Tango is a style of music in
or time that originated among European and African immigrant populations of
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
and
Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
(collectively, the "
Rioplatenses").
It is traditionally played on a solo guitar, guitar duo, or an ensemble, known as the ''
orquesta típica
Orquesta típica, or simply a típica, is a Latin American term for a band which plays popular music. The details vary from country to country. The term tends to be used for groups of medium size (about 8 to 12 musicians) in some well-defined in ...
'', which includes at least two
violin
The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...
s,
flute
The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...
,
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
,
double bass
The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...
, and at least two
bandoneón
The bandoneon (or bandonion, es, bandoneón) is a type of concertina particularly popular in Argentina and Uruguay. It is a typical instrument in most tango ensembles. As with other members of the concertina family, the bandoneon is held bet ...
s. Sometimes guitars and a clarinet join the ensemble. Tango may be purely instrumental or may include a vocalist. Tango music and
dance
Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
have become popular throughout the world.
Origins
Even though present forms of tango developed in Argentina and Uruguay from the mid-19th century, there are records of 19th and early 20th-century tango styles in
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
and Spain,
[José Luis Ortiz Nuevo ''El origen del tango americano'' Madrid and La Habana 1849] while there is a flamenco
tango
Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...
dance that may share a common ancestor in a minuet-style European dance.
[Christine Denniston. ''Couple Dancing and the Beginning of Tango'' 2003]
/ref> All sources stress the influence of African communities and their rhythms, while the instruments and techniques brought in by European immigrants in the 20th century played a major role in the style's final definition, relating it to the salon music
Salon music was a popular music genre in Europe during the 19th century. It was usually written for solo piano in the romantic style, and often performed by the composer at events known as "Salons". Salon compositions are usually fairly short and ...
styles to which tango would contribute back at a later stage.
Angel Villoldo's 1903 tango " El Choclo" was first recorded no later than 1906 in Philadelphia. Villoldo himself recorded it in Paris (possibly in April 1908, with the Orchestre Tzigane du Restaurant du Rat Mort), as there were no recording studios in Argentina at the time.
Early tango was played by immigrants in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
and Montevideo
Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...
. The first generation of tango players from Buenos Aires was called "Guardia Vieja" (the Old Guard). It took time to move into wider circles; in the early 20th century, it was the favorite music of thugs and gangsters
A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and r ...
who visited brothels
A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub pa ...
, in a city with 100,000 more men than women (in 1914). The complex dances that arose from such rich music reflect how the men would practice the dance in groups, demonstrating male sexuality and causing a blending of emotion and aggressiveness. The music was played on portable instruments: flute
The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...
, guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
, and violin
The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...
trios, with bandoneón
The bandoneon (or bandonion, es, bandoneón) is a type of concertina particularly popular in Argentina and Uruguay. It is a typical instrument in most tango ensembles. As with other members of the concertina family, the bandoneon is held bet ...
arriving at the end of the 19th century. The organito, a portable player-organ, broadened the popularity of certain songs. Eduardo Arolas
Eduardo Arolas (February 24, 1892 – September 29, 1924) was an Argentine tango bandoneon player, leader and composer.
Arolas first learned to play the guitar before learning the bandoneon which became his instrument of choice. His nickname w ...
was the major driver of the bandoneón's popularization, with Vicente Greco
Vicente Greco (February 3, 1888 – October 5, 1924) was an Argentinian composer, conductor, and bandoneon player of tango music. He had a significant role in the spread of tango music from the suburbs into the cities, where it became very popular ...
soon standardizing the tango sextet as consisting of piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
, double bass
The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...
, two violins
The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...
, and two bandoneóns.
Like many forms of popular music, tango was associated with the underclass, and attempts were made to restrict its influence. In spite of the scorn, some, like writer Ricardo Güiraldes
Ricardo Güiraldes (13 February 1886 — 8 October 1927)Escuela Normal Superior de Chascomús was an Argentine novelist and poet, one of the most significant Argentine writers of his era, particularly known for his 1926 novel ''Don Segundo Sombra' ...
