Ireneu

Ireneu Segarra Malla

Jesús Segarra Malla

Ivars d'Urgell , 30 de setembre de 1917
Montserrat , 19 de gener de 2005

Composer, Performer i Teacher

Composer, conductor and pedagogue

He studied at the Escolania de Montserrat (1927-1931) with Anselm Ferrer and Àngel Rodamilans. He joined the Benedictine community of Montserrat. Between 1937 and 1939 he settled in Maresdous (Belgium), where he continued his ecclesiastical studies to become monk in Montserrat. He continued his musical education with Josep Barberà, Cristòfor Taltabull and Frank Marshall and, in 1952, with Nadia Boulanger in Paris. In 1941, he became assistant conductor of the escolania of Montserrat and in 1953, he was appointed conductor and Kapellmeister of the monastery. Under his baton the escolania achieved an artistic standing, becoming renowned among children choirs worldwide. He conducted in over a hundred recordings of music by Cererols, Casanoves and Josep Antoni Martí, as well as Monteverdi, Biber, Pergolesi, Mendelssohn or Britten. He mainly composed religious music, with ca. 200 pieces. He is the author of the well-known method of musical pedagogy and La voz del niño cantor (1963)