Capella de Ministrers

Founded in 1987 by Carles Magraner, Capella de Ministrers is a Spanish ensemble dedicated to the research and dissemination of historical music, spanning from the Middle Ages to the 19th century. Their work combines musicological rigor with a sensitive and passionate interpretation, making them a benchmark in early music.

Throughout its career, the ensemble has performed in prestigious venues in Spain such as the Auditorio Nacional and the Palau de la Música in Valencia, and has participated in festivals like the Granada International Festival of Music and Dance and the Peñíscola Early and Baroque Music Festival. Its international presence is highly prominent, featuring performances in countries such as France, Italy, Germany, the USA, China, and Morocco, and appearing in iconic venues like the Metropolitan Museum in New York or the BachFestival in Leipzig.

Capella de Ministrers boasts an extensive discography under labels like Auvidis and CDM, the group’s own label. It has received multiple accolades, including the International Classical Music Award (ICMA) in 2018 and 2023, the Carles Santos Award for Valencian Music, and the Medal of Honor from the Consell Valencià de Cultura in 2023.

In addition to its concert and recording work, the group has ventured into the performing arts, collaborating with renowned directors, choreographers, and musicians. Capella de Ministrers remains deeply committed to the recovery and dissemination of musical heritage, consolidating its position as one of the most prestigious ensembles in its field.

Detailed Biography

Since its creation in 1987, the group Capella de Ministrers, under the direction of Carles Magraner, has carried out an important research and musicological task in favor of Spanish musical heritage, from the Middle Ages to the 19th century. The result, transformed into musical testimony, perfectly combines three key factors: historical rigor, musical sensitivity and, very especially, an unstoppable desire to communicate and make us participants in these experiences. The concert activity of the ensemble has been very intense since the beginning of its activity, touring the best music halls in Spain: Auditorio Nacional de España, Palau de la Música of Valencia, Palau de la Música Catalana, Auditorio de León, Teatro de La Maestranza, El Escorial, Centro Conde Duque, Auditorio de Castellón, Teatro Cervantes… Likewise, it has participated in numerous festivals, among which it is worth highlighting the Festival de Música Antiga of Barcelona, Madrid Cultural 1992 (with the recovery of the opera Los elementos by Antonio Literes), Festival de Teatro Clásico de Almagro, Festival de Música Antigua y Barroca de Peñíscola, Festival de Peralada, Quincena Musical Donostiarra, Los Veranos de la Villa (Madrid), Festival Grec (Barcelona), Festival Internacional de Música y Danza de Granada, Festival de Música Religiosa de Cuenca, Serenates a la Universitat (Valencia), Festival Are More (Vigo), Festival Medieval de Elche, among others.Its projection is also international. It has carried out concert tours and participated in festivals in countries such as France, Belgium, Romania, Portugal, Netherlands, Egypt, Italy, Germany, Morocco, England, Poland, Tunisia, Chile, Portugal, Greece, Argentina, Brazil, USA, Mexico, Finland, Austria, Cuba, Croatia, China, Algeria, Sweden, Norway, India, Colombia, Taiwan etc. and spaces such as the Metropolitan Museum and the Hispanic Society of New York, the BachFestival of Leipzig, EuropaMusicale in Munich, the Festival de Fez, Festival de Morelia, Early Music Festival Prague, Serviqc Brezice Ljibljana, Stockholm Early Music Festival, Banchetto Musicale Early Music Festival Lithuania, Forum Alte Musik Zürich, among others.In May 2008, it performed at the inauguration of the Casa de la Lengua Española in Rhodes, presided over by H.M. Queen Doña Sofía on an official trip. That same year, the group participated in the official act of homage to King Jaume I which took place at the Monastery of Poblet, on the occasion of the 800th anniversary of his birth.This trajectory of study and recovery of early music has been collected in the discography that it has recorded for EGT, Blau, Auvidis and CDM, the exclusive record label of Capella de Ministrers, obtaining very good reviews from the specialized press, in addition to awards and distinctions among which stand out Best Recording Production awarded by the Ministry of Culture, Premio Importante from the editorial Prensa Valenciana, the Premio Cívico 2008 of Almussafes-Ribera Baixa, the Premio a la Difusión Plaça del Llibre 2017, Premio Bankia to the Valencian Musical Formation of professional character and the distinctive quality seal of the GVA Mediterranew Musix. It has been a two-time winner of the International Classical Music Award (ICMA) in the Early Music category for its album Quattrocento in 2018 and for its album El collar de la paloma in 2023 and a finalist for its album Super Lamentationes in 2021, the Premio Carles Santos de la Música Valenciana 2018 for the best heritage recovery album, as well as a finalist for this award in 2019 and 2020. It has received the Premio Menkes from the Sala Russafa for best dance show of 2020 for A Circle in the Water, the Press Award for the best Spanish early music ensemble 2022 and the Medal of Honor of the Consell Valencià de Cultura in 2023. Capella de Ministrers is a member of the Asociación de Grupos Españoles de Música Antigua (GEMA).Its activity has gone beyond the strictly musical, making incursions into the performing arts in collaboration with renowned directors such as Àlex Rigola, Juli Leal, Vicent Genovés, Jaume Martorell and Bigas Luna; with choreographers such as Santiago Sempere, with the Cor de la Generalitat Valenciana, with musicians from other disciplines such as Joan Enric Lluna or Miguel Marín, even with renowned artists from the contemporary scene such as Isabel Muñoz, Eva Lootz or Carmen Calvo. It has recovered the staged version of the unpublished zarzuela La madrileña by Vicente Martín y Soler, the first Spanish Oratorio Sacro, and a historical approach to the interpretation of the drama in two parts for the Fiesta de la Asunción de la Virgen María de Elche.

Their music of the Cant de la Sibil·la is part of the soundtrack of the film Son de mar by Bigas Luna. This work marked the beginning of a professional relationship with the Catalan director, who in 2003, requested Capella’s participation in the adaptation of Valle-Inclán’s Comedias bárbaras, at the closing of the II Biennial of Valencia. The music from their CD A Circle in the Water is part of the soundtrack of the film El cercle en l’aigua directed by Vicent Monsonís and based on the play La Estancia by Chema Cardeña. Institutional support from the Institut Valencià de Cultura of the Generalitat Valenciana and the INAEM of the Ministry of Culture, makes the national and international dissemination of their concerts and discography a reality today. The Universitat de València, for its part, sponsors the research, recovery and dissemination activities of musical heritage carried out by Capella de Ministrers.