The Cor Francesc Valls comprises between eight and twelve regular professional singers and was founded in November 2003 to participate regularly in conventual masses in Barcelona Cathedral. The choir takes its name from the chapel choir master Francesc Valls (1671-1747), one of the most important figures in Baroque music in the Iberian Peninsula.
The repertoire of the choir combines timeless religious polyphonic pieces and unpublished works from the archives, which are reintroduced in liturgy as part of a repertoire of motets that varies each week. The most notable example of this process is the Cant de la Sibil·la, for which 16th century liturgy and costumes were reconstructed and the original 15th century score was used.
The Cor Francesc Valls, under its principal conductor Pere Lluís Biosca, also sings in international masses at the Basilica of the Sagrada Família, and has developed a specific sacred music repertoire for choir and organ, ranging from Baroque to modern.
Performance highlights include the opera Hangman, Hangman at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in 2007, the Lent concert at Montserrat in 2013, the choir’s appearance at the Cervera Easter Festival in 2014, the Cant de la Sibil·la at the Duomo in Milan, and Handel’s Messiah at the Sagrada Família in 2015. The choir has also performed Llibre Vermell de Montserrat at the Rudolstadt Festival (Thuringia), Purcell’s opera Dido and Aeneas at the Teatre Principal de Maó, and Mozart’s Requiem with the Camera Musicae Orchestra. The choir regularly takes part in major national festivals.
Noteworthy recordings made over recent years include the documentary film El cant de la Sibil·la a la Catedral de Barcelona, 2021 (Marc Castañé – Åkerblom Studio), premiered at the In-Edit Festival; the album El cant de la Sibil·la a la Catedral de Barcelona, 2014 (Columna Música), winner of the 2015 Enderrock Critics Award for best early music album; Mestres de Capella de la Catedral de Barcelona al segle XVII, 2012 (la mà de guido) and Misses i motets by Joan Cererols, 2007 (la mà de guido).
