Montserrat Figueras
Encyclopedia
Montserrat Figueras García (15 March 1942, Barcelona
, Spain – 23 November 2011, Cerdanyola del Vallès
, Spain) was a Catalan soprano
who specialized in early music
.
Figueras was born in Barcelona
, Catalonia
(Spain
), and began studying early singing techniques together with her sister Pilar Figueras in 1966 and developed an approach and technique for singing early music which combined historical fidelity with vitality.
In 1974 she and Jordi Savall
, her husband since 1968, Lorenzo Alpert and Hopkinson Smith
formed Hespèrion XX
, an early music ensemble. Figueras and her husband were members of a newer version of that ensemble, Hespèrion XXI
. They also founded the groups La Capella Reial de Catalunya
and Le Concert des Nations
.
Figueras also performed and recorded regularly as a solo artist. She and her husband performed with their children: daughter Arianna
and son Ferran.
She passed away, surrounded by her family, after a long battle with cancer. The funeral was held at the Monastery of Pedralbes
in Barcelona, Spain.
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, Spain – 23 November 2011, Cerdanyola del Vallès
Cerdanyola del Vallès
Cerdanyola del Vallès is a municipality in the comarca of the Vallès Occidental in Catalonia . It is situated in the on the north side of the Collserola ridge. The town is served by the A-7 and C-58 autopistes, the N-150 road and the RENFE railway commuter lines R4, R7 and railway regional line Ca4...
, Spain) was a Catalan soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
who specialized in early music
Early music
Early music is generally understood as comprising all music from the earliest times up to the Renaissance. However, today this term has come to include "any music for which a historically appropriate style of performance must be reconstructed on the basis of surviving scores, treatises,...
.
Figueras was born in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
(Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
), and began studying early singing techniques together with her sister Pilar Figueras in 1966 and developed an approach and technique for singing early music which combined historical fidelity with vitality.
In 1974 she and Jordi Savall
Jordi Savall
Jordi Savall i Bernadet is a Catalan viol player, conductor and composer. He has been one of the major figures in the field of Western early music since the 1970s, largely responsible for bringing the viol back to life on the stage...
, her husband since 1968, Lorenzo Alpert and Hopkinson Smith
Hopkinson Smith
Hopkinson Smith is an American lutenist.Born in New York, he graduated from Harvard with Honors in Music...
formed Hespèrion XX
Hespèrion XXI
Hespèrion XXI is an international early music ensemble. The group was formed in Basel, Switzerland in 1974 as Hespèrion XX by Spanish musical director Jordi Savall , Montserrat Figueras , Lorenzo Alpert , and Hopkinson Smith...
, an early music ensemble. Figueras and her husband were members of a newer version of that ensemble, Hespèrion XXI
Hespèrion XXI
Hespèrion XXI is an international early music ensemble. The group was formed in Basel, Switzerland in 1974 as Hespèrion XX by Spanish musical director Jordi Savall , Montserrat Figueras , Lorenzo Alpert , and Hopkinson Smith...
. They also founded the groups La Capella Reial de Catalunya
La Capella Reial de Catalunya
La Capella Reial de Catalunya was created in Barcelona in 1987 by its conductor Jordi Savall as a group of soloist singers whose aim is to make the repertoire of Catalan historical music and, by extension, that of Spanish and other music widely known throughout the world...
and Le Concert des Nations
Le Concert des Nations
Le Concert des Nations is an orchestra with period instruments, able to perform the orchestral and symphonic repertoire from the Baroque to Romanticism: 1600 - 1850. The orchestra was created in 1989, the youngest of the groups conducted by the Catalan maestro and viola da gamba virtuoso Jordi Savall...
.
Figueras also performed and recorded regularly as a solo artist. She and her husband performed with their children: daughter Arianna
Arianna Savall
Arianna Savall is a Swiss-born Catalan classical singer, harpist, and composer.She is the daughter of composer and viol player Jordi Savall and the late singer Montserrat Figueras, and the sister of Ferran Savall. She studied voice at the Conservatory of Terrassa with María Dolores Aldea in 1993...
and son Ferran.
She passed away, surrounded by her family, after a long battle with cancer. The funeral was held at the Monastery of Pedralbes
Monastery of Pedralbes
The Monastery of Pedralbes is a Gothic monastery in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It is now a museum, housing collections from Barcelona City's History Museum.-History:...
in Barcelona, Spain.