Carles Magraner
Encyclopedia
Carles Magraner is a Spanish musician.
(province of Valencia) and studied music at Carcaixent
, the Conservatorio Superior de Valencia (cello
and musicology
), Toulouse and Amsterdam (viola de arco). He is a professor of cello and viola da gamba, though most of his progessional group is done with the group Capella de Ministrers
, which he founded in Valencia in 1987 and of which he is still director.
He attends various seminars on medieval, renaissance and baroque early music
to help train people in Iberian music of the 11th to 18th centuries (Francesc Bonastre, Miguel Querol and his frequent collaborations with Mari Carmen Gómez-Muntané). He performs widely both as a soloist and in several groups and works at several conservatories and music schools. He won the young performers' Prize for Musical Creativity at the University of Valencia in 1988 and 1989, awarded by the Ministry of Culture. He won the civic prize in his birthplace in 2004. He participated in the Martín y Soler Congress in Valencia in 2006 and the early music course at Peñíscola, as well as in the seminar on Francisco Guerrero
at the International University of Andalucía
(2001) and at the course at the Universidad Internacional Menéndez Pelayo in Barcelona, the Centro Ernest Lluch in 2001 and other courses, congresses and seminars. He edited the critical edition of the Zarzuela by Vicente Martín y Soler "La Madrileña" (in collaboration with David Antich), which was a finalist in the Music Prize (Premios de la Música).
He is artistic director of the Orquestra Barroca de Xàtiva
. Outside Valencia, he has collaborated with the Orquesta Barroca Española and been awarded a scholarship by the University of Salamanca
for the formation of that university's Orquesta Barroca. He has also been director of various instrumental and vocal groups, including the Cor de la Generalitat Valenciana and the Millennium viola da gamba quartet. He was a commissioner of the Festival Mare Nostrum at the Centro Cultural La Beneficencia de Valencia, artistic director of the International Early Music Festival "Music, History and Art" in Valencia, of the Early Music Festival in the Palacio del Abad (La Valldigna), and of several early and baroque music circles in the Comunidad Valenciana.
Despite his solo career, he is most notable as the founder and director of the Valencian early and baroque music group Capella de Ministrers, with whom he has recorded more than 35 albums and performed concerts in the most prestigious national and international music festivals. These include "Música en tiempos de Jaime I
", Cancionero de Palacio
, Llibre Vermell and the Requiem of Tomás Luis de Victoria
. It has also broadened into opera and operetta, such as the collaboration with directors such as Àlex Rigola
, Juli Leal, Vicent Genovés, Jaume Martorell and Bigas Luna
on works such as the staged version of the unpublished 'zarzuela
' La Madrileña Vicente Martín y Soler
, the first sacred Spanish oratorio
and the oldest version of the Misteri d'Elx. He has also composed for film, such as his 'Cant de la Sibila', which formed part of the soundtrack for the film Son de mar
directed by Bigas Luna, which was the first of a series of collaborations with Luna which also included participation in a theatrical production of an adaptation of Comedias Bárbaras, for the Second Valencia Biennial. The group's activity in musical training under Magraner's directorship is reflected in an extensive discography.
Life
Carles Magraner was born in AlmussafesAlmussafes
Almussafes is a municipality in the comarca of Ribera Baixa in the Valencian Community, Spain.The town of Almussafes is host for an important factory of the Ford Motor Company....
(province of Valencia) and studied music at Carcaixent
Carcaixent
Carcaixent is a town and municipality in the province of Valencia, eastern Spain, with c. 20,000 inhabitants. Its origins go back to prehistoric Iberian and Roman times, with some remainders in its area. It is located in the Ribera Alta comarca, 40 km south of the provincial capital...
, the Conservatorio Superior de Valencia (cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
and musicology
Musicology
Musicology is the scholarly study of music. The word is used in narrow, broad and intermediate senses. In the narrow sense, musicology is confined to the music history of Western culture...
), Toulouse and Amsterdam (viola de arco). He is a professor of cello and viola da gamba, though most of his progessional group is done with the group Capella de Ministrers
Capella de Ministrers
Capella de Ministrers is an early music group formed in 1987 in Valencia, Spain by its director, the Valencian musicologist Carles Magraner ....
, which he founded in Valencia in 1987 and of which he is still director.