, were fans. Güiraldes played a part in the international popularization of tango, which had conquered the world by the end of World War I; he wrote the poem "Tango", which describes the music as the "all-absorbing love of a tyrant, jealously guarding his dominion, over women who have surrendered submissively, like obedient beasts".[
One song that would become the most widely known of all tango melodies also dates from this time. The first two sections of " La Cumparsita" were composed as an instrumental march in 1916 by teenaged ]Gerardo Matos Rodríguez
Gerardo Hernán Matos Rodríguez (March 28, 1897 – April 25, 1948), also known as Becho, was a Uruguayan musician, composer and journalist. Becho was not attributed to this Uruguayan musician. The term Becho is given to another Uruguayan violin ...
of Uruguay.
Argentine roots of tango
Besides the global influences mentioned above, early tango was locally influenced by Payada
The ''payada'' is a folk music tradition native to Argentina, Uruguay, southern Brasil, and south Paraguay as part of the ''Gaucho'' culture and literature. In Chile it is called ''paya'' and performed by ''huasos''. It is a performance of impr ...
, the Milonga from Argentine and Uruguay pampas
The Pampas (from the qu, pampa, meaning "plain") are fertile South American low grasslands that cover more than and include the Argentine provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Santa Fe, Entre Ríos, and Córdoba; all of Uruguay; and Brazil ...
, and Uruguayan candombe
''Candombe'' is a style of music and dance that originated in Uruguay among the descendants of liberated African slaves. In 2009, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) inscribed ''candombe'' in its Repre ...
. In Argentina there was Milonga "from the country" since the mid eighteenth century. The first "payador" remembered is Santos Vega
Santos Vega was a mythical Argentine gaucho, and invincible ''payador'' (a kind of minstrel that competed in singing competitions resembling dialectic discussions), who was only defeated by the Devil himself , disguised as the ''payador'' ''Jua ...
. The origins of Milonga seem to be in the pampa with strong African influences, especially though the local candombe (which would be related to its contemporary candombe in Buenos Aires and Montevideo). It is believed that this candombe existed and was practised in Argentina since the first slaves were brought into the country.
Although the word "tango" to describe a music/dance style had been printed as early as 1823 in Havana
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. , Cuba, the first Argentinian written reference is from an 1866 newspaper that quotes the song "La Coqueta" (an Argentine tango
Argentine tango is a musical genre and accompanying social dance originating at the end of the 19th century in the suburbs of Buenos Aires. It typically has a or rhythmic time signature, and two or three parts repeating in patterns such as AB ...
). In 1876, a tango-candombe called "El Merenguengué" became very popular, after its success in the Afro-Argentines' carnival held in February of that year. It is played with harp, violin, and flute, in addition to the Afro-Argentine candombe drums ("Llamador" and "Repicador"). This has been seriously considered one of the strong points of departure for the birth and development of tango.
The first tango "group" was composed of two Afro-Argentine
Afro-Argentines are people in Argentina of primarily Sub-Saharan African descent. The Afro-Argentine population is the result of people being brought over during the transatlantic slave trade during the centuries of Spanish domination in the reg ...
s: "the black" Casimiro Alcorta
Casimiro Alcorta (1840–1913) was a musician of Argentina, considered one of the fathers of tango music. An Afro-Argentine son of slaves, Alcorta was born in Santiago del Estero, Argentina. He became free as a child, and took the name of his o ...
(violin) and "the mulatto" Sinforoso (clarinet). They played small concerts in Buenos Aires from the early 1870s until the early 1890s. Alcorta is the author of "Entrada Prohibida" (Prohibited Entry), sung by the brothers Teisseire. He is also credited with the tango "Concha sucia", which was later adapted and sung by F. Canaro as "Cara sucia" (Dirty Face).
Before the 1900s, the following tangos were being played: "El queco" (anonymous, attributed to clarinetist Lino Galeano in 1885); "Señora casera" (anonymous, 1880); "Andate a la recoleta" (anonymous, 1880);[ "El Porteñito" (by the Spaniard Gabriel Diez in 1880);][ "Tango Nº1" (Jose Machado, 1883); "Dame la lata" (Juan Perez, 1888);][ "Que polvo con tanto viento" (anonymous, 1890);][ "No me tires con la tapa de la olla" (A.A. 1893); and "El Talar" (Prudencio Aragon, 1895). One of the first women to write tango scores was Eloísa D'Herbil. She wrote such pieces as "Y a mí qué" (What Do I Care), "Che no calotiés!" (Hey, No Stealing!), and others, between 1872 and 1885.
