While there are differing opinions on the origins of the word tango, researchers agree that it was used in America to denote a gathering of the black population for social purposes. Jorge Novati in "Antologia del Tango Rioplatense" traces these meetings to the late eighteenth century in Buenos Aires. Alejo Carpentier in "La Musica en Cuba" mentions that the tangos took place in Cuba as well.
The black population in America adapted European forms for their entertainment and rituals. In this process, the musical and choreographic material they came in contact with was transformed by the addition of rhythmic elements characteristic of African music and dance. These transformations were in turn adopted by the white population, first as an imitation of black culture, and later as established forms. This crucial process was to give origin to various new forms of music and dance throughout America and is a key to the development of the Argentine tango.
One of the most influential genres in the development of the early tango was the Cuban habanera. Acording to historian/writer Alejo Carpentier, the habanera developed in Cuba from the mixture of African rhythmic influences and the French contredanse. The habanera became a sensation and was imported back into Spain, where it was referred to as the tango americano. The habanera arrived to Buenos Aires in the late nineteenth century and became very popular there too. The tango americano came from Spain as part of the zarzuela, a type of light opera, and was a stylized version of the Cuban form.
Musicologist Jorge Novati, who continued the pioneering investigative work of Carlos Vega, points out that the habanera had a popular, lascivious version and another, more decent one, which coexisted in late nineteenth century Buenos Aires. The popular version was danced by the African-American population at their gatherings (tangos). In these meetings the habanera, and other popular forms of the time acquired a rhythmic emphasis that soon spread to the white population, first as mockery and then as imitation. The more acceptable version, meanwhile, was danced in the salons.
By the last decades of the nineteenth century, a distinct dance form of dance had developed, which incorporated the inventions of the Afro-Argentines: the corte and quebrada. The corte refers to a sudden stop in the general walk of the dance. During this stop the dancers would perform different figures that added to a new dance vocabulary. The quebrada was an undulation of the hips, and gave the new dance much of its erotic character. The dance became so popular that it began to influence musicians, who also incorporated rhythmic variations into their music. The music they played was a mixed repertoire of European popular dance forms, such as the mazurka ans schottisch, habaneras, and milongas.
According to Novati, the milonga had a short but decisive existence in Buenos Aires, and is the precursor of the tango criollo or early tango. It was originally a rural poetic form but in the urbanized version it resembled the rhythmic patterns of the habanera and became the key ingredient in the creation of Argentine Tango. Musicians began consolidating their repertoire and the first composers of Spanish-tinged tango-milonga and gaucho-influenced tango-criollo appeared at the end of the 19th century. The musicbecame known outside its seedy places of origin thorugh the repertoire of wind bands and organ grinders, and eventually through piano sheet music.
Two events at the beginning of the twentieth century that were crucial to the development of the tango. The first one shaped the history of music throughout the world: the invention of the phonograph recording. The second one was unique to the tango and gave it its distinct rhythmic and melodic character: the arrival in Buenos Aires of the German concertina-like instrument known as the bandoneon. The bandoneon completed its paradoxical journey from the German church, for which it was invented, to the suburban underworld of Buenos Aires. No reliable documentation exists about how the bandoneon arrived in Buenos Aires, but it is impossible today to imagine the sound of the tango without its languid voice and the rhythmic impulse of its bellows.
In the hands of the first competent performers, the bandoneon defined the characteristic sound of the tango orchestra. In the early groups, the rhythmic support was given to the guitar, while flute and violin played the melody in unison. The bandoneon took over both melodic and rhythmic roles, ultimately replacing the flute and guitar. According to many tango historians the bandoneon's technical difficulty forced orchestras to slow down the tempo of their performances. In addition, there were expressive changes in tango around that time that account for the slowing down. The strong influence of italian inmigrants brought a melancholic character to the music that was missing in the early repertoire. Tango rhythm moved away from the original habanera influence and into a steady four-beat pattern. By the end of the 1910's, the addition of piano and bass to the early tango orchestras was to complete the development of the instrumentation.