He attends various seminars on medieval, renaissance and baroque 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,...
to help train people in Iberian music of the 11th to 18th centuries (Francesc Bonastre, Miguel Querol and his frequent collaborations with Mari Carmen Gómez-Muntané). He performs widely both as a soloist and in several groups and works at several conservatories and music schools. He won the young performers' Prize for Musical Creativity at the University of Valencia in 1988 and 1989, awarded by the Ministry of Culture. He won the civic prize in his birthplace in 2004. He participated in the Martín y Soler Congress in Valencia in 2006 and the early music course at Peñíscola, as well as in the seminar on Francisco Guerrero
Francisco Guerrero
Francisco Guerrero was a Spanish composer of the Renaissance. He was born and died in Seville.Guerrero's early musical education was with his older brother Pedro. He must have been an astonishing prodigy, for at the age of 17 he was already appointed maestro de capilla at Jaén Cathedral...
at the International University of Andalucía
International University of Andalucía
The International University of Andalucía is a university in Andalucía, set up in 1994 to complete the area's educational system. It offers postgraduate and specialist courses....
(2001) and at the course at the Universidad Internacional Menéndez Pelayo in Barcelona, the Centro Ernest Lluch in 2001 and other courses, congresses and seminars. He edited the critical edition of the Zarzuela by Vicente Martín y Soler "La Madrileña" (in collaboration with David Antich), which was a finalist in the Music Prize (Premios de la Música).
He is artistic director of the Orquestra Barroca de Xàtiva
Xàtiva
Xàtiva is a town in eastern Spain, in the province of Valencia, on the right bank of the river Albaida and at the junction of the Valencia–Murcia and Valencia Albacete railways....
. Outside Valencia, he has collaborated with the Orquesta Barroca Española and been awarded a scholarship by the University of Salamanca
University of Salamanca
The University of Salamanca is a Spanish higher education institution, located in the town of Salamanca, west of Madrid. It was founded in 1134 and given the Royal charter of foundation by King Alfonso IX in 1218. It is the oldest founded university in Spain and the third oldest European...
for the formation of that university's Orquesta Barroca. He has also been director of various instrumental and vocal groups, including the Cor de la Generalitat Valenciana and the Millennium viola da gamba quartet. He was a commissioner of the Festival Mare Nostrum at the Centro Cultural La Beneficencia de Valencia, artistic director of the International Early Music Festival "Music, History and Art" in Valencia, of the Early Music Festival in the Palacio del Abad (La Valldigna), and of several early and baroque music circles in the Comunidad Valenciana.
Despite his solo career, he is most notable as the founder and director of the Valencian early and baroque music group Capella de Ministrers, with whom he has recorded more than 35 albums and performed concerts in the most prestigious national and international music festivals. These include "Música en tiempos de Jaime I
James I of Aragon
James I the Conqueror was the King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276...
", Cancionero de Palacio
Cancionero de Palacio
The Cancionero de Palacio , or Cancionero Musical de Palacio , also known as Cancionero de Barbieri, is a Spanish manuscript of Renaissance music...
, Llibre Vermell and the Requiem of Tomás Luis de Victoria
Tomás Luis de Victoria
Tomás Luis de Victoria, sometimes Italianised as da Vittoria , was the most famous composer of the 16th century in Spain, and one of the most important composers of the Counter-Reformation, along with Giovanni da Palestrina and Orlando di Lasso. Victoria was not only a composer, but also an...
. It has also broadened into opera and operetta, such as the collaboration with directors such as Àlex Rigola
Àlex Rigola
Àlex Rigola is a Spanish theatre director. He has directed the Teatre Lliure since March 2003 as well as the theatre section of the Venice Biennale...
, Juli Leal, Vicent Genovés, Jaume Martorell and Bigas Luna
Bigas Luna
Juan José Bigas Luna is a Spanish film director. He began his professional career in the design world, creating the Estudio Gris with Carlos Riart in 1969. In his earlier exhibitions, at the beginning of the sixties, he showed a great interest in conceptual art and the emerging visual technologies...
on works such as the staged version of the unpublished 'zarzuela
Zarzuela
Zarzuela is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular song, as well as dance...
' La Madrileña Vicente Martín y Soler
Vicente Martín y Soler
Vicente Martín y Soler was a Spanish composer of opera and ballet. Although relatively obscure today, in his own day he was compared favorably with his contemporary, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, as a composer of opera buffa. He has been called the Valencian Mozart.He was born in Valencia and studied...
, the first sacred Spanish oratorio
Oratorio
An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...
and the oldest version of the Misteri d'Elx. He has also composed for film, such as his 'Cant de la Sibila', which formed part of the soundtrack for the film Son de mar
Son de Mar
Son de Mar refers to:*Son de Mar is a Spanish film*Son de Mar is the soundtrack to the Spanish film by the same name....
directed by Bigas Luna, which was the first of a series of collaborations with Luna which also included participation in a theatrical production of an adaptation of Comedias Bárbaras, for the Second Valencia Biennial. The group's activity in musical training under Magraner's directorship is reflected in an extensive discography.