The first recorded musical score is "La Canguela" (1889). The first copyrighted tango score is "El entrerriano", released in 1896 and printed in 1898 by ]Rosendo Mendizabal Rosendo is a Spanish male given name. The name comes from St. Rudesind, San Rosendo, in Spanish (907–977) who was Bishop of Iria Flavia at the time of Rodrigo Velázquez. Places named after the saint include San Rosendo, a town in Chile.
The bes ...
, an Afro-Argentine. As for the transition between the old "Tango criollo" (Milonga from the pampas, evolved with touches of Afro-Argentine candombe, and some Habanera), and the tango of the Old Guard, there are the following songs:
* Ángel Villoldo - " El choclo", 1903; "El Pimpolla", 1904; "La Vida del Carretero", 1905; and "El Negro Alegre", 1907
* - "El Tango Patagones", 1905
* Higinio Cazón
Higinio D. Cazón (1866–1914) was an Argentine musician, songwriter and ''payador''.
His he toured throughout the country, but the preferred center of his performances was in Buenos Aires and the people of this province. He published a booklet c ...
- "El Taita", 1905
Moreover, the first tango recorded by an orchestra was "Don Juan", whose author is Ernesto Ponzio. It was recorded by the orchestra of Vicente Greco.
1920s and 1930s, Carlos Gardel
Tango soon gained popularity in Europe, beginning in France. Superstar Carlos Gardel
Carlos Gardel (born Charles Romuald Gardès; 11 December 1890 – 24 June 1935) was a French-born Argentine singer, songwriter, composer and actor, and the most prominent figure in the history of tango. He was one of the most influential inte ...
soon became a sex symbol
A sex symbol or icon is a person or character widely considered sexually attractive.Pam Cook, "The trouble with sex: Diana Dors and the Blonde bombshell phenomenon", In: Bruce Babinigton (ed.), ''British Stars and Stardom: From Alma Taylor to ...
who brought tango to new audiences, especially in the United States, due to his sensual depictions of the dance in film. In the 1920s, tango moved out of the lower-class brothels and became a more respectable form of music and dance. Bandleaders like Roberto Firpo
Roberto Firpo (May 10, 1884June 14, 1969) was an Argentine tango pianist, composer, and leader. Firpo was among the first innovators of the classic tango music genre. He was the establisher of the piano in the tango orchestra.
Firpo was born ...
and Francisco Canaro
Francisco Canaro (November 26, 1888 – December 14, 1964) was a Uruguayan violinist and tango orchestra leader.
Canaro was born in San José de Mayo, Uruguay, in 1888. His parents were Italian immigrants, and later, when he was less than 10 ye ...
dropped the flute and added a double bass
The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...
in its place. Lyrics were still typically macho, blaming women for countless heartaches, and the dance moves were still sexual and aggressive.
Carlos Gardel
Carlos Gardel (born Charles Romuald Gardès; 11 December 1890 – 24 June 1935) was a French-born Argentine singer, songwriter, composer and actor, and the most prominent figure in the history of tango. He was one of the most influential inte ...
became especially associated with the transition from a lower-class "gangster" music to a respectable middle-class dance. He helped develop tango-canción in the 1920s and became one of the most popular tango artists of all time. He was also one of the precursors of the "Golden Age of Tango".
Gardel's death was followed by a division into movements within tango. Evolutionists like Aníbal Troilo
Aníbal Carmelo Troilo (11 July 1914 – 18 May 1975), also known as Pichuco, was an Argentine tango musician.
Troilo was a bandoneon player, composer, arranger, and bandleader in Argentina. His orquesta típica was among the most popular with ...
and Carlos di Sarli Carlos Di Sarli (January 7, 1903January 12, 1960) was an Argentine tango musician, orchestra leader, composer and pianist.
Early years
Carlos di Sarli was born at 511 Buenos Aires street (now Yrigoyen) in the city of Bahía Blanca, located i ...
were opposed to traditionalists like Rodolfo Biagi and Juan d'Arienzo.
Golden Age
The "Golden Age" of tango music and dance is generally agreed to have been the period from about 1935 to 1952, roughly contemporaneous with the big band
A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s an ...
era in the United States. Tango was performed by orquestas típicas, bands often including over a dozen performers.
Some of the many popular and influential orchestras included those of Mariano Mores
Mariano Alberto Martínez (18 February 1918 13 April 2016), known professionally as Mariano Mores, was an Argentine tango composer and pianist.
