Recent musical activity

• I am cofounder of two ensembles, on which my musical activity is mainly focused, and with which I keep on studying and discovering the medieval repertoire: “Puy de sons d´autrefois” (2007) and “Oiet” (2012).

• In 2015, I cofounded a new and exciting ensemble: Cantaderas, directed by Ana Arnaz, devoted to Spanish traditional music and to specific Early Music repertoires somehow related to it. Cantaderas are: June Telletxea, Anne-Marie Lablaude, Ana Arnaz and myself.

• Very recently, in February 2021, together with three other singers (Ana Arnaz, Èlia Casanova and Amparo Maiques) I created the project: EVOCA (Proyecto de Exploración de la Vocalidad y la Oralidad del Canto Antiguo). Since its birth the project has enjoied the great support of the Alcalá de Henares University’s Aula de Música. Thanks to the artistic residency in this institution all over 2021 the project is growing, despite the sanitary situation. I am very enthusiastic about this new project.

• Collaborations: I perform or have performed with the Spanish ensemble “Ars Combinatoria”, "Malandança" and “Fa super La”, the Italian ensembles: “La Frottola” and “La Reverdie”, and the French ensembles and projects: “Azalaïs”, “Contrafacta”, "Le Jardin des Délices", "La Compagnie Orion", "Dialogos" and “Rosace”.

• I also perform or have performed in duo with the singers: Catherine Schroeder and Élodie Mourot, with the multi-instrumentalist Bill Cooley, and the harpist Manuel Vilas; with the actor Philippe Borrini and with the story teller: Carole Visconti.

• Together with the harpist Manuel Vilas, we have performed and registered a CD with some examples of the musical and poetical work of Bernard de Ventadorn; the resulting CD, released on March 2020, is titled: BERNART DE VENTADORN-CHANTADOR DE JOI D’AMOR (ETCETERA RECORDS). The texts and pronunciation were worked together with the French philologist Geneviève Brunel-Lobrichon, specialist in medieval Occitan. We have also created in 2021 the performance “CXV. La cantiga más larga”, with the advice of the Spanish philologist Ricardo Pichel, specialist in medieval Galician.

• I've also collaborated with the French ensemble Cum Jubilo, assuming the artistic co-direction of one of their recordings, which took place in November 2015 at the Fontevraud Abbey (France).

From the collaboration with the great harpist Manuel Vilas sprang a project about the troubadour Bernart de Ventadorn, which was recently released (2020) by the label Etcetera-records: Bernart de Ventadorn - Chantador de joi d’amor.

Our new project in duo is called: “CXV, la cantiga más larga”, bringing into the stage a 30 strophes Cantiga de Santa Maria (XIIIth c.) that was presented on October 2021 at the BNE (the Spanish National Library) closing the international congress of hispanic medieval studies in honor of Joseph T. Snow: «Contarte he maravillas...». Congreso internacional de estudios medievales hispánicos, and at the Real Academia Galega in December 2021. 

Cantaderas is a new ensemble created by Ana Arnaz in 2015. It is devoted to Spanish traditional music and its relationship with specific Medieval repertoires, and, more generally, with specific Early Music repertoires. It is composed of four singers: Ana Arnaz, Anne-Marie Lablaude, June Telletxea and myself, all of us coming from Early Music singing studies and having all worked with the specialist Dominique Vellard. The premiere took place in the 2016's edition of the Festivoce of Pigna, Corsica. Ever since we've performed in Spain (Ipiés (Huesca), Urueña, Ronda, Baiona, Madrid), France (Sigolsheim, Le Thoronet, Mont St. Michel), Switzerland (Basel, Witterswil), Germany (Naugarten, Dresden, Altfriedland), Poland (Osno Lubuskie)…

Our first CD, “As festas do anno”, recorded on November 2018 at the “Cité de la Voix” (Vézelay, France), was released in 2020 by the French label Arion.

“Oiet”, an ensemble created by Raphaële Soumagnas and myself, resulting from a previous project called “Parchemins et par voies” started in 2010 by a group of students from the Paris-Sorbonne Medieval Music Practice Master. Oiet has been focused on vocal programmes, with variable configurations, being the latest: “Au renouveler du joli temps. Musique vocale des XIIe aux XIVe siècles à voix de femmes“ for three singers, “Veni dilecta mea. L´amour mystique et l´amour humain dans la musique au Moyen Âge“, also for three singers (mixed voices) and "O Mundi lampas, Sainte Marie-Madeleine, une fête au XIIe siècle" for four singers (mixed voices). The ensemble has been in residence at the "Cité de la voix" (Vézelay, Burgundy) on July 2014.

Demo of the ensemble Oiet, registered on July 2014 at the roman Basilica Saint Mary Magdalene of Vézelay (Burgundy) by Elsa Desjardins, from the music label: CORDES ET AMES. Singers: Vincent Pislar, Raphaële Soumagnas, Mathias Spoerry and Paloma Gutiérrez del Arroyo.

Live recording of a concert of the OIET ensemble in trio (Alicia Santos, Raphaële Soumagnes and Paloma Gutiérrez del Arroyo) at the Romanesque church of Asnières-sur-Vègre, Festival de Sablé (France), on May 2016. Recording made by the sound technician Camille Frachet, thanks to the generous support of the art French society: Spedidam.

“Puy de sons d´autrefois”, founded in 2007, approaches sacred and secular music, both vocal and instrumental, of the XIIth, XIIIth and XIVth, creating programmes where some aspect of the epoch is evoked by its music and texts such as: "The Woman in the Middle Ages. Testimony in Music"; "Love, Myth and Symbol in the Reina  Codex"; "Urganda the Unknown . Magic in Medieval Iberia"; "Musical life at the Serenissima in the XIVth and XVth centuries. Francesco Landini & Johannes Ciconia"; "La musique couronnée. Un puy du XIIIe siècle et son councours de trouvères";  "La musica de Guillaume de Machaut nei Codici veneti del XIV e XV secolo", or the pedagogical programmes: “The Legend of the Maiden and the Unicorn”; “From Neums to White Notation. The Evolution of Musical Writing in the Middle Ages”. The ensemble has performed in Spain, France, Portugal and Italy. It is formed by Sara Mancuso, David Alegre, Bill Cooley, Mario Parravicini and myself.