Juan "Pacho" Maglio (1880-1934), led a very popular quartet in the first decades of the new century. His quartet, consisting of flute, violin, guitar and bandoneon, recorded prolifically and their interpretations were very popular. Another important musician was pianist Roberto Firpo (1884-1969), who was also one of the first composers of tangos. Firpo studied with pianist Alfredo Bevilacqua (1874-1942), one of the earliest teachers of tango and author of a tango method book. After performing in small groups in different establishments throughout the city, Firpo formed his own orchestra, which would in turn be the launching pad for many other important careers. Other early composers and performers of tangos were the picturesque Angel Villoldo (1868-1919), author of the celebrated El Choclo; Francisco Canaro (1888-1964), composer and bandleader of long and fruitful career; and the "Tigre del Bandoneon"; Eduardo Arolas (1892-1924), himself a very prolific composer. Arolas, Canaro and Firpo, along with Villoldo, Vicente Greco (1888-1924), Rosendo Mendizabal (1868-1913), Agustin Bardi (1884-1941) and Arturo de Bassi (?-1950) created the first popular tangos.
Bandoneonist Eduardo Arolas, who was a member of Firpo’s orchestra from 1913, introduced the use of both hands playing melodic octaves or thirds. He was influential in the development of the instrument, serving as a model for a whole generation of players. He is credited with inventing the arrastre, a technique that consists of striking the notes before the beat and articulating them with the bandoneon's bellows on the downbeat. A self-taught musician, Arolas was a prolific composer as well, and his tangos are played by orchestras even to this day.
While the tango continued to be dance music, it gradually developed an audience that was captivated by its melodic and lyrical richness. Recordings, theaters and cafes gave young musicians a place to develop their style. As more conservatory-trained performers started joining the ranks, the level of musicianship rose. Towards the second decade of the century, the tango had gained popular acceptance. However, it wasn't until the international success of touring performers that the tango was adopted by the greater part of the Argentine people, with a mixture of pride and identification. In certain sector of society, the dance was stripped of its more lasciviuos moves, and the resulting choreography became known as tango liso (plain tango).
By the early 1920's, young composers and instrumentalists began writing and performing in a style that became known as the Guardia Nueva (New Guard). Chief among them were violinist Julio De Caro (1899- 1981), pianists Francisco De Caro (1898-1976) and Juan Carlos Cobian (1896-1953), and bandoneonists Pedro Maffia (1899-1967) and Pedro Laurenz (1902-1972). They also revolutionized the orchestral style, by incorporating arrangements that went beyond the simple doubling of the melody under a steady-beat accompaniment. Their arrangements paused, breathed, shifted and became rich in orchestrational variations with bridging passages in the piano, melodic coloration by the violins and bandoneones, unaccompanied solos, all sorts of percussive effects and even whistling. The ensembles, which a standardized instrumentation consisting of two violins, two bandoneones, piano and bass, were known as Sexteto Tipico.
The Sexteto Tipico led by pianist Juan Carlos Cobian brought together some of the most important musicians of the time. The first bandoneon was Pedro Maffia, second violin was Julio De Caro, and the bass player was Humberto Costanzo (?-1947), individuals who were influential in the development of new techniques for their respective instruments. A conservatory-trained musician, Cobian had worked in Buenos Aires accompanying silent films. He went on to form a trio with Eduardo Arolas and violinist Tito Roccatagliata (1891-1925), and later performed in a group with another prominent bandoneonist, Osvaldo Fresedo (1897-1981). He was also the author of several tangos that incorporated sophisticated harmonies and broad melodies that are sometimes refered to as tango romanza. In 1924, Cobian left Buenos Aires abruptly but the core of his group went on to form the most influential Sexteto Tipico of all times, led by Julio De Caro, with his brother Francisco taking over the piano and most of the arrangement duties.
