Ensemble Diatessaron (ES)

Elena Martínez de Murguía (viola da gamba)

Rafael Bonavita (theorbo, baroque guitar)

About the artists:

The ensemble, which was set up in 2000 by Elena Martinez de Murguía, Rafael Bonavita and Juan Vega, is blessed with musicians with considerable experience, each with an impressive background in early music and other styles. They have performed in Arnage (France) in 2001, several times at the Ordicia Baroque Music Festival, at Musikaste in Errenteria in 2005, at the Jornada Quijote in Euskaltzaindia in 2005, at Oñate Music Festival in 2006, at San Sebastián Music Fortnight in 2006, at the Navarre Staged Dance Festival in 2006 and many times at the Basque Symphony Orchestra’s Matinées de Miramón, at the Musika-Música Bach is Back festival in Bilbao in 2009, at the wedding anniversary of Louis XIV in Saint Jean de Luz, at the 43th Week of Early Music of Estella where they premiered “Masquerade; Ballet Ridicule pour M. Xerxes”, based in the ballet music of J. B. Lully, at FeMAP “Festival de Música Antiga dels Pirineus” 2012, at Quincena Musical de San Sebastián 2013, and others.

They recorded the music for “Le Basque”, a Baroque music and dance performance that highlights the close links between Baroque theatrical dance and traditional dances. They are planning to fully participate at DONOSTIA 2016 – San Sebastián as European Capital of Culture.

The ENSEMBLE DIATESSARON perform this repertoire on instruments based on historical models, such as François Bodart’s viola da gamba, Maurice Ottiger’s theorbo and Peter Biffin’s guitar.

ELENA MARTINEZ de MURGUIA was born in San Sebastián and came in contact with music already as a child. Her family was a musical one so she became familiar with Renaissance music and soon started to commence classical training in viola. Her interest in early music inspired her to learn viola da gamba with José Vazquez and subsequently she entered the Toulouse Conservatory where she obtained her diploma and furthered her studies with Jaap ter Linden. She founded Ensemble Diatessaron with Rafael Bonavita and Juan Vega and together they have recorded “Le Basque”, which features the music of music and dance performance. She plays a bass viola da gamba, a copy of a French seven strings from M. Collichon, made by François Bodart, Belgium 2003.

Born in Uruguay, Rafael Bonavita is internationally recognized within the realm of early music as one of the most solid and versatile musicians in the field of plucked instruments. Being a strict player of historical philology, Bonavita is nevertheless an innovator in new ways of expression, heterodoxical yet at the same time a close translator of the potential within the oldest strings instruments. His start in classical guitar took place under the Maestro Alvaro Pierri, furthering his studies in old instruments with Hopkinson Smith at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. He carried out intense concert and pedagogical activities collaborating frequently with directors such as Jordi Savall, Rene Jacobs, Marc Minkowski or Gabriel Garrido. As a soloist, Rafael Bonavita has recorded several albums highly praised by the critics as well as by the audience: “Principe delle Muse” and “Sanz-Murcia, Danzas para guitarra barroca”, “Música Moderna”, “Al Compás de la Vihuela” and “Bach-Bonavita”. He plays a Baroque guitar made by Peter Biffin, Australia 1995 and theorbo by Maurice Ottiger, Switzerland 2000.