Biography

Singer and psaltery player specialized in occidental medieval repertoires (before 1500), I´ve been trained mainly in France, but also in Switzerland, Italy and Spain, by some of the best performers and researchers in the field (Master 2 professionnel "Pratique de la Musique Médiévale" with Katarina Livljanic, Benjamin Bagby, Raphaël Picazos, Isabelle Ragnard... and Master 2 recherche of Musicology at the Université Paris Sorbonne (Paris IV) (2009-2015); visiting student at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, following the courses of Dominique Vellard (2010-2013); four years training on Medieval Counterpoint with Raphaël Picazos at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Départamental de Val Maubuée (2011-2015); periodic interpretation courses with Claudia Caffagni at the Centro di formazione permanente per la musica e le arti del medioevo (Parma, 2005-2007), with Catherine Schroeder, Brigitte Lesne, Catherine Sergent, Lucie Jolivet, Thierry Cornillon, Gérard Geay at the Centre de Musique Médiévale de Paris (2008-2012; 2015), with Lucien Kandel, Marc Busnel, Katarina Livljanic, Susan Rankin, Joško Caleta, Jean-Baptiste Lebigue and Benjamin Bagby at the Fondation Royaumont (2009-2014), with Dominique Vellard, Anne Delafosse, Anne Marie Lablaude et Marie Noël Colette at the Académie de Musique Ancienne du Thoronet (2010-2013)...

I’ve mainly played with the two ensembles I am cofounder of, the Italian-Spanish “Puy de sons d´autrefois” and the French “Ensemble Oiet”, but also in duo with the singer Catherine Schroeder, the multi-instrumentalist Bill Cooley, the harpist Manuel Vilas and I collaborate or have collaborated with other ensembles such as the French “Azalaïs”, "Le jardin des délices" and "Dialogos", the Spanish “Ars Combinatoria” and "Malandança", or the Italian: “La Reverdie” and "La Frottola". I have participated in the French medieval music projects: “Rosace” and “Contrafacta”. I have also sung in theatre pieces (recently in duo with the actor Philippe Borrini and together with the storyteller Carole Visconti) and in contemporary music projects (having premiered Sasha Zamler-Carhart´s oratory “Sponsus”, 2012, and compositions by Arantxa Lorenzo de Reizábal and Jean-Marie Gagez). Since its creation in 2015, I am part of the vocal quartet “Cantaderas” devoted to Spanish traditional music and to specific Early Music repertoires related to it. Recently I’ve founded the project EVOCA (Experimentación de la Vocalidad y la Oralidad del Canto Antiguo), where, together with three other singers, we explore the boundaries of oral tradition, both in monodic and polyphonic chant (this project enjoys nowadays an artistic residency at the Aula de Música of the Universidad de Alcalá de Henares).

Two CDs are already recorded. One in duo with the harpist Manuel Vilas, released on March 2020 by the Dutch label Etcetera-records with the music of the XIIth century troubadour Bernart de Ventadorn: “Chantador de joi d’amor”. The other, with the Cantaderas ensemble with a dialogue between medieval Cantigas de Santa María and Spanish traditional music already alife in the XXth c. “As festas do anno” (to be released in the French label Arion on June 2020).

Since 2011, I have developed a pedagogical activity, giving introduction or specialization courses about interpretation from the manuscripts for adults: A biannual singing course (4 weekends-long sessions) of introduction to the medieval repertoires from their manuscript sources in Casavieja, Spain (2011-2013, and restarted on october 2013); a master-class about the music of Hildegard von Bingen in Cluny, France (May 2013), a singing course about monodic vernacular music imparted together with Anne Delafosse at the Puy-en-Velay, France (July 2013, July 2014, July 2015, October 2016), a 4 sessions' singing course on medieval polyphonic improvisation or "Cantus super Librum" practices (Fundación Lázaro Galdiano, Madrid, November 2014 - April 2015; 2nd edition: October 2015 - February 2016), a week course on gregorian chant (Morella Early Music, 2015, 2016 and 2019), introductory courses to specific medieval repertoires (Centro de Estudios del Románico, Fundación Santa María la Real, 2016-2019), and master-classes at the Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid about Machaut´s and Dufay´s music (March 2014) and at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Lyon, about the earliest western polyphonies. I´ve also started to teach this music to children, both musicians and no musicians (Conservatoire de Vitry-sur-Seine, 2013; Conservatoire de Montbard and Conservatoire de Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, 2015; Fondation Royaumont, 2013-2017; Pueri Cantores della Cappella del Duomo di Udine, July 2013; Fundación Lázaro Galdiano, Madrid, December 2013). I have imparted seminars at different university centres (Université François Rabelais de Tours, France; Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, Complutense and Autónoma Universities in Madrid and Autónoma University of Barcelona, Spain) and other institutions (Colegio de España, Paris; Fundación Entredós, Madrid; Escuela Superior de Canto de Madrid, etc.).