The 1920's were a very exciting time for Argentina, with a robust economy and an active cultural life. The creative fervor of the times was catalyzed by De Caro, who was at the center of a musical movement of high sophistication. The immediate availability of steady employment for De Caro’s and other orchestras was undoubtedly central to the development of the music. Musicians were employed at cafes, dance halls, as accompaniment for silent pictures, and in parties given by the aristocracy. In addition to their daily performances the musicians rehearsed and recorded continuously. In their recordings one hears a constant flow of ideas, and of striking instrumental effects extending the expressive range of the tango. When comparing the early recordings of De Caro’s sextet with other contemporary recordings, one is struck by the flexibility in the rhythmic treatment and the resourcefulness in the orchestrations: the contrapuntal treatment of the second violin part, the solo passages by the bandoneones or the piano, the virtuosic runs, and the use of embellishments such as mordents, trills and chromaticism. The compositions by the members of the ensemble were of much more complex structure and harmonic and rhythmic sophistication than those of other composers of the time. Tangos such as Mala Junta, Boedo, Flores Negras and Amurado incorporated the group's innovations into a body of work that continues to be performed today.
Bandoneonist Pedro Maffia was driven to the bandoneon after hearing “Pacho” Maglio perform. He adapted the piano methods used at the conservatory to learn bandoneon. After participating in various groups, he decided to play solo, and went on the road throughout the Buenos Aires province. As a soloist he developed his own style and started composing melodies. In one of the small towns that he visited, he was heard by Roberto Firpo, then on tour with his orchestra; Firpo invited him to join his orchestra in1917. Maffia brought into Firpo’s group his own sense of pacing, a slower and heavier rhythm, and a longer legato sound. He was to remain associated with Firpo until 1927, participating in many recordings. In 1923 Maffia was a member of Juan Carlos Cobian’s seminal orchestra, joining De Caro’s sextet the following year. Maffia’s own group was formed in 1926 and it included two important figures in the future development of tango: violinist Elvino Vardaro (1905-1971) and pianist Osvaldo Pugliese (1905-1995).
The slower and languid phrasing that characterized Maffia's playing was to characterize the De Caro sextet's sound, and in turn influence the playing of every major bandoneonist henceforth. He was also the author of the first important method book for the bandoneon and created the first bandoneon chair at the Conservatorio Municipal Manuel De Falla in 1954. Another of De Caro’s bandoneonists, Pedro Laurenz, was a significant contributor to the style, particularly in the strength and volume of his playing. Together, Maffia and Laurenz formed a solid bandoneon section that extended the range of expression of the instrument. Both musiciasn systematized the playing and composiing of variaciones. A variacion is a running sixteenth-note (ie, double-time) passage played in the last section of an arrangement, providing an exhilarating climax to the piece. Maffia and Laurenz's performance of variaciones exhibit a precision in the execution of these difficult passages that would become the standard for all other orchestras.
As a violinist, De Caro contributed to the style with his phrasing, use of portamento, rhythmic effects (such as percussive playing over the wrapping of the strings near the tailpiece) and pizzicato strumming. He and Manlio Francia (1907-?) started the work that Enrique Francini (1916-?), Elvino Vardaro and Alfredo Gobbi (1912-1965) would later develop to new heights. The violin school in the tango is based on nineteenth-century European styles of playing, in great part due to the teaching methods in Argentine conservatories. The role of the piano also evolved within the tango orchestra during the Guardia Nueva. Julio De Caro’s brother Francisco, was an innovative pianist who followed in the footsteps of Cobian, and a prolific composer as well. Both pianists created a style of harmonizing that adapted the instrument to a new function of accopmaniment within the sextet. The piano became the connective tissue between the other sections of the orchestra, supporting the harmonic and rhythmic function, underlying the melodic role of the violins and bandoneons and serving as a bridge in between phrases and during long notes.
The bass players of Julio De Caro’s sextet included Leopoldo Thompson (?-1925), Humberto Costanzo and Enrique Krauss (?-?). Unfortunately, the limited range of the early electrical recordings (the record industry had changed from acoustical to electrical methods around 1925) makes it nearly impossible to discern the bass from within the orchestra. It is clear enough, though, that the bass was a rhythmic support and that it played along with the left hand of the piano. The bow was commonly used to play time as well as being a generator of rhythmic effects. In El Monito and El Espiante, for instance, the bass can be heard doing a descending glissando of strong rhythmic character. Another effect that was created at the time consisted of a percussive use of the bow in combination with a hit on the body of the bass with the left hand.