Biography
Mariano Martínez was born in the San Telmo section of Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1918. ...
, Juan d'Arienzo, Francisco Canaro
Francisco Canaro (November 26, 1888 – December 14, 1964) was a Uruguayan violinist and tango orchestra leader.
Canaro was born in San José de Mayo, Uruguay, in 1888. His parents were Italian immigrants, and later, when he was less than 10 ye ...
, and Aníbal Troilo
Aníbal Carmelo Troilo (11 July 1914 – 18 May 1975), also known as Pichuco, was an Argentine tango musician.
Troilo was a bandoneon player, composer, arranger, and bandleader in Argentina. His orquesta típica was among the most popular with ...
. D'Arienzo was called the "Rey del compás" or "King of the beat", for the insistent, driving rhythm which can be heard on many of his recordings. "El flete" is an excellent example of D'Arienzo's approach. Canaro's early milongas are generally the slowest and easiest to dance to; and for that reason, they are the most frequently played at tango dances ( milongas); "Milonga Sentimental" is a classic example.
Beginning in the Golden Age and continuing afterwards, the orchestras of Osvaldo Pugliese
Osvaldo Pedro Pugliese (Buenos Aires, December 2, 1905 – July 25, 1995, Buenos Aires) was an Argentine tango musician. He developed dramatic arrangements that retained strong elements of the walking beat of salon tango but also heralded the d ...
and Carlos di Sarli Carlos Di Sarli (January 7, 1903January 12, 1960) was an Argentine tango musician, orchestra leader, composer and pianist.
Early years
Carlos di Sarli was born at 511 Buenos Aires street (now Yrigoyen) in the city of Bahía Blanca, located i ...
made many recordings. Di Sarli had a lush, grandiose sound, and emphasized strings and piano over the bandoneón, which is heard in "A la gran muñeca" and "Bahía Blanca
Bahía Blanca (; English: White Bay) is a city in the southwest of the provinces of Argentina, province of Buenos Aires Province, Buenos Aires, Argentina, by the Atlantic Ocean, and is the seat of government of the Bahía Blanca Partido. It had 3 ...
" (the name of his home town).
Pugliese's first recordings were not too different from those of other dance orchestras, but he developed a complex, rich, and sometimes discordant sound, which is heard in his signature pieces "Gallo ciego", "Emancipación", and "La yumba". Pugliese's later music was played for an audience and not intended for dancing, although it is often used for stage choreography for its dramatic potential, and sometimes played late at night at milongas.
Eventually, tango transcended its Latin boundaries as European bands adopted it into their dance repertoires. Non-traditional instruments were often added, such as the accordion (in place of the bandoneon), saxophone, clarinet, ukulele, mandolin, electric organ, etc., as well as lyrics in non-Spanish languages. European tango became a mainstream worldwide dance and popular music style, alongside foxtrot, slow waltz, and rumba. It somewhat diverged from its Argentinian origin and developed characteristic European styles. Famous European band leaders who adopted tango included, to name a few, , Marek Weber, Oskar Joost
Oskar Joost (9 June 1898 – 29 May 1941) was a German musician, who played violin, tenor saxophone and clarinet, as well as directing a dance orchestra.
Biography
Joost was born into a musical family in Wissembourg, Alsace on 9 June 1898. His fa ...
, , Jose Lucchesi, , , Paul Godwin
Paul Godwin (1902–1982) was a violinist and the leader of a popular German dance orchestra in the 1920s and 30s.
Biography
Paul Godwin (b. Pinchas Goldfein) was born on 28 March 1902 in Sosnowitz (Russian Empire; now Poland). Early recordin ...
, Alexander Tsfasman
Alexander Naumovich Tsfasman (russian: Александр Наумович Цфасман; born December 14, 1906 - died February 20, 1971) was a Soviet Jazz pianist, composer, conductor, arranger, publisher and activist. He was an important figu ...
, as well as famous singers Leo Monosson
Leo Monosson (Russian: Лев Исаакович Моносзон, lit. Lev Isaakovich Monoisson) (1897–1967) was a tenor singer born in Moscow, who found fame in Germany in the years 1928-1933. He spoke eleven languages and produced over 1400 ...
, Zarah Leander
Zarah Leander (; 15 March 1907 – 23 June 1981) was a Swedish singer and actress whose greatest success was in Germany between 1936 and 1943, when she was contracted to work for the state-owned Universum Film AG (UFA). Although no exact record ...
