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Locus Desperatus / Who we are

The Locus Desperatus mediaeval music ensemble was formed in 2013 after Pepe Luna, Meritxell Genís and Oriol Casadevall met during several projects devoted to this kind of music. Locus Desperatus is a Latin term derived from codicology, the science which studies mediaeval manuscripts.

It literally means “passage without hope”, in other words, a passage unknown to the reader. The aim of Locus Desperatus is to explore unknown sound spaces.

The ensemble works in partnership with various singers and musicians in the realization of its projects. It regularly works with the soprano Anaïs Oliveras, but many other singers have contributed to its projects, including Fernanda Rojo, Irene Mas, Aniol Botines, Marta Garcia Cadena, Thiago Vaz and Eulàlia Fantova, as well as the harpist Louis Capielle.

 


 

Oriol Casadevall

Oriol Casadevall

Oriol has a degree in History and is an early music and jazz double bass player. He began his education in early music on the Early Music course at the Conservatory of Girona and went on to undertake numerous specialist courses throughout Europe, learning from teachers such as Paolo Pandolfo, Claudia Caffagni, Kees Boeke, Amandine Beyer and Sigiswald Kuijken, amongst many others.

He specialises in the interpretation of mediaeval music on the Cerverí de Girona programme at the Conservatory of Girona, and at the Seminario di musica medioevale at the Civica Scuola di Musica di Milano with Claudia Caffagni, as well as on specialist courses, such as La Settimana Musicale del Trecento and the Urbino Musica Antica mediaeval music course. He obtained a Master’s Degree in the performance of Early Music (ESMUC-UAB), during which he completed his final project: The Work of Guillaume de Machaut in the Modena Manuscript, Estense Library, a.M.5.24. In addition, he published the article titled “The Musician Angels, a testimony of musical life in Castellón in the 15th century”, in the Mot so razo journal (2015), devoted to the troubadour way of life and literature.

He has worked with Magister Petrus, a mediaeval music group directed by the musicologist Mauricio Molina, with whom he recorded the album titled Vacillantis. He currently works with a range of early music groups, including the Academy 1750, the Baroque Orchestra of Barcelona, Bach Zum Mitsingen, El Teatre de les Comèdies, the O Vos Omnes Ensemble and El Teatre Instrumental, amongst many others. He is also a member of Locus Desperatus, the mediaeval music group.

Meritxell Genís

Meritxell Genís

Meritxell has a degree in Modern Violin and Humanities and began her education in early music on the Early Music course at the Conservatory of Girona with Alba Roca, Nicholas Robinson and Mauricio Molina. She has also undertaken numerous specialist courses throughout Europe, learning from teachers such as Suzanne Schölz, Amandine Beyer, Barry Sargent, Kees Boeke and Sigiswald Kuijken. She specialises in the interpretation of 12th and 13th-century music on the Cerverí de Girona programme at the Conservatory de Girona.

She has worked with Magister Petrus, a mediaeval music group directed by the musicologist Mauricio Molina, with whom she recorded the album titled Vacillantis. She has been a mediaeval viola teacher on the first international course devoted to the Interpretation of Mediaeval Music in Besalú.

She recently completed a Master’s Degree in the Interpretation of Ancient Music (ESMAE, Porto) with Amandine Beyer and Benjamin Chénier, during which she conducted research into the origins and evolution of string instruments.

She currently works with various early music groups, including El Teatre Instrumental, El Teatre de les Comèdies, the Baroque Orchestra of Barcelona, ​​Bach Zum Mitsingen and the O Vos Omnes Ensemble, and she is a member of the Locus Desperatus group.

Pepe Luna

Pepe Luna

Pepe is a mediaeval historian and a specialist in mediaeval plucked string instruments and eastern lutes. As a performer of ancient music, he forms part of groups like Locus Desperatus and Magister Petrus. He has taught on the international course devoted to Mediaeval Music in Besalú.

Apart from his involvement in mediaeval music, he has played in groups of all kinds, performing everything from traditional music to fusion and jazz. He has worked with Barbod, the Persian classical music group, Neila Benbey, the Algerian singer, Parham Nassehpoor, the Iranian artist, the Balkan music group Los Moussakis and Resonessence, the contemporary music band. He has also performed as a soloist with the Cordes del Món Orchestra of the Musicians' Workshop in Barcelona.

He has worked on recordings and drama and dance productions, as well as with groups conducting historical research into music, including Arqueoescena (UAB). He produced the album titled Vacillantis by Magister Petrus (Enchiriadis, 2012) and he has also given talks at the Institute of Catalan Studies, the IES Abroad, the University of Barcelona and the Complutense University in Madrid. His work on mediaeval music focuses on the painstaking reconstruction of the instruments and lute and citole playing techniques from the Romanesque and Gothic periods. He currently combines interpretation with musical production.