Tomás de Torrejón y Velasco Sánchez (23 December 1644 – 23 April 1728) was a Spanish composer, musician and organist based in

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

, associated with the American

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

Life

Torrejón y Velasco was born in

Villarrobledo Villarrobledo () is a Spanish city and municipality in the province of Albacete, part of the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha. It's better known for having the world's largest area covered by vineyards (more than 30,000 has., approxima ...

and spent his childhood in the town Fuencarral (now a district of

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

), the birthplace of his father, Miguel de Torrejón, a huntsman in

Philip IV of Spain Philip IV ( es, Felipe, pt, Filipe; 8 April 160517 September 1665), also called the Planet King (Spanish: ''Rey Planeta''), was King of Spain from 1621 to his death and (as Philip III) King of Portugal from 1621 to 1640. Philip is remembered f ...

's employ. In 1658, while still in Spain, he entered into the service of Pedro Fernández de Castro y Andrade, Count of Lemos, who later became the

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...

. In 1667, he traveled to Lima along with the new viceroy, as one of the viceroy's 113 personal attendants. From 21 November 1667 until 1672 he was superintendent of the armoury at

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...

. In 1673 he was appointed magistrate and chief justice of Chachapoyas province, a position he held for four years. In 1676 he was appointed '' maestro de capilla'' at the

Cathedral of Lima The Basilica Metropolitan Cathedral of Lima and Primate of Peru, otherwise Lima Metropolitan Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in the Plaza Mayor of downtown Lima, Peru. This third and current Cathedral of Lima was built betwee ...

, replacing

Juan de Araujo Juan de Araujo (1646–1712) was a musician and composer of the Early to Mid Baroque. Araujo was born in Villafranca, Spain. By 1670 he was nominated '' maestro di cappella'' of Lima Cathedral, Peru. In the following years he travelled to ...

. He remained in that position until his death more than fifty years later in 1728. Torrejón was deeply religious, and adhered unconditionally to the ethical and legal framework of his time, as well as the precepts of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Married twice (his first wife died) he had a total of six children, five of whom entered religious orders. He died in Lima. Torrejón's works are some of the most important to the Spanish Baroque movement in the American colonies. Throughout his career as a composer he received wide acclaim; his ''

villancico The ''villancico'' (Spanish, ) or vilancete ( Portuguese, ) was a common poetic and musical form of the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America popular from the late 15th to 18th centuries. Important composers of villancicos were Juan del Encina, Ped ...

s'' were known as far away as

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

, and at both Trujillo and

Cuzco Cusco, often spelled Cuzco (; qu, Qusqu ()), is a city in Southeastern Peru near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region and of the Cusco Province. The city is the seventh most populous in Peru; ...

his opinions were solicited before crucial musical decisions were taken. Fifteen of his original manuscripts are preserved in the historical archives of the Cathedral of Guatemala. He is the author of the first known opera written in America, ''

La púrpura de la rosa ''La púrpura de la rosa'' (''The Blood of the Rose'') is an opera in one act, composed by Tomás de Torrejón y Velasco to a Spanish libretto by Pedro Calderón de la Barca, a great writer of the Spanish Golden Age. It is the first known opera ...

'' (1701). His ''rorro'' (

lullaby A lullaby (), or cradle song, is a soothing song or piece of music that is usually played for (or sung to) children (for adults see music and sleep). The purposes of lullabies vary. In some societies they are used to pass down cultural knowled ...

) was still sung in

many years after his death. Of particular interest are his polychoral compositions for two organs. A second organ was installed in the Lima Cathedral in 1680 and Torrejón y Velasco composed a polychoral ''villancico'' especially for the two organs.

List of works

Opera

* ''

'' (1701)

Other works

(with

basso continuo Basso continuo parts, almost universal in the Baroque era (1600–1750), provided the harmonic structure of the music by supplying a bassline and a chord progression. The phrase is often shortened to continuo, and the instrumentalists playing th ...

unless stated otherwise) * ''A este sol peregrino'', 4vv * ''Aladas gerarquias a quien toca'', 7vv * ''Angelicas milicias'', 12vv * ''A Señor que se acerca'', 4vv * ''Atencion que para hacer en todo cabal la fiesta'', 4vv * ''Aves flores'', 11vv (1683) * ''Ave verum corpus'', 4vv * ''Cantarico que bas a la fuente'', 4vv (1678?) * ''Desta rosa tan bella'', 2vv * ''Desvelado dueño mio'', 8vv * ''Dixit Dominus'', 10vv * ''Enigma soy viviente'', 2vv * ''Es mi Rosa bella'', vv (1679?) * ''Gilguerillo que contas gimiendo'', 2vv * ''Ha de el ver'', 3vv * ''Incognito barquero que surcas'', 1v * ''Lamentation for Wednesday of Holy Week'', 8vv * ''Luzeros volad'', 1–2vv, instruments * ''Magnificat sexti toni'', 12vv * ''Nisi Dominus'', 3vv * ''Quando el bien que adoro'', 2vv * ''Quatro plumages ayrosos'', 4vv * ''Regem cui omnia vivunt'', 8vv * ''Si el alba sonora se cifra en mi voz'', 2vv (1719?) * ''Tenganmele señores'', 4vv * ''Triste caudal de lagrimas'', 2vv * ''Varquero que surcas'', 1v

References

*Stein, Louise K (1992), "Torrejón y Velasco, Tomás de" in ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', ed. Stanley Sadie (London)

External links

* A Video of Torrejón's "A este sol peregrino" on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMUqvi5MwX0 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Torrejon y Velasco, Tomas 1644 births 1728 deaths 17th-century classical composers 18th-century classical composers 18th-century male musicians 18th-century keyboardists Male opera composers Spanish Baroque composers Spanish classical organists Male classical organists Spanish male classical composers Spanish opera composers 17th-century male musicians