Soprano Montserrat Figueras dies

Montserrat Figueras, a Spanish soprano whose enchanting voice helped her husband, musician Jordi Savall, resurrect and popularize forgotten European music from the Renaissance and earlier eras, died Nov. 23 at her home in Bellaterra, Spain.

She was 69 and had cancer, according to Alia Vox, the record label the couple founded.

Figueras was Savall's constant partner in his decades-long crusade to revive music that for centuries had been rarely, if ever, performed. Their repertoire, much of which drew from the diverse cultural and religious history of Spain, featured archaic instruments as well as the human voice.

Savall is a virtuoso of the viola da gamba, a string instrument that was popular during the Renaissance. Figueras had a voice that admiring music critics described over the years as "haunting," "crystalline" and "wine-dark."

During their 44-year marriage, Savall and Fig-ueras helped form several early-music ensembles -- most prominently the group originally known as Hesperion XX.

Figueras' performances ranged from centuries-old lullabies to the works of Monteverdi, an Italian composer who wrote some of the first operas in musical history.

Savall once explained how he and his wife approached their performance of centuries-old music.

"We have our own experience and sensitivity," he told the San Jose Mercury News in 2006. But "the way we say 'I love you' has not changed through thousands of years."