José de Orejón y Aparicio

Composer

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José de Orejón y Aparicio (Huacho 1706?-Lima, May 1765), was a Puruvian composer. He was organist at Lima Cathedral.^[1] He is considered the main composer of the Peruvian Baroque. He was born to Esteban de Orejón and Victoria de Aparicio. He studied in Lima, first with Tomás de Torrejón y Velasco, and then with Roque Ceruti, a Milanese composer brought to Lima by Viceroy Manuel de Oms y Santa Pau. Ceruti was one of the main people responsible for introducing the Italian musical style of the Late Baroque to the viceroyalty. Orejón was also an organist.

Little is known about Orejón's biography. He was ordained a priest and remained in Lima for most of his life. He was the first musician of mixed origin to hold the coveted position of chapelmaster of the Lima Cathedral. He died in Lima on May 7, 1765.

Recordings

"Ya que el sol misterioso", Valentina Alvarez (soprano) Urtext Records
Ah, de la esfera de Apolo : "Ah, de la esfera de Apolo", A del Día, Our Lady of Copacabana Jilguerillo sonoro Tocatta - Al post Comunio Xácara - Según veo el Aparato Dolores y Gozos de San Joseph: Chacona - Giga Musica Temprana. Cobra Records 2017

References

^ Leslie Bethell The Cambridge History of Latin America 0521245168 - 1984 - p 792 "With admirable patriotic fervour, Campo preferred Jose de Orejon y Aparicio (b. Huacho, 1706; d. Lima, May 1765). The most gifted native-born Peruvian composer of the colonial period, Orejon became Lima cathedral's chief organist on 3 3 October 1742 and titular chapel- master on 9 April 1764. The bitter-sweet melancholy of his Sacrament solo cantata, Ya que el sol misterioso, and the sensuous charm of his tiple duet honouring Our Lady of Copacabana, A del dia a de la fiesta distinguish him from other more prosaic native-born South Americans of his century.."