The Festival de Música Antiga dels Pirineus (FeMAP) returns with an 11th edition full of novelties. The cycle, which will run from July 1 to August 23, will flood 38 locations with music, five more than in the last year. A total of 55 concerts have been scheduled to take place in the Catalan, Andorran and Northern Catalonia Pyrenees, a territory that is also increasing its presence, hosting four performances.
On the other hand, the Balearic Islands will be the guest territory of an edition that will open MUSIca ALcheMIca, with the violinist Lina Tur Bonet at the helm, performing La Bellezza in the cathedral of La Seu d'Urgell. The other performances with a Balearic stamp are The Religious Music of Johan Sebastian Bach: The Cantatas, by Acadèmia 1830, and Pace Non Trovo: The Force of Italian Baroque, by the Isla de Menorca Chamber Orchestra, which will be conducted by Dani Espasa.
Another FeMAP novelty is the 'Concerts amb Gust', which will combine live music with a tasting of Pyrenean gastronomy products. “We are a festival that goes beyond music”, defended its director, Josep Maria Dutrèn, yesterday. "We are obsessed with contributing to the development of the territory," he reiterated.
He also stated that they hope to "recover the public and income of 2019", the last year that the FeMAP could be held normally and attracted more than 5,500 attendees. A figure that must be put into perspective, since the total population of the 38 municipalities is 105,000 inhabitants and many of the sold-out concerts are held in small spaces, such as churches.
Dutrèn also confirmed that there is "a strong presence of Catalan artists, at least 50%" among the 21 soloists and musical groups that will participate in this edition. Some of them are Ensemble Alfonsí, which will perform Instruments to praise Santa Maria, with works by Alfonso X, or Ensemble Lisboa 1740, which will close FeMAP 2022 with Missa Regalis, its own co-production together with the Cervera Easter Festival.
