Josep Duran

Josep Duran achieved recognition as one of the leading figures in the introduction of the Italian style into eighteenth-century Spanish music. Born in Cadaqués, he sang in the Chapel at the Palau in Barcelona, where he was awarded a scholarship to study music in Naples. There he studied with Francesco Durante and, after his return to Barcelona in 1756, he became kapellmeister at the Palau. His work coincides with the early classical period and includes a great deal of church music and many oratorios together with other secular works, such as his two operas, first performed in 1760 and 1762.