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

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

, associated with the American

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

Life

Torrejón y Velasco was born in Villarrobledo and spent his childhood in the town Fuencarral (now a district of

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

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

Philip IV of Spain Philip IV (, ; 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 for his patronage of the ...

'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 Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

. 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 ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

. 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, replacing Juan de Araujo. He remained in that position until his death more than fifty years later in 1728. Torrejón seems to have been deeply religious, and adhered to the precepts of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

as usual at the times for someone in his position. 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 '' villancicos'' were known as far away as

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

, and at both Trujillo and Cuzco 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'' (1701). His ''rorro'' ( lullaby) was still sung in Cuzco many years after his death. Of particular interest are his polychoral compositions. A second organ was installed in the Lima Cathedral in 1680 and Torrejón y Velasco composed polychoral ''villancicos'' for the inauguration ceremony.

List of works

Opera

* '' La púrpura de la rosa'' (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 jerarquías a quien toca'', 7vv * ''Angélicas milicias'', 12vv * ''Ah Señor, que se acerca'', 4vv * ''Atención que para hacer en todo cabal la fiesta'', 4vv * ''Aves flores'', 11vv (1683) * ''Ave verum corpus'', 4vv, icpl * ''Barquero que surcas'', 1v * ''Cantarico que vas a la fuente'', 4vv (1678?) * ''Cuando el bien que adoro'', 2vv * ''Cuatro plumajes airosos'', 4vv * ''Desta Rosa tan bella'', 2vv * ''Desvelado dueño mío'', 7vv * ''Dixit Dominus'', 10vv * ''Enigma soy viviente'', 2vv * ''Es mi Rosa bella'', vv (1679?) * ''Jilguerillo que cantas gimiendo'', 2vv * ''Ha de el ver'', 3vv * ''Incipit Lamentatio, lamentation for Wednesday of Holy Week'', 7vv * ''Incógnito barquero que surcas'', 1v * ''Luceros volad'', 1–2vv, instruments * ''Magnificat sexti toni'', 12vv * ''Nisi Dominus'', 3vv * ''Regem cui omnia vivunt'', Invitatory for the Office of the Death, 8vv * ''Si el alba sonora'', 2vv (1719) * ''Ténganmele señores'', 4vv * ''Triste caudal de lágrimas'', 2vv

References

*Stevenson, Robert M. (2001), "Torrejón y Velasco, Tomás de" in ''Grove Music Online''

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 Viceroyalty of Peru people 17th-century Spanish classical composers 18th-century Spanish classical composers 18th-century Spanish male musicians Spanish male opera composers Spanish Baroque composers Spanish opera composers 17th-century Spanish male musicians