Federico Garcia Lorca He left a huge mark on 20th-century music – not only as a poet but also as a passionate promoter of the Andalusian musical tradition. His poetry, full of rhythm and symbolism and motifs such as moonlight, death or gypsy mythology, strongly inspired many composers: Marija Castelnuovo-Tedesca in his cycle of songs for voice and guitar Gypsy romance, as well as numerous others, from Dallapiccola and Poulenc to contemporaries George Crumb and Osvaldo Golijov. Lorca himself was a musician, playing the piano and having a deep knowledge of Flemish, which he performed with the singer La Argentinita, and his arrangements of Andalusian folk songs also survive.

The Iberian Peninsula, since the Renaissance and the polyphony of Cristóbal de Morales, Tomás Luis de Victoria, Duarte Lobo or the Catalan Mateo Fleche, has been the cradle of rich vocal harmonies that have survived in some sources such as the monastery of Santa Maria de Montserrat near Barcelona. It has nurtured the tradition of monastic singing since the 13th century, from Gregorian chant to Renaissance and contemporary music. The contemporary Catalan composer grew up in this tradition Bernat Vivancos (1973), who after studying at Montserrat and piano and composition in Barcelona, ​​went to the Paris Conservatory, and then discovered the music of the Norwegian composer Lasse Thoresen, which had a decisive influence on him. Bernat Vivancos' music is a fusion of different influences; it explores color and harmony, drawing on the modal music of the Western tradition, and exploring spirituality based on inspiration from spectral harmony. The number of ocells is one of the most beloved Catalan folk songs, popularized by the celebrated cellist Pau Casals. This Christmas carol tells the story of the many species of birds that celebrated the birth of the Divine Child with their song. In the composer's words: "This harmonization differs from the more traditional versions that use a neutral modal language that never disrupts the ever-present major melody, surrounded by a constant, uniform aura of sound. The melody, performed by the soloist, gives way to a simple linear pattern for three voices and ends with a fuller, slightly gray atmosphere."

Manuel de Falla (1876–1946) was one of the most important Spanish composers of the 20th century. Educated in Paris, absorbing the musical world of Debussy, Dukas and Ravel, de Falla, under the influence of Albéniz, turned to Spanish sources and drew inspiration from Andalusian folklore and tradition. sing jojo, a special expressive way of singing. He creates a magnificent opus that includes a number of ballet and opera works. Cycle Seven Spanish folk songs (Seven Spanish popular songs) is a collection of folk songs that de Falla adapted for voice and piano in 1914, and later became popular in countless orchestral versions. The songs come from diverse traditions, from Asturias in the north to Murcia in the southeast (Seguidilla) and Aragon in the northeast (Jot). girl is a lullaby, and Polo shirt a song that expresses an uncontrollable desire for revenge on an unfaithful lover. All the lyrics are about love, among which there are quite innocent ones, but also tragic ones, filled with emotion duende – A feeling inherent to Andalusians that is explained as a combination of violent passion, melancholy, darkness and inspiration. A deep love for Andalusian culture connected de Falla and Lorca. They met in Granada in the early 1920s, when one of the most important artistic friendships in Spanish culture began, which resulted in strong mutual artistic influences. The highlight of their collaboration was the festival Deep Singing Competition, which they jointly organized in 1922 to preserve the original Flemish. De Falla's Seven Spanish folk songs it inspired Lorca's later similar collection of piano-accompanied poems.

Catalonia is the second piece from the First Spanish Suite, Op. 47 Isaac Albéniz (1860–1909), a seminal collection for piano composed around 1886 and published in 1887. Isaac Albéniz is a pioneer of the Spanish national style in music. He was the first composer to systematically incorporate elements of flamenco, Andalusian rhythms, guitar figures, and Iberian folklore into concertante music, evoking Spanish landscapes, atmospheres, and culture. His works become a kind of manifesto of Spanish musical identity. He was a virtuoso pianist, and most of his works were originally composed for piano, but many became better known in arrangements for guitar, thus returning to Albéniz's original inspiration. Catalonia, often performed separately at concerts, and very often in arrangements for guitar, actually is corranda (or corral), a folk dance of Catalonia in 6/8 time, whose fast rhythm brings a feeling of lightness and casualness, in contrast to most of the pieces from the same suite.