, Rudi Schuricke
Rudi Schuricke (born Erhard Rudolf Hans Schuricke; 16 March 1913, Brandenburg an der Havel – 28 December 1973) was a popular German singer and actor. In the 1930s he was Second Tenor with the Kardosch Singers, a popular vocal ensemble of the ...
, Tino Rossi
Constantin "Tino" Rossi (29 April 1907 – 26 September 1983) was a French singer and film actor of Corsican origin.
Born in Ajaccio, Corsica, Rossi was gifted with a voice well suited for opera. He became a tenor in the French cabaret style. ...
, , Mieczysław Fogg
Mieczysław Fogg (born Mieczysław Fogiel; 30 May 1901, Warsaw3 September 1990, Warsaw) was a Polish singer and artist. His popularity started well before World War II and continued well into the 1980s. He had a characteristic way of staying v ...
, Pyotr Leshchenko, and others. The popularity of European tango precipitously declined with the advent of rock-n-roll in the 1950s–60s.
Tango nuevo
The later age of tango has been dominated by Ástor Piazzolla
Astor Pantaleón Piazzolla (, ; March 11, 1921 – July 4, 1992) was an Argentine tango composer, bandoneon player, and arranger. His works revolutionized the traditional tango into a new style termed ''nuevo tango'', incorporating elements from ...
, whose " Adiós nonino" became the most influential work of tango music since Carlos Gardel's " El día que me quieras" was released in 1935. During the 1950s, Piazzolla consciously tried to create a more academic form with new sounds breaking the classic forms of tango, drawing the derision of purists and old-time performers. The 1970s saw Buenos Aires developing a fusion of jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
and tango. Litto Nebbia
Félix Francisco "Litto" Nebbia Corbacho (born 21 July 1948) is an Argentine singer-songwriter, musician and producer prominent in the development of Argentine rock.
Life and work
Félix Francisco Nebbia Corbacho was born in Rosario, Santa Fe t ...
and Siglo XX were especially popular within this movement. In the 1970s and 1980s, the vocal octet Buenos Aires 8 recorded classic tangos in elaborate arrangements, with complex harmonies and jazz influence, and also recorded an album with compositions by Piazzolla.
The so-called post-Piazzolla generation (1980–) includes musicians such as Dino Saluzzi
Timoteo "Dino" Saluzzi (born 20 May 1935) is an Argentinian bandoneon player. He is the son of Cayetano Saluzzi and the father of guitarist José Maria Saluzzi.
Early life, family and education
Timoteo "Dino" Saluzzi was born in Campo Santo, ...
, Rodolfo Mederos
Rodolfo Mederos (born March 25, 1940) is an Argentine bandoneonist, composer and arranger. He lived in Cuba and France; in Argentina, he founded the experimental group Generación Cero.
Early life
Mederos was born in the Constitución neig ...
, Gustavo Beytelmann, and Juan Jose Mosalini. Piazzolla and his followers developed nuevo tango
Nuevo tango is both a form of music in which new elements are incorporated into traditional tango music, and an evolution of tango dance that began to develop in the 1980s.
Dance Origins
Prior to the 1990s, Argentine tango was taught with a didact ...
, a musical genre that incorporated jazz and classical influences into a more experimental style.
In the late 1990s, composer and pianist Fernando Otero
Fernando Otero (born 1 May 1972) is a Grammy-award-winning Argentine pianist, vocalist, and composer.
His first contact with music was receiving vocal lessons from his mother Elsa Marval, an internationally acclaimed singer and actress. He start ...
continued to add elements to the innovation process which had started decades ago, expanding the orchestration and form while including improvisation and atonal aspects in his work.
1990s–2000s tango
In the second half of the 1990s, a new movement of tango composers and tango orchestras playing new songs was born in Buenos Aires. It was mainly influenced by the old orchestra style rather than by Piazzolla’s renewal and experiments with electronic music.
Over the first two decades of the 21st century, the movement has grown with the creation of countless bands playing new tangos. The most prominent figures leading this phenomenon have been the Orquesta Típica Fernandez Fierro, whose creator, Julian Peralta, would later start Astillero and the Orquesta Típica Julián Peralta. Other bands have also become part of the movement, such as Orquesta Rascacielos, Altertango, Ciudad Baigón, as well as singer-songwriters Alfredo "Tape" Rubín, Victoria di Raimondo, Juan Serén, Natalí de Vicenzo, and Pacha González
Pacha González (born in Buenos Aires in 1975) Argentine Tango singer and songwriter
Biography
Pablo “Pacha” González was born in Buenos Aires in 1975. As a teenager, he started playing the piano participating in several projects with dif ...
