12 May 2026. On 9 May, to great acclaim from audiences and critics alike, the Espurnes Baroque Festival saw the premiere of La vida es sueño… en música (Life is a Dream… in Music), a rereading of Pedro Calderón de la Barca’s play which, for the first time, combines the original text with music from the Spanish Golden Age.
The play will be performed again at the Almagro International Classical Theatre Festival on 21 and 22 July 2026.
Reviews
12/04/2026. La Vanguardia. Jorge de Persia
The programme grew in intensity, skilfully combining the beauty of these polyphonic pieces with balanced and clear interpretations. It concluded with the 'Sequence' for Easter Sunday, Victimae Paschali Laudes, which remains highly relevant in these times, in addition to its strict meaning. When art is profound, its meaning is sustained by the connection it forges with the viewer, who, without their presence, would not exist.
9/04/2026. El Periódico. Pablo Meléndez-Haddad. Photo by May Zircus
La Grande Chapelle, conducted by Albert Recasens, performed a programme dedicated to one of the greatest figures of pre-Baroque Italian polyphony.
... Recasens did not shy away from imbuing these pieces, which are usually performed without dramatic weight, with expressiveness. This touch of restrained theatricality brought freshness to a programme that the audience rewarded with a standing ovation.
17/02/2026. Crescendo magazine. Andreas Rey.
... Tomás Luis de Victoria composed a closing piece born of silence. It is as though he were enveloping it in a shell to protect and draw it into his innermost being. Rather than shining, the music here glows like a solitary candle in a church.
Music can be many things: fire, but also profound, intimate and pure, as it was during this concert at the Arsenal in Metz.
17/02/2026. Classiquenews.com: Alexandre Pham.
... Albert Recasens and his La Grande Chapelle soloists strike a perfect balance at the crossroads of two centuries. Victoria's music is thus reborn with a balance that makes the meticulous vocal choices more human. The conductor skilfully achieves remarkable vocal characterisation, a foundation of Baroque passions, without ever compromising the solar and circular balance of a Victoria as Apollonian as Bach. The musical stained-glass window that emerges is a sonic feat, captivating with its cohesion and superb attention to detail.
12/02/2026: Opera+. Svatava Barančicová.
...The ensemble offered an extraordinary performance of the highest quality, with every detail executed with focus, coordination and discipline; no one stood out, demonstrating absolute humility and dedication to the purest form of vocal art. We heard heavenly harmonies that lift the mind and soul of the listener. They provide a purifying sensation, quite literally. Victoria's music transports you to transcendental waters; you can let yourself be carried away by waves of delicious chords and harmonies until you reach the liberating calm of the final 'Amen'.