Julio De Caro's sextet gave birth to what tango historians refer to as the escuela decareana, an innovative style that continued to be influential throughout the century. Many musicians, composers, and bandleaders, molded their style after De Caro's, specially those who considered themselves in the vanguard. In contrast, several band leaders opted for the old fashioned steady-beat tango now known as the Guardia Vieja. The split between vanguard and conservatives was to remain a heated subject for decades.
Alongside the development of the tango as an instrumental form, the tango-song form started gaining popularity in the mid-1920's. Many of the first tangos with lyrics were included in the popular theater form known as sainete. Singers, both male and female, adopted these new songs into their repertoire. They were mostly accopmanied by guitars. Among the most popular singers of the first generation were Carlos Gardel (1890-1935), Ignacio Corsini (1891-1967), Agustin Magaldi (1901-1938) , Azucena Maizani (1902-?), Rosita Quiroga (1901-1984), Mercedes Simone (1904-?) and Libertad Lamarque (1909-1999), all of whom were very popular and recorded prolifically. Gardel was not only to become a legendary performer but was to shape the style of tango singing. He started out performing a repertoire which included several forms of popular music. He found in the tango a perfect vehicle for his tenor voice and his peculiar way of phrasing, incorporating the speech patterns of the porteño, as the people of Buenos Aires are known. In Gardel's style one finds a mixture of quasi-operatic lyricism and a phrasing style that rushes ahead of the accompaniment. He recorded hundreds of songs and created some of the most beautiful renditions of classics such as Volvio Una Noche, El Dia Que Me Quieras, Tomo y Obligo, Madreselva and Mi Buenos Aires Querido. He was to become very popular throughout Latin America by the exposure provided by the new media of radio and film.
The tango had its first crisis in the 1930's. Argentina, after enjoying more than a decade of popular democracy, was victim of the first in a series of military takeovers that would plague its history for much of the twentieth century. In addition, the world-wide Depression robbed the Argentine economy of its export-driven prosperity. The ensuing crisis of morals and economies brought with it a cynicism that was reflected in the lyrics of the time. Enrique Santos Discepolo (1901-1951) was the poet who best represents the era. In tangos such as Cambalache, Infamia, Chorra and many others, his lyrics chronicle an era of disillusion.
The advent of sound in film displaced orchestras from movie houses, and the economic crisis closed down many theaters and other places of entertainment. In addition, Hollywood and jazz competed, for the first time, with the native forms. Some band leaders, most notably Francisco Canaro and Julio de Caro, turned to a style plagued with Hollywood symphonisms, enlarging their orchestras by adding wind instruments in a style that was not well received by tango-lovers.
One of the orchestras that remained active in the 1930’s was a sextet led by two of the most important figures in the history of the tango, violinist Elvino Vardaro and pianist Osvaldo Pugliese. The group also included players who would later play a prominent role in the development of the style, namely violinist Alfredo Gobbi (1912-1965) and bandoneonists Ciriaco Ortiz (1908-1970) and Anibal Troilo (1914-1975). The Vardaro-Pugliese sextet represented a continuity of the De Caro school. Unfortunately the group never recorded, but it is considered by many musicians have been highly influential ensemble.
Towards the mid-1930's the nascent Argentine film industry and, most importantly, the radio were to provide the incentive for the regeneration of the tango's popularity. A new Golden Era of the tango that continued into the 1940's and early 50's came about through the dance form, which had lost its popularity during the 1920's. The most influential orchestra was led by Juan D'Arienzo (1900-1976), who's sound was in large part given by the influence of its pianist Rodolfo Biagi (1906-1969). Biagi created a quick and steady style which was to become extremely popular with the dancing public from the rising middle class.