Mateo Flecha "El Viejo", as he was sometimes called to distinguish him from his nephew of the same name (known as "El Joven"), was a Catalan composer born in the Kingdom of Aragon, a recognized master of the so-called salad, which was published in Prague in 1581 by his aforementioned nephew. Like many composers of the time, he moved frequently, working as a choirmaster at various Spanish courts, in the service of nobles and even Charles V, teaching music to the Infantas Maria and Joanna. Most of his works are preserved in the collection Uppsala Songbook, one of the most important documents of Spanish Renaissance music, published in Venice in 1556. He was best known for his salads, or compositions for four or five voices, often composed from several songs and often sung in different languages ​​(hence the name itself). salad – salad), which were intended for court entertainment. One of the preserved and The bomb which, like the others printed in the collection from 1581, has a Christmas theme. It is built according to a typical Flecha scheme, introducing the theme of disaster with lots of crying, wailing, fear and despair, which opens up possibilities for musical abundance. Then a ray of hope appears and finally salvation is found in the form of the birth of Jesus Christ, after which everyone celebrates and dances. In this one ensalada Sailors in the middle of a stormy sea are looking for a way to lighten the ship because it looks like it will soon sink. They call out to each other, and one soul laments because he cannot swim. They pray to the Virgin and promise pilgrimages. Then another ship appears on the horizon, everyone is saved and sings praises. One of them, Gil Piçarra, takes out his guitar, everyone celebrates the calm, and a joyful song and dance ensues.

Cordoba, Op. 232, no. 4 Isaac Albéniz is a lyric piece, often associated with Spanish Suite, Op. 47, although it originally belongs to the piano cycle Songs of Spain from 1898. The composition conveys the Moorish heritage of the city, evoking the Andalusian musical tradition and inspiration from the city's magnificent cathedral, a former mosque (Mezquita). In Miguel Llobet's guitar transcription, the work has become one of the fundamental compositions of the guitarist's repertoire, and among the more recent transcriptions, the one by the esteemed guitarist Manuel Barrueco stands out.

Italian composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895–1968) first visited Granada at the age of 18 as a gifted music student, and met Manuel de Falla a few years later, with whom he began a close friendship. De Falla was a strong musical influence for the younger composer, and in 1932 in Venice he also met the guitarist Andrés Segovia, who would commission a large number of works from Castelnuovo-Tedesco. Castelnuovo-Tedesco was descended from Sephardic Jews expelled from Spain many centuries earlier, and Spanish melos would become an important component of his composition. He would also reconnect with Granada, where he had lived in his youth. This would be in the cycle Gypsy romance, written in 1951 based on the poetry of Federico García Lorca, who was born in Granada. The texts do not come from Lorca's collection of the same name, but from the collection Cante Jondo Poem from 1921, in which Lorca draws on the influences flamenco. Castelnuovo-Tedesco writes: “I found the original text absolutely fascinating; fresh, free, full of fantasy – just what I needed! These songs took me back, in my memory, to the Spain I saw in 1913 and loved so much; although Spanish memories appear in my music at every turn. And everywhere, that ‘feel’ of the land of Spain… dry Castile, pale olive trees, the scent of the orange trees in Andalusia – and, along the coast, the sea lapping the shore, with vibrations, almost… like a guitar!”

Zrinka Matić

After a long period of searching, singers thirsting for honest musicianship of the highest standard gathered in OVERVIEW Antiphonus around his artistic director Tomislav Fačini. Since the ensemble's founding in 2006, Fačini has led them through a wide variety of programs, bringing their voices together and encouraging them to excel as soloists. Nurturing a sound that strives to achieve a blend of the full Eastern European vocal sound tradition and Western balanced purity, Antiphonus builds a wide repertoire, from Gregorian choral, through new works, as well as crossover, to specially commissioned compositions. Faccini often invites instrumentalists and vocal soloists to join the main vocal ensemble, allowing Antiphonus to flourish in programmatic and sonic quality. Their concerts are visited by the widest circle of audiences.

