El Afecto Ilustrado

Established in 2012, El Afecto Ilustrado is a Spanish chamber music ensemble that specialises in historically informed interpretations of repertoire composed between the early Baroque and Romantic periods. It performs in a proximate and tangible manner. Exploring unconventional concert formats, the group comprises renowned professionals from Spain and abroad. Its members, active in leading groups in the country, in teaching, or in solo careers, offer a compendium of ideas and perspectives that turn the ensemble's projects into unique and inspiring experiences for the listener. The preparation and performance of El Afecto Ilustrado's projects reveal high levels of interpretive quality, historical precision, and respect for primary sources, the result of a detailed research process in music and history. In addition to tackling European and Ibero-American repertoires, El Afecto Ilustrado is also focused on the revival and dissemination of Iberian musical heritage. With a decade of experience, El Afecto Ilustrado is among the Canary Islands' most experienced and consolidated history-based groups. Additionally, it is a member of GEMA, an association of Spanish early music groups. Marking its 10th year as a group, El Afecto Ilustrado completed its second audio recording, which features a collection of Pieces for string quintets with two violas composed by José Palomino (1753-1810). The recording was released on the Lindoro label, which specialises in early and Baroque music, and includes several previously unrecorded works. The group was honoured with the Audience Award for Best Ancient Music Ensemble in 2024 at the eighth edition of Spain's GEMA Awards, which recognise creativity and innovation in early music. El Afecto Ilustrado was invited to participate in "De Isla en Continente" (2019), an exhibition on José de Viera y Clavijo held at the National Library of Spain, in which it interpreted the melologue "Que me escribe la vida." Likewise, it produced the musical dubbing of the film La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc (1928) by the Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer for the Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival.On the other hand, it has recorded incidental music for notable theatre companies such as Unahoramenos and Delirium Teatro. In 2023, it undertook the musical part of the exhibition Juan de Miranda, la travesía de un artista canario desde el Barroco a la Ilustración (Juan de Miranda, the journey of a Canarian artist from the Baroque to the Enlightenment), organised by the Government of the Canaries, offering concerts in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Madrid. The ensemble joined the 2024 programme Barroco y Barrocos II: tras las aristas culturales de una época (Baroque and Baroques II: uncovering the cultural edges of a period), organised by the Museo del Prado. El Afecto Ilustrado has visited a large number of national stages, such as the Auditorio de Tenerife with Jone Martínez and Hugo Bolívar, the Canary Islands International Music Festival - FIMC, the Early Music Series of the Cathedral of Valencia, the Concert Series of the City of Culture of Galicia-CDC, the concert season of the Philharmonic Society of Vigo, the Bal y Gay Chamber Music Festival of Lugo, the concert season of the Philharmonic Society of Pontevedra,  the Sacred Music Series of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the Chamber Music Festival of La Orotava, the Concerts of the Summer University of the University La Laguna, the Early Music Series of Columbus House in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the Concerts Cycle of the Museum of Fine Arts of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the Concerts Cycle of the Museum of Fine Arts of A Coruña, the Religious Music Festival of the Canaries, the Concerts Cycle of the Royal Canary Academy of Fine Arts (RACBA), etc. Its first violinist and director, Adrián Linares, received the Excellens music award in 2020 from the Canarian Royal Academy of Fine Arts for his work in research, interpretation and dissemination of early music in the Canary Islands.