Emerging from the worlwide crisis, Argentina once again became a prosperous country, finding its place in the world economy as primarily a food exporter, and also as an emerging industrialized nation. This prosperity gave birth to a large blue collar middle class. By the late 1930's, D'Arienzo's orchestra capitalized on this phenomenon with his simplified and easily accesible style of tango. His orchestra became very popular when it was featured on daily radio broadcasts, expanding its reach beyond the downtown cabarets where they normally played. The radio was very important in the popularity of thango throughout the 1940's, featuring live orchestras daily and organizing events and contests of wide popular appeal.
Many of the old-style tangos were revived, including the compositions of Arolas, Greco, and Firpo. The massive popularity of the tango gave rise to enlarged orchestras, with up to five bandoneones, four violins, piano and bass. Some select groups continued to perform in cafes and cabarets, and recordings were plentiful, mostly on the RCA Victor and EMI lables. The music publishing industry also benefited from the boom, and they churned out sheet music and full orchestra arrangements that circulated among professional and semi professional groups around the country.
One of the characteristics of 1940's tango was the importance paid to the distinctive interpretive style of each major orchestra. Some of the most important orchestras of the time were those led by Anibal Troilo, which distinguished itself through its succesive pianists, the elastic phrasing of the bandoneon section, and the individual style of its singers; by Osvaldo Pugliese, another orchestra rich in soloists, but most importantly with a definite rhythmic style of its own, which would in a way presage the Nuevo Tango of Astor Piazzolla; by Miguel Calo (1907-1972), who led an ensemble of great soloists; and by Carlos Di Sarli (1900-1960), whose simple arrangements left room for his ornamental piano style and was deemed one of the most danceable orchestras.
Osvaldo Pugliese's work represents the continuation of the Julio De Caro style. He started his career during the time when De Caro’s sextet was the center of attraction for most young musicians. Pugliese had worked as a pianist at cafes and silent movie houses, performing with, among others, Pedro Maffia. It was during this early period that he composed Recuerdo (1924), a tango of unusual beauty in its modulating melodic line and that includes a virtuosic variacion at the end. The composition was first recorded by Julio De Caro’s sextet, and Pugliese, who was only 19 when he wrote it, followed De Caro’s arrangement faithfully when he recorded it in 1944. As we have seen Pugliese participated in the formation of the most influential group of early 1930’s: the Pugliese-Vardaro sextet. In the 1930’s he also played in Pedro Laurenz’s orchestra, thus completing a clearly “decarean” schooling.
Pugliese founded his own orchestra in 1939, giving it a distinct rhythmic personality, even to the extent that one could speak of an “apugliesado” way to interpret the tango. This style is synthesized in Pugliese's composition La Yumba. Yumba is a word that Pugliese invented to describe the particular rhythmic approach that he developed for his orchestra (yum-ba, yum-ba) stressing the first and third beats, while the weak beats are played softly with a lone bass note on the piano. Another characteristic of Pugliese’s approach to rhythm is the accentuation of syncopations, and the use of rubato, alternating slow and fast passages. These techniques, as well as the solo passages in the bandoneones, the sharp au talon rhythmic playing and the portamento of the violins, were introduced originally by Julio De Caro’s sextet. At the same time, Pugliese’s orchestra was a favorite among dancers and had a devoted following.