I've recently founded (2016-2017) a new school of Medieval Music and Oral Tradition Music in Madrid: "Escuela de Música Medieval y de Tradición Oral", at the fondation Francisco Giner de los Ríos.

I've also collaborated with Radio Nacional de España, making two eight chapters long radio broadcasts about the voice in Medieval Music: "La voz en la Edad Media" (2016) and Medieval Music in nowadays main european libraries "Música medieval en las bibliotecas de hoy" (2017) , and with the Spanish National Library (Biblioteca Nacional de España), giving small workshops of introduction to Medieval repertoires ("El sonido de los siete sellos"; "Cantar y declamar la obra del rey Sabio (y poeta)"; "Las melodías mudas del canto mozárabe").

Before deciding to totally devote myself to the study and interpretation of the medieval repertoires, in the meantime of my musical studies, I developed a scientific career (grade in Chemistry and PhD in Biophysics).

Background

My background in Music comes from ten years of piano and five years of oboe. I started to study vocal technique specially applied to Early Music with Josie Ryan, in The Hague. I continued with Itzíar Álvarez Arana for six years, in Madrid, and with Dominique Vellard in Basel for three years. Nowadays I work with Anne Delafosse, in Paris. Since I was nine years old I have followed, as a choir participant, Early Music international courses given by Ian Harrison, Andrew Lawrence King, Jan Joost Van Elburg, Robert Hollinworth and Deborah Roberts. Lately I have received specialization lessons of Early Music singing and interpretation in monographic courses with specialists of the field: Nancy Argenta, Jill Feldman, Claudio Cavina, José Hernández.
My background in Medieval Music mainly started with regular courses held in Parma (Italy) at the “Centro di formazione permanente per la musica e le arti del medioevo” by Claudia Caffagni, from the ensemble "La Reverdie". There followed specialization courses and occasional lessons by specialists such as Veronique Daniels, Kees Boëke, Juan Carlos Asensio, Catherine Schroeder, Thierry Cournillon, Brigitte Lesne, Lucien Kandel, Marc Busnel, Gérard Geay, Emmanuel Bonnardot, Susan Rankin, Marie-Noël Colette, etc. Between February 2009 and June 2012 I attended the Master professionnel « Pratique de la Musique Médiévale » at the Sorbonne University (Paris IV) in collaboration with the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris, taught by Benjamin Bagby, Katarina Livljanic, Raphaël Picazos and Isabelle Ragnard among others. In the meantime, I also attended Dominique Vellard´s courses at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel (2010-2013), Raphaël Picazos´ counterpoint class at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Départemental du Val Maubuée in Île de France (2011-2014), some courses at the Centre de Musique Médiévale de Paris and the professional trainings at the Fondation Royaumont of the ensembles Musica Nova (2009-2010) and Dialogos (2011-2014). Also at the Sorbonne University (Paris IV) I coursed a Master 2 recherche in Musicology (finished in 2015), with the music of the trouvères at the North France puys as the final research mémoire's subject.

On 2006 I started to play the psaltery, following the guidance of Claudia Caffagni and Bill Cooley.
I got scholarships and grants from the European Community and the Spanish National Research Centre (CSIC) for my scientific studies, and from the Spanish “Ministerio de Cultura” and the “Fundación Caja Madrid” for my musical studies in Paris, as well as a three years long financial aid from the Sorbonne University to travel to Basel´s lessons. To all these institutions I´m really grateful.