A special focus on contemporary music inspires Antiphonus to premiere works by the most prominent Croatian authors. They have also given the first contemporary performances of newly discovered old works dug up from dusty libraries. Antiphonus regularly performs at major Croatian festivals, including the Dubrovnik Summer Festival, Korkyra Baroque, Osor Music Evenings, Zagreb Music Biennale, Split Summer and Varaždin Baroque Evenings. Their performance was crowned by the Gala Concert on the occasion of Croatia's accession to the EU, and they represented Croatia at the national festival in Paris Croatia, here it is, followed by tours in Finland, Hungary, Slovenia and Serbia. Antiphonus also performed with renowned soloists Renata Pokupić, Max Emmanuel Cenčić and the Croatian Baroque Ensemble in Brussels at Bozar at a concert marking the start of Croatia's presidency of the Council of Europe in January 2020.

Antiphonus often records for Croatian Radio and Television, and their album Croatian six hundred works In your arms was nominated for a national discography award. Its quality has certainly won a special place in the hearts and collections of music lovers. Antiphonus productions and Purcell concerts Dido and Aeneas, Bach The Passion of John, Cavalieri's works Representatione di Anima, et di Corpo and Monteverdi's Vespers of the Blessed Virgin They have performed at all major Croatian festivals and in many cities. Antiphonus holds its two annual concert cycles in Zagreb: Triads, with chamber vocal music, madrigals and baroque opera, and Trinity, which represents the sacred a cappella and oratorio concerts. Cycle Trinity was awarded the prestigious Milko Trnina Award. Antiphonus also won the Judith Award of the Split Summer Festival for a concert of works by Monteverdi and his contemporaries entitled Sweet and elegant love.

Tomislav Fačini (1975, Zagreb) studied conducting at the Academy of Music in Zagreb, the Hans Swarowsky Academy in Milan and the Hochschule für Musik in Karlsruhe. He is a laureate of the Antonio Pedrotti Conducting Competition in Trento, winner of the Milka Trnina, Jurica Murai and Judita awards and recognitions. He was the chief conductor of the Oratorio Choir of St. Mark's Church, the Armed Forces Orchestra, the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra, the musical director of the Musical Evenings in St. Donatus and the music advisor for two terms of the Dubrovnik Summer Festival. He is currently the chief conductor of the Croatian Radio and Television Choir, which in the past two terms has recorded an exceptionally active discography, presence at all relevant festivals and guest appearances throughout Croatia, in addition to its two cycles: Blurred stitch i Canconier.

He is the artistic director of the Antiphonus ensemble, which has been performing in its cycles for fifteen seasons. Triads i Trinity, as well as on numerous guest appearances, presents the audience with music spanning almost a thousand years. They emphasize the iconic opuses of Monteverdi's madrigals, Bach's motets, masses, cantatas and passions, Franco-Flemish, German and Venetian masters, with special attention paid to early and contemporary Croatian music.

His dedication to Croatian music of all periods has resulted in a fruitful and award-winning discography: he has recorded albums with HRT ensembles. Hear the voice. (music by Vinko Jelić), Heaven and earth Tomaso Cecchini, choral compositions and solo songs by Vatroslav Lisinski, Croatian Mass i Praise Boris Papandopoulou, Listening (contemporary Croatian choral music), Stabat Mater Srećko Bradić, Canconier i a cappella compositions by Igor Kuljerić, Passion Berislav Šipuš and an author's album of variations of Croatian Christmas carols Peace, gold, incenseHe recorded an album with the Antiphonus ensemble. In your arms (Croatian music) seicent) of the Mixtape dedicated to the most recent compositions by Croatian authors, and a special place is given to the first Croatian edition of Sorkočević's symphonies according to the autograph and with historical instrumentation.

Professionally, he lives in a constant, gentle connection with the theatre space, where he has staged several premieres: Handel's Agrippina, Purcell's Dido, Cavalieri Representation, Charpentier's opera-divertimenta, Mozart's Così fan tutte, Rossini's and Paisiello's The Barber of Seville, Verdi Traviata, Bizet Carmen, Puccini's Triptych and indispensable Zrinjski Ivan pl. Zajc, with excursions into the world of ballet (Coppélia, Strauss Cinderella, Giselle and Khachaturian Spartak). He is a full professor at the Academy of Music in Zagreb, where he teaches conducting, choral conducting, chamber music for singers and scores, and conducts various vocal-instrumental, operatic and other performances. He was a guest lecturer and led projects at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and at the University of Houston. In addition to conducting, he deals with composing, instrumentation and arranging.