.
Neotango
Tango development did not stop with tango nuevo
Nuevo tango is both a form of music in which new elements are incorporated into traditional tango music, and an evolution of tango dance that began to develop in the 1980s.
Dance Origins
Prior to the 1990s, Argentine tango was taught with a didac ...
. 21st-century tango is referred to as neotango
Neotango is a distinct genre of tango which goes beyond it both in music and in dance. It is a global movement in which the music includes tracks from all over the world, instrumental and vocal, distinct from the tango in that it includes only mod ...
. These recent trends can be described as "electro tango" or "tango fusion", where the electronic influences range from subtle to dominant.
Tanghetto
Tanghetto is an Argentinian neotango and electronic tango music project created and led by musician and producer Max Masri. Winner of the Gardel Award and four times nominated to the Latin Grammy Awards. It's based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. ...
and Carlos Libedinsky
Carlos Libedinsky is an Argentine musician, composer and, producer. Born in 1961, he is most renowned for his neo-tango project, ''Narcotango''.
Before tango, Libedinsky transited through different genres, such as rock, pop, blues, medieval, a ...
are good examples of the subtle use of electronic elements. The music still has its tango feeling, the complex rhythmic and melodious entanglement that makes tango so unique. Gotan Project
Gotan Project is a musical group based in Paris (France), consisting of musicians Eduardo Makaroff (Argentine), Philippe Cohen Solal (French) and Christoph H. Müller (Swiss), a former member of Touch El Arab.Madlen Albrecht ''Le développemen ...
is a group that formed in 1999 in Paris, consisting of musicians Philippe Cohen Solal, Eduardo Makaroff, and Christoph H. Muller. Their releases include ''Vuelvo al Sur/El capitalismo foráneo'' (2000), '' La Revancha del Tango'' (2001), ''Inspiración Espiración
''Inspiración Espiración'' is Gotan Project
Gotan Project is a musical group based in Paris (France), consisting of musicians Eduardo Makaroff (Argentine), Philippe Cohen Solal (French) and Christoph H. Müller (Swiss), a former member of T ...
'' (2004), and ''Lunático
''Lunático'' is the second album by Gotan Project. It was released in 2006 by the Paris-based ¡Ya Basta! records, run by Philippe Cohen Solal. The album is named ''Lunático'' after the racehorse of legendary tango master Carlos Gardel.
The ...
'' (2006). Their sound features electronic elements like samples, beats, and sounds on top of a tango groove. Some dancers enjoy dancing to this music, although many traditional dancers regard it as a definite break in style and tradition.
Bajofondo Tango Club
Bajofondo is a Río de la Plata-based music band consisting of eight musicians from Argentina and Uruguay, which aims to create a more contemporary version of tango and other musical styles of the Río de la Plata region. It was founded in the ear ...
is another example of electro-tango. Further examples can be found on the CDs ''Tango?'', ''Hybrid Tango
Hybrid Tango is a side project by the members of Buenos Aires-based electronic neo-tango band Tanghetto. Also named Hybrid Tango Project.
Released in December 2004, ''Hybrid Tango'' contains twelve instrumental tracks in which, apart from the bl ...
'', '' Tangophobia Vol. 1'', ''Tango Crash'' (with a major jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
influence), ''Latin Tango'' by Rodrigo Favela (featuring classic and modern elements), ''NuTango'', ''Tango Fusion Club Vol. 1'' by the creator of the milonga called "Tango Fusion Club" in Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
, ''Felino'' by the Norwegian group Electrocutango
Electrocutango is an electrotango project founded by Sverre Indris Joner, based in Oslo, Norway.
Their first album ''Felino'' is mainly original music created for ''TanGhost'', a tango/theater performance based on Henrik Ibsen's play ''Ghosts ...
, and ''Electronic Tango'', a compilation CD. In 2004, the music label World Music Network released a collection under the title ''The Rough Guide to Tango Nuevo''.
