Founded by Luis Martínez Pueyo during his stay at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, La Guirlande is one of the most versatile ensembles specialising in historically informed performance of 18th and 19th century music.
Winners of the GEMA 2018 Prize for Best Early Music Young Ensemble in Spain, the second prize in the CREAR18 awards for Young Talents from Aragón, as well as having won first prizes at competitions such as XVIII Biagio-Marini Wettbewerb and the V Concurso Internacional de Música Antigua de Gijón, La Guirlande‘s repertoire is centered in 18th and 19th century music in which the flute plays a fundamental role: from the flute sonata – with obbligato harpsichord or pianoforte, as well as basso continuo – to the solo concert, including all kinds of combinations of chamber music. Furthermore, the use of either original period instruments or their replicas, as well as a thorough historical research on performance practice from a variety of treatises and sources, mark La Guirlande’s main purpose: to achieve a performance of the repertoire as near to the original idea of each composer as possible.
La Guirlande is formed by renowned musicians, both nationally and internationally, in the field of historically informed performance. They have studied in some of the most important European schools for early music (Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris, Koninklijk Conservatorium den Haag), and all of them play in renowned ensembles and orchestras, both nationally and internationally. From its foundation, La Guirlande has taken part in festivals such as Freunde Alter Musik Basel, Festival Internacional de Santander, Quincena Musical de San Sebastián, Festival de Música Antigua de Úbeda y Baeza, Festival Internacional de Arte Sacro de la Comunidad de Madrid, Semana de Música Antigua de Álava, Festival de Música Antigua de Peñíscola, Festival de Música Antigua de Casalarreina, Clásicos en Verano de la Comunidad de Madrid, Ciclo de Conciertos de Orgao Vila Nova de Famalicao e Santo Tirso, Navidad Barroca en Boadilla del Monte, MUSAE Música en los Museos Estatales, Academia de Música Antigua de Gijón, Festival de Música Antigua José de Nebra de Calatayud, Festival de Música Museo del Foro Romano de Zaragoza, and Festival EnClaves de la Hoya de Huesca. In addition, La Guirlande organizes the Festival de Música Antigua de Épila.
The ensemble La Guirlande takes its name from one of the god Apollo’s most important symbols, sign of glory and recognition in arts, wisdom and the games.