Biography

La Capella Reial de Catalunya is a vocal ensemble established by Catalonian gambist Jordi Savall for the performance of pre-18th century choral music, largely, but not exclusively, from the Iberian peninsula. The group has performed and recorded extensively with Savall's other groups, Hesperion XXI (formerly Hesperion XX) and Le Concert des Nations. Savall founded La Capella Reial de Catalunya in Barcelona in 1987. Its original name was "La Capella Reial;" the "de Catalunya" was added in 1990 when the choir began to receive support from the Catalonia government. The group was part of a musical growth process for Savall, who had founded Hesperion XX in 1974 and had steadily sought to perform a wider variety of repertory, as well as compositions that were larger in scope. The name means "Royal Chapel Choir of Catalonia," and in its general concept it was intended to represent a court choir of the Renaissance era. With the new group, Savall could perform larger Renaissance and Baroque choral works such as landmark Spanish Renaissance masses by Victoria and Morales, as well as Baroque choral-orchestral pieces including Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610 and Biber's Missa Bruxellensis. La Capella Reial de Catalunya was featured in Savall tours mounted around Europe, North and Central America, the Far East, and Australia. The group has also joined in larger operatic and choral productions, including a production of Monteverdi's Orfeo in Barcelona, often with Savall's Baroque orchestra Le Concert des Nations. La Capella Reial, like other Savall organizations, has been unusually successful as a recording prizewinner, garnering multiple awards from the Académie du Disque Française and other national industry bodies. The ensemble made its recording debut not long after its first live appearance, issuing a pair of masses by Catalan composer Joan Cererols in 1988 on the Astrée/Naïve label . For the first part of its career La Capella Reial recorded for those related labels. Since 2000 it has recorded for Savall's Alia Vox label, often issuing several albums per year. The choir stepped fully into its royal chapel role in 2014 with the release of M.A. Charpentier à la Chapelle Royale de Versailles. In 2018, with Hesperion XXI, the group released Bailar Cantando: Fiesta Mestiza en Peru.