José de Torres

Villancicos 1

These volumes are a compilation of villancicos by José de Torres, organist at the Spanish Royal Chapel since 1687, and later on chapelmaster, from 1720 until his death in 1738. Due to the positions he held at the Royal Chapel, Torres was the main composer of sacred music in the Madrid court during the first decades of the 18th-century, although this shouldn't make us forget that he also brilliantly cultivated the secular genre of cantadas humanas and even of theater music. Despite being almost unknown today, Torres had great prestige among his contemporaries, which meant that his works circulated widely throughout the various Hispanic territories. Many of his villancicos are still preserved in Latin America, especially in Mexico and Guatemala.

Ven, Señor. Al Nacimiento de Nuestro Señor Jesuchristo [1711]

Voices: SSAT (soloists) - SATB choir
Instruments: oboe, trumpet, 2 violins, bc

Más no puedes ser. Al Nacimiento de Nuestro Señor Jesuchristo [1711]

Voices: Solist soprano - SATB choir
Instruments: oboe, 2 violins, bc

Cuando el sol en el ocaso. Villancico de Reyes. Año de 1716

Voices: SSAT (soloists) - SATB choir
Instruments: oboe, 2 violins, bc