Tag: Orchestra

Tango is usually danced to recordings that are sometimes more than 100 years old. It crackles and rustles and some people experience a journey back in time to another world while dancing. But did people at that time really hear the music the way we hear it today?

Dedicated sound engineers often went to great lengths to reduce crackling and hissing to a minimum. In doing so, they usually overlooked the fact that many recordings were played at a different speed in the original than the original they had edited. DJ Mark John has dedicated himself to this extremely interesting topic. Based on his research, Danza y Movimiento is publishing a new series in which tangos can be heard as they were heard 100 years ago. And this leads to a new dance experience in which it is possible to immerse yourself even more deeply in the tango.

Why is the speed of many recordings wrong?

Danza y Movimiento is happy to present this new expansion to its catalogue. Compiled by teacher, DJ, and translator Jake Spatz, each of these albums matches a volume in the Librotango series of books—-a bilingual presentation of tango lyrics in singable English translations. Aimed at veteran dancers and newcomers alike, the selections offer a mix of classic dance tunes and lucid renditions by solo singers, highlighting the role of lyrics in the genre.

The books themselves are available internationally through Amazon and other retailers. The translations convey the sense and follow the melody of the originals, and their extensive notes present research on the songs and their authors, detailing the role of stage plays and movies in Golden Age’s “industry of song.” Every book opens with a unique introduction on the themes and images of the tango, and also includes bios of all featured lyricists.

Tango professionals from all over the world present their 22 favorite titles. This is the motto of the latest series on the label of “Danza y Movimiento”. DJs, promoters, teachers and all those who are professionally involved with tango are part of the show.

The first edition of the new series includes 12 albums, compiled by tango DJs and promoters from the USA, Sweden, Great Britain, France, Germany, Holland, Iceland, Czech Republic and Montenegro.

What criteria did the tangueras and tangueros use to make their selection of titles? It is exciting to read what the respective motivation has been to present the recordings the way they can be heard now. Most of the compilations are danceable, but just not all of them.

DJ Biki from Utrecht has been inspired by her tango mentors – every single track is associated with a certain person for her. DJ Bianca Vrcan (La Montenegrina), like most others, had a problem: how to choose 22 works among more than 5000 recordings available for selection? Since she had sorted the database on which the selection was based alphabetically, she only got as far as “D”. So please don’t be surprised if the titles of her compilation all start with “A”, “B”, “C” or “D”.

In this article about the third and fourth album of the miniseries “Con Saludos desde Europa” you get a little insight into the current events of the first decades of the past century, which strongly influenced the lives and formations of the tango musicians on these albums. Family connections within the tango scene and musical developments of individual musicians are mentioned, as well as the author‘s personal assessments of individual titles. The photo shows Rafael Canaro.

The third album presents recordings with Quentin Verdu, the unforgettable Alina De Silva and Auguste Jean Pesenti.

With his interpretation and the fresh arrangements of the Tango classics „Torrente“, „Malena“, „Sur“ (for me the best interpretation ever) and „Cancion desesperada“ Quintin Verdu is a pleasure to listen to and presents the skills of the French singers in an impressive way.

Unfortunately, tango lost its popularity quickly in Europe after the war and with the beginning of the 50s the musicians had to earn their living with other musical styles.

Regarding Alina De Silva: I think all of Argentina would have been willing to adopt her as an Argentinean. But this wonderful Tango singer is Peruvian and eventually died in her home country Lima. In 1925 she came to France together with her husband Alfonse de Silva and his orchestra. They lived there for about 15 years before they returned to their native country.

Well-known and less well-known tango orchestras from the late 20s to the late 40s are presented on a total of four albums entitled „Con Saludos desde Europa“. All titles were recorded in Europe. In addition to orchestras based in Europe, there are others who have only toured Europe for a short time. Some of them have been completely forgotten these days. This article provides background information on the orchestras and the musicians of the four albums. This music is also suitable for DJs when putting together tandas on a milonga.

The first album of the small series includes recordings by the orchestras of Quintin Verdu, Jose M. Lucchesi, Francisco Alongi and Rafael Canaro.

Quintin Verdu was born to Spanish parents in Algeria and came to Paris at the age of 10, where he attended the conservatory. At 21, he met Rafael Canaro and Miguel Orlando, who hired him as a pianist. He went on a European tour with Rafael Canaro until 1935 and later accompanied Tino Rossi, whom he soon left to form his own orchestra.

With their distinctive style, they were very successful until the outbreak of war. He was captured and released in 1941. His orchestra later became the house band of the famous “Olympia” in Paris. There are four tracks on this album that present the distinctive style of this orchestra.

*José Marcos *Lucchesi came to Paris from Brazil as the son of a Corsican family and, following the zeitgeist, also fell in love with the tango in the 1930s. After the war he switched to popular dance music with his works.

*Francisco Alongi *came to France from Tunisia in 1921 and became a pianist for Manuel Pizarro and later for Tano Genaro. He often accompanied the famous tango singer Rosita Barrios. In 1932 he founded his own orchestra.

Rafael Canaro, the little brother of the great Francisco, was also known as Argentina‘s tango ambassador to Europe. The recordings with Luis Scalon are from 1938 and were taken in Paris. Due to the outbreak of war, Rafael Canaro then returned to his native Argentina.