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treasures to serve and nurture you, but you shall lead the Americas (La púrpura de la rosa) in 1701. His works
Humanity by the hand with gentle, ceaseless, sweet, on this recording fall into two categories. The first five
unmasking love.” Dunphy forgoes modal mixture in pieces are villancicos (with Spanish text) for two to four

this section, setting it as a musical embrace in B major, voice parts and basso continuo. The final four are in
and with a tempo that gradually slows to the piece’s Latin, and include Psalm settings (“Nisi Dominus” and
conclusion. The alternating textures now take on the “Dixit Dominus”), a Lamentation, and a mass for six
character of a rocking, comforting lullaby. The three voices. These pieces feature larger vocal forces: three
voices arrive at the final fermata at different times on to ten voices.
the text “by the hand,” as if they are grasping each One of the hallmarks of Torrejón y Velasco’s style is
other’s hands. his jaunty, dancelike rhythms, which permeate his vil-
“Thus Spake the Mother” is a brilliant embodiment lancicos and the Latin sacred works. Repeated rhyth-
of the many aspects of Mother: powerful, command- mic motifs give cohesion and momentum. Typically,
ing, mysterious, and nurturing. This piece is as accessi- the villancicos alternate between estribillo (refrain) and
ble as it is expressive and has layers of meaning that can coplas (verses), which usually contrast in voicing and
engage treble singers in rehearsal and performance. character. In all the works, textures alternate frequent-
ly between polyphony and declamatory homophony
Angelica Dunsavage, DMA and hearken back to the styles of early Baroque Italian
Artistic Director composers such as Monteverdi.
Phoenix Girls Chorus Ensemble Elyma is a mixed ensemble founded in
Geneva, Switzerland, in 1981 by Argentinian con-
ductor Gabriel Garrido. The focus of the group is the
music of Monteverdi and Baroque composers of the
Americas, and their ensemble typically features four
Record e d to sixteen singers and seven instrumentalists. Perfor-
Recorded
Sound
Sound mance practice dictates that the music can be aug-
mented with a variety of instruments, and Ensemble
Review Elyma makes imaginative choices in this regard, uti-
Review
lizing guitars, organ, flutes, and brass instruments to
support the vocal parts. The recording also features
Coro de Niños de Córdoba, a now-defunct children’s
ensemble based in Argentina. This group joins Ensem-
Tomás de Torrejón y Velasco ble Elyma on six of the nine pieces. The performances
Musique à la Cité des Rois/Music in the City of Kings are riveting and contribute to a thoroughly enjoyable
Musica per le monache di San Vito/Music for the listening experience.
Nuns of San Vito
Coro de Niños Cantores de Córdoba CJ Madsen, DMA
Ensemble Elyma Adjunct Faculty, School of Music
Gabriel Garrido, director Brigham Young University
Phaia Music K617035 (1993; 46:29)

Ensemble Elyma captures the essence of Baroque
composer Tomás de Torrejón y Velasco (1644–1728) in
this outstanding recording. Torrejón y Velasco emigrat-
ed to Peru and was the maestro at Lima Cathedral for
much of his life. He composed the first opera written in

CHORAL JOURNAL November/December 2025 Volume 66 Number 4 67