Duque, Auditorio de Castellón, and Teatro Cervantes.

Festivals

It has also participated in numerous festivals, such as the Festival de Música Antiga de Barcelona, Madrid Cultural 1992 (with the revival of the opera Los elementos by Antonio Literes), the Festival de Teatro Clásico de Almagro, the Festival de Peralada, the Quinzena Musical Donostiarra, Los Veranos de la Villa (Madrid), the Festival Grec (Barcelona), the Festival Internacional de Música y Danza de Granada and the Festival de Música Religiosa de Cuenca, Serenates a la Universitat (Valencia), Festival Are More (Vigo), Festival Medieval de Elche, and the International Jewish Music Festival in Amsterdam.

Internationally

The group has also performed outside Spain. Within Europe it has performed in France, Belgium, Rumania, Portugal, Holland, Italy, Germany, England, Poland, Finland, Austria, Croatia, Greece, Sweden and Norway. Outside Europe it has performed in Chile, Argentina, Brazil, the United States, Mexico, Cuba, Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, China and Japan.

Original recordings

Others