Hespèrion XX
Jordi Savall (born 1941), one of the world's leading players of the viola da gamba, founded the ensemble Hespèrion XX in 1974. Savall's goal -- and that of cofounders Montserrat Figueras, Hopkinson Smith, and Lorenzo Alpert -- was to explore lesser-known repertories of the European Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Baroque periods; their special love has been early Spanish music. The group has toured over five continents and produced well over 50 recordings (many on the Astrée Audivis label). The group's membership changes with the repertory of an individual recording or performance project, and with the particular orchestration envisioned by Savall. The list of early music luminaries who have repeatedly collaborated with Savall on Hespèrion recordings includes not only founders Figueras (soprano) and Smith (plucked strings), but also Pedro Memelsdorff (recorder), Andrew Lawrence-King (harps), Rolf Lislevand (guitar, theorbo, and vihuela), Ton Koopman (harpsichord), Bruce Dickey (cornetto), and Richard Cheetham (sackbut). Often, Hespèrion XX performs early chamber music (such as the fantasias of Henry Purcell) only on a consort of viols; Savall argued famously for performance of J.S. Bach's Die Kunst der Fugue with this orchestration because of the transparence and clarity of the lines. For larger works (such as the Couperin Apothéoses), Hespèrion XX expands its instrumentation and adds singers, such as the Capella Reial de Catalunya or Philippe Herreweghe's Collegium Vocale. In performances of early Spanish music -- from the Cantigas de Santa Maria to the Cancionero de la Columbina and the Cancionero Musicale del Palacio -- the ensemble achieves a distinctly Moorish influence (as had Thomas Binkley and René Clemencic a generation before). In every repertory, Hespèrion XX combines a high level of polish and virtosity with vivid orchestrations and a vibrant sound that cares for the life of each individual tone. Even the vocal style of Hespèrion's singers sometimes mimics the characteristic pulsation of each tone in Savall's viol playing (in their recording of the Morales Requiem, for instance). One eminent musicologist has criticized Hespèrion XX for the romanticism of its sound; the group's dynamic performances, on the other hand, have achieved one of early music's widest and most enthusiastic audiences.
© TiVo
Discography
20 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Altre Follie (1500-1750)
Classical - Released by Alia Vox on 1 Jan 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Diaspora Sefardi : romances & musique instrumentale sépharades
Hespèrion XX, Montserrat Figueras, Jordi Savall
World - Released by Alia Vox on 1 Jan 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ninna Nanna (Berceuses), 1550-2002
Hespèrion XX, Montserrat Figueras
Classical - Released by Alia Vox on 1 Jan 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Orient - Occident - 1200-1700
World - Released by Alia Vox on 1 Jan 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Villancicos y Danzas Criollas. De la Iberia Antigua al Nuevo Mundo (1550-1750)
La Capella Reial de Catalunya, Hespèrion XX, Jordi Savall
Classical - Released by Alia Vox on 1 Jan 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Don Quijote de la Mancha : Romances y Músicas
Montserrat Figueras, Hespèrion XX, La Capella Reial de Catalunya, Jordi Savall
Classical - Released by Alia Vox on 1 Jan 2005
Cannes Classical Music Award16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Anthony Holborne: The Teares Of The Muses 1599
Classical - Released by Alia Vox on 1 May 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Llibre Vermell de Montserrat
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 1 Jan 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jeanne d'Arc : Batailles & Prisons (L’Épopée d’une Visionnaire)
Jordi Savall, Montserrat Figueras
Classical - Released by Alia Vox on 26 Jun 2012
24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
L'Art de la Fugue (Die Kunst der Fuge)
Classical - Released by Alia Vox on 1 Jan 1986
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Isabel I, Reina de Castilla
La Capella Reial de Catalunya, Hespèrion XX, Jordi Savall
Classical - Released by Alia Vox on 1 Jan 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Consort Sets in five & six parts
Classical - Released by Alia Vox on 1 Jan 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Consort Music to the viols in 4, 5 & 6 parts
Classical - Released by Alia Vox on 1 Jan 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Battaglie & Lamenti (1600-1660)
Montserrat Figueras, Hespèrion XX, Jordi Savall
Classical - Released by Alia Vox on 1 Jan 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Batalles, Tientos & Passacalles
Classical - Released by Alia Vox on 1 Jan 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Volume 1 : 1558 - 1603
Classical - Released by Alia Vox on 1 Jan 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Battaglie E Lamenti
Montserrat Figueras, Ton Koopman, Hespèrion XX, Jordi Savall
Classical - Released by Archiv Produktion on 1 Jan 1982
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Harmonie Universelle
Classical - Released by Alia Vox on 1 Jan 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Homenatge al Misteri d'Elx (Hommage au "Mystère d'Elche")
Montserrat Figueras, Hespèrion XX, Jordi Savall
Classical - Released by Alia Vox on 1 Jan 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Entremeses del Siglo de Oro. Lope de Vega et son temps (1550-1650)
Montserrat Figueras, Hespèrion XX, Jordi Savall
Classical - Released by Alia Vox on 1 Jan 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo