Tarta Relena

Trained in Barcelona in 2016, Tarta Relena brings together Marta Torrella and Helena Ros around a two-voice vocal work that blends a cappella singing, Mediterranean traditions, ancient polyphonies, and a contemporary approach. The Catalan duo initially built itself from repertoires drawn from Crete, Corsica, the Balearic Islands, or Sephardic tradition, approaching them with sober writing, drones, timbral explorations, and a strong sense of repetition. Tarta Relena released Ora Pro Nobis in 2019, followed by the EP Intercede Pro Nobis in 2020, in continuation of this research into music of oral transmission and liturgical forms. With Fiat lux in 2021, their language expands further, between minimalist tension, tight vocal textures and openings toward structures closer to experimental music and contemporary folk. Remixos, published the same year, extends this universe through reinterpretations. In 2024, Tarta Relena presents És pregunta, a record that confirms the duo’s attention to circulations between past and present, sacred and profane, local anchoring and a Mediterranean horizon. Active on contemporary music stages as well as in contexts more linked to vocal heritage, Tarta Relena also gave in 2024 a Tiny Desk for NPR, with repertoire sung notably in Catalan.