Musical impact and classical interpreters
Although tango music was strictly circumscribed to the tango interpreters, it was the classically trained Argentinian pianist Arminda Canteros (1911–2002) who used to play tangos to satisfy the requests of her father, who could not understand classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
. She developed her own style and had a weekly program of tango music for a radio station in Rosario
Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. The city is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous ci ...
, Argentina in the 1930s and 1940s. Since tango playing was considered the epitome of machismo
Machismo (; ; ; ) is the sense of being " manly" and self-reliant, a concept associated with "a strong sense of masculine pride: an exaggerated masculinity". Machismo is a term originating in the early 1930s and 1940s best defined as hav ...
, she had to take the masculine pseudonym "Juancho" for the broadcasts.
Canteros settled in New York City in 1970, where in 1989, she recorded the album ''Tangos'', at the age of 78.
Following Cantero’s example, another Argentinian female pianist brought tango music to the concert halls: Cecilia Pillado played a complete tango recital at the Berliner Philharmonie
The Berliner Philharmonie () is a concert hall in Berlin, Germany, and home to the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.
The Philharmonie lies on the south edge of the city's Tiergarten and just west of the former Berlin Wall. The Philharmonie is on ...
in 1997 and recorded that program for her CD ''Cexilia’s Tangos''.
Since then, tango has become part of the repertoire for great classical musicians like the baritone Jorge Chaminé
Jorge Chaminé (born 30 April 1956) is a Portuguese operatic baritone.
Biography
Of Spanish and Portuguese parentage, Chaminé was born in Porto. He began his musical studies (piano, voice, cello, guitar, choral and orchestra conducting) at a ...
with his ''Tangos'', recorded with bandoneónist Olivier Manoury. Additionally, al Tango, Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma (''Chinese'': 馬友友 ''Ma Yo Yo''; born October 7, 1955) is an American cellist. Born in Paris to Chinese parents and educated in New York City, he was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half. He graduated from ...
, Martha Argerich
Martha Argerich (; Eastern Catalan: ɾʒəˈɾik born 5 June 1941) is an Argentine classical concert pianist. She is widely considered to be one of the greatest pianists of all time.
Early life and education
Argerich was born in Buenos Ai ...
, Daniel Barenboim
Daniel Barenboim (; in he, דניאל בארנבוים, born 15 November 1942) is an Argentine-born classical pianist and conductor based in Berlin. He has been since 1992 General Music Director of the Berlin State Opera and "Staatskapellmeist ...
, Gidon Kremer
Gidon Kremer ( lv, Gidons Krēmers; born 27 February 1947) is a Latvian classical violinist, artistic director, and founder of Kremerata Baltica.
Life and career
Gidon Kremer was born in Riga. His father was Jewish and had survived the Holoc ...
, Plácido Domingo
José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French, ...
, and Marcelo Álvarez have performed and recorded tangos.
Some classical composers have written tangos, such as Isaac Albéniz
Isaac Manuel Francisco Albéniz y Pascual (; 29 May 1860 – 18 May 1909) was a Spanish virtuoso pianist, composer, and conductor. He is one of the foremost composers of the Post-Romantic era who also had a significant influence on his conte ...
in ''España'' (1890), Erik Satie
Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (, ; ; 17 May 18661 July 1925), who signed his name Erik Satie after 1884, was a French composer and pianist. He was the son of a French father and a British mother. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, but was an und ...
in ''Le Tango perpétuel'' (1914), and Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...
in ''Histoire du Soldat
' (''The Soldier's Tale'') is a theatrical work "to be read, played, and danced" () by three actors and one or several dancers, accompanied by a septet of instruments. Conceived by Igor Stravinsky and Swiss writer C. F. Ramuz, the piece was base ...
'' (1918). Nikolai Myaskovsky composed an Argentinian death tango for the poem "War and Peace". Kurt Weill
Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fru ...
continued this style in ''The Threepenny Opera
''The Threepenny Opera'' ( ) is a "play with music" by Bertolt Brecht, adapted from a translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann of John Gay's 18th-century English ballad opera, ''The Beggar's Opera'', and four ballads by François Villon, with music ...
'' (1928) (Die Dreigroschenoper), with "Tango Ballade", or "Zuhälterballade", a fateful song about underworld life (a symphonic version commissioned by Otto Klemperer
Otto Nossan Klemperer (14 May 18856 July 1973) was a 20th-century conductor and composer, originally based in Germany, and then the US, Hungary and finally Britain. His early career was in opera houses, but he was later better known as a concer ...
