ENSEMBLE BARCELONA COMTAL

Between 1705 and 1713, Barcelona went through an unprecedented transformation. Archduke Charles of Austria, a pretender to the Spanish throne during the War of the Spanish Succession, established his royal court there. The city ceased to be a peripheral capital and became the epicentre of a monarchy driven by European ambitions. This led to an internationalisation of the musical spheres thanks to the presence of musicians from different regions –especially Italians– who collaborated with local chapel masters. Although the military defeat, the Bourbon repression and the Nueva Planta Decree wiped the institutions and the court away, the new musical aesthetic did not disappear. The liking for Italian music, for opera and for new forms lived on in ecclesiastical chapels and in aristocrat circles. The music of this programme survived wars, changes of dynasty and the erosion of time. It took refuge in the archives of chapels and in the papers of the aristocrats who loved it. Nowadays, thanks to this production by FeMAP, it comes to light and lets us hear the echo of that Barcelona which had been the capital of Europe for a few years.

Marta Esteban, soprano

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Marieta Gil and Ignacio Ramal, violin

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Guillermo Turina, cello

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Eva del Campo, harpsichord

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