Tag: Orchestra

Osvaldo Fresedo 1924 to 1926

During this recording period, the sextet “Orquesta Típica Fresedo,” which later became famous, under the direction of Osvaldo Fresedo on the bandoneon, underwent a personnel and stylistic reorganisation and, with the change from the former record company Victor to Nacional Odeón, also a reorganisation in terms of distribution.

There were certainly some highlights during this period, but income continued to be generated more from sheet music sales than from record sales. The acoustic recording technology using a funnel was simply still too rudimentary for a real music distribution business to be successful.

Cobian 1923 and de Caro 1924 to 1926

In this series of recordings, whose speed has been carefully researched and adjusted to match the era, we present six albums by Juan Carlos Cobian and Julio de Caro from the time before the invention of the electric microphone.

Cobián himself did not record very much. The two albums from 1923 stand alone. Cobián founded this orchestra after leaving Osvaldo Fresedo. Among others, violinist Agesilao Ferrazzano and Luis Petrucelli on bandoneon are featured. Both had also previously played with Fresedo. Pedro Maffia (bandoneon) is also featured. And the second violin is played by none other than Julio De Caro! In this respect, the 1923 OT Cobían can be seen as the direct predecessor of the OT De Caro.

Nine albums dealing exclusively with the early recordings of Osvaldo Fresedo are currently being released. For the first time in more than 100 years, some of his music is been made available for dancing again. In addition, the careful sound processing and adaptation to the speed at which this music was recorded in the 1920s has created a sublime listening and dancing experience.

It all began with the Orquesta Tipica Vicente Loduca in 1917, when a dance orchestra with Fresedo and his bandoneon and Francisco Canaro on violin set the trend for everything that happened later in tango. The Loduca album (see below) contains all the recordings currently known of Fresedo with this orchestra.

After a trip to the New York music scene, Fresedo received a contract with the Victor label in 1922 and began performing with his own orchestra and recording in the studio. There was no electric microphone at the time. Its predecessor was a funnel, which is why it is also referred to as an acoustic recording.

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.