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Artist
Manuel Espona
3+ albums
catalan18th century
about
A Catalan contemporary of Scarlatti, Manuel Espona (1714-1779) is known now, if at all, as the teacher of Antonio Soler, one of the fathers of Spanish keyboard literature. Melani Mestre’s recording, the only modern album dedicated to this composer, reveals that Espona was a fine composer in his own right. Like Soler, he composed in both sacred and secular genres, but much less of his work has survived. He lived and worked at the famous monastery of Montserrat, having taken holy orders there in 1733. He shared the post of maestro de capilla at the monastery’s renowned choir school (which Soler would in time direct) with Benet Esteve. There are 27 surviving single-movement sonatas for keyboard, which Melani Mestre has edited for publication. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.