Capella Reial

Concert des Nations

From 1970 onward, he began making solo recordings, bringing to light the most important works for viola da gamba, an accomplishment that won him international critical acclaim as one of the most eminent players of this instrument. An indefatigable re-discoverer of forgotten works, between 1974 and 1989, he founded several different ensembles, allowing him to interpret a very wide repertoire stretching from the Middle Ages to the start of the 19th century. These ensembles include HESPÈRION XX (1974), with soprano Montserrat Figueras, Hopkinson Smith, and Lorenzo Alpert; LA CAPELLA REIAL DE CATALUNYA (1987); and LE CONCERT DES NATIONS (1989). With each of these, he soon became known as a member of the performing vanguard, thanks to his new interpretation concepts, characterised by their musical effervescence combined with rigorous historical accuracy. Their notably busy concert schedule (some 100 concerts per year all over the world) allows them to appear regularly at the principal early music festivals in over 25 countries, and includes performances in Europe, the United States, Latin America, the Middle East, the Far East, Australia, and New Zealand.

Unanimously recognised as one of today's foremost artists specialising in early music, Jordi Savall is by far one of the most versatile musical personalities of his generation. Whether as a violist, or as a director and creator of an unmistakable style, his concerts, teaching activities, and research all place him among the most important craftsmen in the current reappraisal process undergone by historic music. With his fundamental participation in Alain Corneau's film Tous les Matins du Monde (winner of 7 Cesar Awards, among them, the award for best sound track), he has shown that early music need not be an elitist or minority interest, and that it can speak to an increasingly younger and more numerous public. Also Savall's are the sound tracks for the films Jeanne la Pucelle (1993), by Jacques Rivette, El Pájaro de la felicidad (1993) by Pilar Miró, and Marquise (1997), by Vera Belmont - another recent nominee for a Cesar Award (1998).

Throughout his more than 25 years of intense activity, Jordi Savall has received many distinctions. In 1988, he was designated Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture, and in 1990, the Generalitat (Autonomous Government) of Catalonia bestowed him with the Sant Jordi Cross. In 1992, he was named "Musician of the Year" by Le Monde de la Musique, and in 1993, Soliste de l'Année at the 8èmes Victoires de la Musique.

In 1998, Savall received the Gold Medal for Fine Arts by the Spanish Ministry of Culture and the Arts and in 1999 he was made a Member of Honour of Vienna's Konzerthaus. More recently, he received the Jaume I Prize of Honour, and the Université Catholique de Louvain (Belgium) conferred on him the degree of Doctor honoris causa. Many of his more than 100 recordings have also received awards.

In 1998, Jordi Savall created his own recording label, ALIA VOX, which would make it possible for him to have sole editorship of his productions. At present, this new label has recorded eighteen titles, the most recent of which are Musikalisches Opfer and Die Kunst der Fuge by J.S. Bach, Ostinato, a re-edition of Tous les matins du monde, and the opera by Vivaldi and Corselli Farnace.