Petrit ceku His sensitivity and expressiveness captivate audiences around the world. He has given numerous recitals and performed as a soloist with renowned orchestras, including the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Calgary Philharmonic, the Czech Chamber Philharmonic, the Daejeon Philharmonic, the State Hermitage Orchestra in St. Petersburg, the Pannonian Philharmonic, and the Zagreb Philharmonic. He frequently collaborates with the Zagreb Soloists, and is also the founder of the Guitar Trio Elogio and the Croatian Guitar Quartet. Press (Calgary Herald) celebrated him as “a player who plays with incredible ease, with a powerful and penetrating sound”. Çeku has won numerous international guitar competitions, taking home prestigious first prizes at the Parkening (Malibu, USA), Schadt (Allentown, USA), Biasini (Bologna, Italy) and Pittaluga (Alessandria, Italy) competitions. In 2018, he was the only classical musician to participate in the tour Night of the Proms with the Antwerp Philharmonic, conducted by Alexandre Arrieche, sharing the stage with pop icons Bryan Ferry, Milo, Seal and Suzanne Vega.

Known for his commitment to musical collaboration, Çeku has performed chamber music with esteemed artists, including violinists Marc Bouchkov, Guy Braunstein, Boris Brovtsyn, Susanna Yoko Henkel, Stefan Milenković, Linus Roth, and Benjamin Schmid; violists Lise Berthaud, Sara Ferrández, Sindy Mohamed, and Timothy Ridout; cellists Stjepan Hauser, Monika Leskovar, Kajan Pačko, Giovanni Sollim, Kian Soltani, and Luka Šulić; and pianists Angela Hewitt, Aljoš Jurinić, and Markus Schirmer. In addition, he has collaborated with renowned string ensembles such as the Artis-Quartet, Minetti Quartet, Sebastian Quartet, Valo Quartet, and the Zagreb Quartet.

Born in Prizren, Kosovo, Çeku now lives in Zagreb. He studied guitar at the Academy of Music, University of Zagreb with Darko Petrinjak before continuing his education at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, USA, with Manuel Barrueco. After working as a professor at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz, Austria since 2019, Çeku was appointed professor of his own in 2025. alma mater – Academy of Music, University of Zagreb – where he teaches and mentors the next generation of guitarists.

His recordings have been released by BuntArt, Cantus, Croatia Records, EPR Classic, Eudora Records, Granola and Naxos. His album The Cello Suites, which contains Bach's complete works Suite for cello, was nominated for an ICMA award. The filming process was documented in the film Saraband directed by award-winning director Kaltrina Krasniqi. Expanding on this collaboration, Çeku later composed the original score for her feature film Summer Dreams of the Sea, which premiered at the 78th Venice Film Festival.

Petrit Çeku is an exclusive D'Addario artist and plays guitars built by Ross Gutmeier.

Bernat Vivancos The number of ocells

Manuel de Falla Seven Spanish Folk Songs (arrangement for voice and guitar: Darko Petrinjak)

The Moorish cloth (Moorish fabric)

Seguidilla Murcia (Murciana seguidilla)

Asturian (Asturian)

Jot girl (Lullaby)

Song (Song)

Polo shirt

Isaac Albéniz Catalonia from Suite española, op. 47 (arrangement: Manuel Barrueco)

Mateo Flecha The bomb

Isaac Albéniz Córdoba, Op. 232, no. 4 (arrangement: Manuel Barrueco)

Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco Gypsy Romance, Op. 152

Baladilla de los Tres Ríos (A Little Ballad of Three Rivers)

La Guiterra (Guitar)

El Puñal (Dagger)

Procession (Procession)

Step (Step)

Arrow (Song of repentance)

Memento (Memory)

Home (Dance)

Croat (Rattle)