Montserrat Figueras

Montserrat Figueras i García was an outstanding soprano and a leading figure in the performance of a vast vocal repertoire from the Medieval Renaissance and Baroque periods Born in Barcelona into a family of music lovers she studied with Jordi at Albareda and later at the Schola Cantorum Basilensis as well as the Musikakademie in Basel Switzerland From an early age she performed with Enric Gispert and the medieval music ensemble Ars Musicae In 1966 she began studying early vocal techniques from the troubadours to the Baroque developing a highly personal approach directly inspired in the original sources both historical and traditional while remaining independent from postRomantic influences In 1967 she embarked on a personal and artistic partnership with Jordi Savall which was to be singularly fruitful in the couples various musical activities including teaching research and creation She developed an innovative performance style characterized by a close fidelity to the historical sources as well as an extraordinary creative and expressive skill which have influenced the entire historical music movement