â€Without memory we cannot have a civilisation,†Jordi Savall has said, “and music is part of that memory.†Thoughtful and idealistic, imaginative and adventurous, Savall is celebrated as a player of the viola da gamba and for leading ensembles such as Hespèrion XX, which he founded with his wife, soprano Montserrat Figueras. He was born in Catalonia in 1941 and has long been fascinated by the many, richly-coloured threads that run through Spanish music. This 11-CD collection, España Eterna, spans some five hundred years, embracing and exploring a diversity of cultures, institutions, composers and performing traditions.