The absence of drums in Argentine tango orchestras is perhaps the most salient feature of the style. The rhythmic role is shared by all the instruments in the orchestra. The bass, sometimes doubled by the left hand of the piano, provides the backbone. The bandoneon, which is played over the players leg, is helped by the up and down motion of the bellows in synch with the leg to provide a beat. The violins participate in creating rhythm with short staccato down-bows. The rhythmic role is also emphasized by off beat syncopations in the different sections of the orchestra, with the piano providing comments and bridges sometimes emphasized by the bandoneones. A middle layer of short patterns, sometimes derived from thematic material, contributes to the composite rhythm. The underlying pulse is what tango musicians refer to as the marcato, the basic four-beat pattern of the tango. Each individual orchestra had a particular way to interpret this pattern, varying the lenght and stress of the strong beats. This was aided by the peculiar characteristics of the bandoneon, which allowed the players to articulate the note first with the keys (on the upbeat) and then with the bellows (on the down beat), an effect known as arrastre. Similarly, the bass slides (portamento) into the first beat and the piano simulates a slide with groups of grace notes (pique). Contrasting with the marcato is a rhythm pattern commonly known as the sincopa. This pattern places emphasis on the upbeats of the fourth and first beat (hence its name: syncopation). The emphasis on the sincopa differed from orchestra to orchestra. The third family of rhythms belongs to those derived from the original tango-milonga and habanera patterns, with emphasis on the upbeat of the second beat.
The 1940's also saw a rise of the tango-song form that was propelled by a new generation of singers, most notably Roberto Goyeneche (1926-1994), Alberto Podesta (1924- ), Francisco Fiorentino (1905-1955), Alberto Castillo (1914- ) and Angel Vargas (1904-1959), to name but a few. Their work was aided by the sophistication of the arrangers, who emerged either from the ranks of the orchestra or as independent musicians who lent their services to the many popular leaders of the time. Some singers even formed their own orchestras for the purposes of recording and performing under their own name. The repertoire was expanded by composers and lyricists who emerged in the 1940's as true poets of the time. Some of the most famous lyricists were Enrique Santos Discepolo, Homero Manzi (1907-1951), Catulo Castillo (1906-1975), Homero Exposito (1918-?) and Enrique Cadicamo (1900-). Their lyrics went beyond the traditional theme of love and dissapointment, creating portraits of life and philosophy. Among the hundreds of titles one must at least mention Uno (Discepolo, with music by Mariano Mores), Sur (Manzi-Troilo), La Ultima Curda (Castillo-Troilo), Malena (Manzi-Demare) and Los Mareados (Cadicamo-Cobian). The most famous songwriters had their works recorded by the major label orchestras almost as soon as they were written.
Some orchestras continued to play mostly for listeners, and while they were not as popular with dancers, their recordings are some of the most intricate and advanced forms of tango. Such is the case of Alfredo Gobbi, who played in an eminently rhtyhmic style but perhaps due to his lack of business acumen, did not gain wide popularity. Another great interpreter was pianist Horacio Salgan (1916- ), whose short-lived orchestra played mostly at cafes for audiences composed of other musicians and tango connoisseurs. Salgan developed a particular rhythmic feeling, which he called “balanceo” (swinging) or “umpa-umpa”. In its most pure form, the umpa-umpa emphasizes the upbeats of the second and third beats of the measure (2 AND 3 AND) and the fourth beat is accented and slides into the first. He recorded tangos from the Guardia Vieja, such as those by Agustin Bardi (Gallo Ciego), Vicente Greco (Ojos Negros), Eduardo Arolas (El Marne) as well as classics from the Guardia Nueva: De Caro’s Mala Junta, Boedo and Tierra Querida, Pugliese’s Recuerdo and Cobian’s Los Mareados. His own compositions demonstrated his complex approach to the phrasing and rhythmic subdivision of the pulse, as in the case of his masterpieces Don Agustin Bardi and La Llamo Silbando.
Salgan formed his own orchestra in 1944. From the beginning his intention was to perform in his own style regardless of the prevailing trend towards the danceable rhythms, at the risk of losing work and popularity. After working at various radios and tea rooms (confiterias), Salgan dissolved his orchestra in 1947, unable to secure a recording contract. For a number of years, he mainly studied and taught music, until he reformed his group and recorded its original repertoire in 1950. He later formed a duo with guitarist Ubaldo De Lio (1929- ) and the Quinteto Real. Both ensembles continue to perform in Buenos Aires to this day. Salgan's orchestrations highlight the virtuosity of the piano and are full of special effects and chromaticism, all within a context of strong syncopated rhythms. Salgan utilizes the violin effect known as lija, produced by playing on the string wrapping adjacent to the tailpiece, in rhythmic patterns that add to the characteristic swing of his orchestra. The influence of jazz is felt in the bass, which is played pizzicato during most of the piece, in conjunction with the left hand of the piano and in some instances reinforced by a bass clarinet. Salgan uses a syncopated pattern consisting of a strong accent on the upbeat of the fourth beat and another softer note on the upbeat of the first beat, leaving the downbeat of the measure empty. These characteristics add up to a unique style within the development of the tango although Salgan is a direct musical descendant of Julio De Caro.
