Capella Sancta Maria

Sound in the Silence
The role of female monasteries in the creation and performance of a wide repertoire for women is still one of the least studied areas in the history of Spanish music. With the rise of mercantilism in the 16th century, the status of Spanish women worsened, as evidenced by, for instance, "La perfecta casada" by Fray Luis de León. Women were understood to have, in addition to domestic and reproductive tasks, an important additional responsibility: the deffence of their honour, which they could not maintain alone.

Therefore, for widowed or single women, the convent was the only alternative option. However, the truth is that paying the dowry required by the convent was not feasible for all families. As a result, there was an abnormally high representation of women from the upper and middle classes in women’s convents. Nevertheless, there was a requirement that could replace the payment of the dowry: musical knowledge.

Our program, which includes Gregorian Chant, polyphony and solo´s, by composers like Vaquedano, Galán, Beana and Morales, among others, has already been performed during the festival Espazos Sonoros (Santiago de Compostela, Spain 2023) and Via Musica (Emmeloord, The Netherlands 2024) 

Enrique López-Cortón (La Coruña, Spain, 1969) has established a reputation in The Netherlands as a specialist in Renaissance and early baroque music. With Capella Sancta Maria he has focussed on the Spanish masters in general, and Cristobal de Morales in particular. He also conducts major choral and orchestral works, ranging from 18th-century classics like Bach's St. John Passion and Mozart's Requiem to more modern pieces such as Elgar's The Music Makers and Takemitsu's My Way of Life. After studying conducting in Barcelona under Manuel Cabero and Mireia Barrera, he moved to The Netherlands in 1999 to study choral conducting at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam with Jos Vermunt and Jos van Veldhoven, and later, orchestral conducting with Jurjen Hempel. He also studied singing with Xenia Meijer and Claron McFadden. In Tilburg, he was a student of Dr. Rebecca Stewart in her Early Polyphony and Gregorian Chant program. More recently, he has founded Reïna Lupa, en ensemble specialized on the Italian seicento.