); a bit later, he composed "Youkali" (Tango-Habanera), with French lyrics. Also noteworthy was the accordionist John Serry Sr.
John Serry Sr. (born John Serrapica; January 29, 1915 – September 14, 2003) was an American concert accordionist, arranger, composer, organist, and educator. He performed on the CBS Radio and Television networks and contributed to Voic ...
, who composed "Tango of Love" and "Petite Tango" for accordion quartet (1955). The list of composers who wrote inspired by tango music also includes John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading fi ...
in "Perpetual Tango" (1984), John Harbison
John Harris Harbison (born December 20, 1938) is an American composer, known for his symphonies, operas, and large choral works.
Life
John Harris Harbison was born on December 20, 1938, in Orange, New Jersey, to the historian Elmore Harris Harb ...
in "Tango Seen from Ground Level" (1991), and Milton Babbitt
Milton Byron Babbitt (May 10, 1916 – January 29, 2011) was an American composer, music theorist, mathematician, and teacher. He is particularly noted for his Serialism, serial and electronic music.
Biography
Babbitt was born in Philadelphia t ...
in "It Takes Twelve to Tango" (1984). The influence of Piazzolla has fallen on a number of contemporary composers. The "Tango Mortale" in ''Arcadiana'' by Thomas Adès
Thomas Joseph Edmund Adès (born 1 March 1971) is a British composer, pianist and conductor. Five compositions by Adès received votes in the 2017 Classic Voice poll of the greatest works of art music since 2000: '' The Tempest'' (2004), ''V ...
is an example.
Many popular songs in the United States have borrowed melodies from tango: the earliest published tango, "El Choclo", lent its melody to the fifties hit " Kiss of Fire". Similarly, "Adiós Muchachos" became " I Get Ideas", and "Strange Sensation" was based on " La Cumparsita".
Showing tango music's continued popularity, multiple international radio stations broadcast nonstop tango music today.Argentine Tango Radio
/ref>
See also
*Finnish tango Finnish tango ( fi, suomalainen tango), or FINtango, music is an established variation of the Argentine tango but whose rhythm follows the Ballroom tango. It was one of the most popular music forms for decades in Finland. Brought to Europe in the 19 ...
*History of tango
Tango, a distinctive tango dance and the corresponding musical style of tango music, began in the working-class port neighborhoods of Buenos Aires (Argentina) and Montevideo (Uruguay); on both sides of the Rio de la Plata.
Etymology
There are n ...
*Latin Grammy Award for Best Tango Album
The Latin Grammy Award for Best Tango Album has been presented every year since the 1st Latin Grammy Awards ceremony. The description of the category at the 2020 Latin Grammy Awards states that it is "for vocal or instrumental albums that contai ...
*List of tango music labels
See also
{{portal, Record production
*Tango music
Tango
Tango music
Tango is a style of music in or time that originated among European and African immigrant populations of Argentina and Uruguay (collectively, the " Rioplatenses"). I ...
*Music of Argentina
The music of Argentina includes a variety of traditional, classical and popular genres. One of the country's most significant cultural contributions
is the tango, which originated in Buenos Aires and its surroundings during the end of the 19th ce ...
*Music of Uruguay
The most distinctive music of Uruguay is to be found in the tango and candombe; both genres have been recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Uruguayan music includes a number of local musical forms such as murga, a ...
*Uruguayan tango
Uruguayan tango is a rhythm that has its roots in the poor areas of Montevideo around 1880. Then it was extended to other areas and countries. As Borges said: "...tango is African-Montevidean ruguayan tango has black curls in its roots..." He quo ...
*Vals (dance)
Argentine tango is a musical genre and accompanying social dance originating at the end of the 19th century in the suburbs of Buenos Aires. It typically has a or rhythmic time signature, and two or three parts repeating in patterns such as AB ...
References
Further reading
*
External links
Tango Negro, The African Roots of Tango
French language in tango
Tango in Poland
Vadim Kozin
Tonight – Marek Weber Orch/Sam Costa, vocal
Caro Mio, Otto Dobrindt Orch.
Il Pleut sur la Route, sung by Tino Rossi
Black Eyes, sung by Piotr Leshchenko
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tango Music
Dance music genres
Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
Southern cone music
Tango
19th-century music genres
es:Tango#Melodía
eu:Tango
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ckb:تانگۆ