The apogee of the tango in the 1940's took place during the rise of Juan Domingo Peron. Peron rode on the prosperity of the early part of the decade and used the country's richness to propel his populist government. His social policy favored the rising blue collar middle class and helped this wide part of the population to become prosperous, which in turn helped fuel the boom of the entertainment industry. In addition to the increase in musical activity, the film and radio industries grew enormously during this period. However, by the beginning of the 1950's the economy could not sustain the lifestyle that Argentines had become accustomed to and the Peronist regime started to crumble. By the time Peron was deposed in 1955, Argentina was in a deep economic crisis that in turn affected the tango by closing up the many venues where it had thrived. In addition, popular taste shifted towards other genres, most notably folkloric music which reflected the background of most Argentines outside of Buenos Aires and those who had migrated to the city. The big record companies and their Argentine subsidiaries had shifted their production to the popular rock music from the United States and its local imitations. Tango orchestras were disbanded and the dance craze subsided. Most groups were reduced in number and the tango moved to night clubs and other places where the focus was on shows geared towards a passive audience.
In this new, reduced environment, the tango song became the most important part of the genre. Many of the pieces that had been written in the previous decade were reinterpreted in a style that, free from the tyranny of the dance beat, allowed for an expressive palette that included out-of-tempo passages and plenty of indulgence on the singer's part. This was a tango style that relished the melodic and created pauses and capricious phrasing that would have been unacceptable to the dancing public. While the tango continued to exist in the city, its most important legacy from the late 1950's and 60's is in the recordings. The major orchestras continued to perform ocassionally, but most bandleaders formed smaller gropus, sextets or quartets, more suitable for the night clubs where they found work.
Astor Piazzolla’s music represents the most important evolution in the last fifty years of development of the tango style. Piazzolla’s creative genius led him to a musical style that, while deeply influenced by De Caro, Pugliese and Troilo, incorporated elements from jazz and classical composers such as Bach, Stravinsky and Bartok. As ayoungster, Piazzolla lived in New York for many years, and it was there that he first picked up the bandoneon and he started his musical studies. Upon returning to Argentina in the mid-1930’s, he was exposed through the radio and recordings to the music of Julio De Caro, Pedro Maffia and Elvino Vardaro. In the late 1930’s, he became a member of Anibal Troilo’s orchestra while continuing his composition studies under the supervision of Alberto Ginastera. After five years as bandoneonist and arranger in Troilo’s orchestra, he formed his own orchestra and accompanied singers Aldo Campoamor (?-1968) and Francisco Fiorentino. During the early 1950’s he worked mostly as an arranger for Troilo, Calo and Francini-Pontier; his first compositions are from this period. In Preparense, Triunfal, Contratiempo and Contrabajeando, one detects the influence that De Caro, Cobian, Bardi and Arolas on his approach to tango rhtyhm and orchestration. The pieces have strong rhythmic themes, contrasted with a second theme of melodic characteristics, played at a slower tempo. He also composed for chamber and symphonic ensembles, which led to his obtaining a scholarship from the Paris Conservatory to study with Nadia Boulanger. When he returned to Buenos Aires and formed a string ensemble to accompany his bandoneon featuring violinist Elvino Vardaro. Vardaro was one of a handful of violinists who developed a tango school of violin playing, derived from De Caro’s work as an instrumentalist and incorporating aspects of romantic technique. Piazzolla’s bandoneon playing at the time was formidable; his phrasing and speed, as well as his choice of notes, distinguished him from his contemporaries. He also formed an octet, with which he developed his revolutionary style. The orchestration was based on the Sexteto Tipico, and adding a cello and an electric guitar. The formation was inspired by the modern jazz orchestras that Piazzolla had heard while in France, and represents a break with what he perceived to be the prevailing monotony in traditional tango orchestration and arrangements. The octet recorded original compositions by its members, a tango by Salgan (A Fuego Lento), and older tangos by Arolas (El Marne) Cobian (Los Mareados) and Rosendo Mendizabal (El Entrerriano), all of them treated in a modern conception incorporating jazz improvisation and scoring techniques, as well as techniques derived from Bach (fugue and pedal points) Bartok (quartal harmony), Ravel (orchestrational resources) and Stravinsky (extended and juxtaposed harmonies). Piazzolla expanded the formal aspects of the tango by developing thematic material through modulations and solos.
