Miguel Ángel Tallante is awarded the 7th Fernando Rielo International Prize of Sacred Music

On October 25, the Spanish musician Miguel Angel Tallante was awarded the 7th Fernando Rielo International Prize of Sacred Music for his work for choir and orchestra “Ave Ioseph.” The award ceremony took the form of a concert held in the Church of Saint Joseph, in Madrid. The Camerata del Arte and the Koiné Ensemble choir, directed by the maestro Ignacio Yepes, took part.

Given the requirements of the prize, the finalist composers in this edition were only two: Miguel Angel Tallante Pancorbo (1946, Madrid), whose work “Ave Ioseph” won the award, endowed with € 5,000; and Marcos Mato Collazo, (1988, Santiago de Compostela), who, with his work “Dios te salve José” obtained a mention of honor.

In accord with the rules of the prize, both composers have musicalized the text “Ave José”, a prayer composed by Fernando Rielo, the first in its Spanish version and the second in Latin. Both works were written for a mixed choir and a full chamber orchestra and were unpublished. Therefore, their interpretation by the Camerata del Arte and the choir Koiné Ensemble directed by the maestro Ignacio Yepes, was their world premiere.

The Jury was composed of: Ignacio Yepes, composer and conductor, and Chairman of the Prize; Ma Rosa Calvo-Manzano, professor of harp and concert artist; Alfredo Vicent, professor at the Autonomous University of Madrid and concert guitarist; José Antonio Esteban Usano, composer and teacher at the Conservatory of Music of Cuenca; and Mª Victoria Rullán, Director of the Music Section of the Fernando Rielo Foundation, Secretary of the Jury.

For the creator of the Prize, Fernando Rielo: “Sacred music is the mystical feeling of the human spirit that expresses its filial communication with God, invoked in the most majestic harmony that can be produced by the communicative technique of musical language. Good taste, which is the synthesis of truth, goodness and beauty, leads the artist to confess his mystical union with God through talent or musical practice. Sacred music is, for this reason, beyond all vernacular tongues, a truly universal language.”

For this reason, the Fernando Rielo International Prize for Sacred Music aims to promote the composition of new works that reflect the need for transcendent values ​​present in today’s world.

Biographical Profile of Miguel Ángel Tallante (Madrid, 1946)

Miguel Ángel Tallante received his titles from the Royal Conservatory of Madrid in piano, violin and composition. He specialized in chamber music and historical music and ancient instruments, especially the organ and the harpsichord. He is the Director and founder of Pro Mvsica Antiqva of Madrid and has toured Spain and more than twenty countries in Europe and America, obtaining several awards.

He has directed and intervened in many concerts and record work that go from the Middle Ages to the present day, performed for the most part with the group PRO MVSICA ANTIQVA DE MADRID and with LIRICA XVIII. He is a researcher and teacher, and has been professor of History of Spanish Music for more than thirty years for the Universidad Complutense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He has been a member in the juries of prestigious national and international competitions. He has recently offered concerts for the reinauguration of several historical Spanish organs.

He has a wide-ranging production for programs, musical themes and films of Spanish Television (RTVE).