Between 1958 and 1960, Piazzolla lived in New York, where he arranged and recorded, experimenting with a fusion of jazz and tango. Upon his return he formed the first of his quintets, composed of bandoneon, violin, electric guitar, piano and bass. It was through this formation that Piazzolla would mark a new era in the evolution of the tango style. Piazzolla’s prolific compositional output constitutes a body of work comparable to that of any major composer. His pieces continued the trend that he had started in the previous decade and developed with the octet, namely extended forms, with contrasting rhythmic sections and adagio cantabiles, in addition to remarkable fugues built on tango themes. Pieces such as Adios Nonino, Decarisimo, Verano Porteño, Buenos Aires, Hora Cero and Fugata are examples of a new type of tango. Many conservative musicians and critics refused to identify Piazzolla’s music with the evolution of the style that started with Julio De Caro, and consequently the label “Music of Buenos Aires” (rather than tango) has been used to describe it. In addition, Piazzolla was the victim of deep hostility that highlights dramatically how seriously the tango is regarded in Argentina. However, the fact that Piazzolla’s music was so advanced in relation to that of his contemporaries by no means separates it from the style from which it evolved. Rather, his contribution represents a new phase as distinct as the Guardia Nueva was from its predecessors, confirmed by the wide influence that it has had on all tango musicians ever since it came into being. Every major tango musician since then has inevitably been touched in one way or another by Piazzolla’s music. Such is the case of major artists such as Leopoldo Federico (1927- ), Rodolfo Mederos (1940- ) and Anibal Binelli (1946- )
One could argue that the tango as a creative force died in the late 1960's, and what has followed, except for the astounding contribution of Piazzolla, is a continuation of a once thriving style. The popularity of Argentine Tango touring shows, such as Tango Argentino and Forever Tango, has helped acquaint the European and North American public with the music and dance of Buenos Aires in the 1940's and 50's. The dancing has become stylized and adapted to the stage, but the success of these shows helped develop new aficionados for the tango as a social dance. The music, both in the shows and in social dances, harks back to classic 40's and 50's styles, with a little of Piazzolla's music included in the mix. In turn, the popularity of tango dancing in North America and Europe has resonated with the Argentine public, and porteños are once again enjoying a revival of tango as a dance. This revival has not been reflected in music, since most dancers prefer to use old recordings and few orchestras play strictly for dancing, favoring a more contemporary, Piazzolla-influenced sound.
One musical tendency that is showing some promise of creative renewal is the preoccupation of some tango musicians with incorporating improvisation and jazz into their arrangements. Musicians and bands such as Pablo Ziegler (who worked with Astor Piazzolla's quintet for most of the 1980's), Raul Jaurena (a Uruguayan bandoneonist who leads New York-Buenos Aires Connection), Argentine saxophonist Hugo Retamosa and the Argentine jazz pianist Adrian Iaies, have created stimulating works that point in a new direction while retaining the flavor of tango. In an era of globalized access to culture, it is inevitable that many hybrids of tango with other genres will emerge, and Argentine musicians have to juggle the need to master the essence of the traditional interpretations while keeping the form open to other influences.
copyright 2002-Pablo Aslan
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