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Tango By Year, the podcast

Carlos Di Sarli

101 records across 27 episodes (75 play here), plus 10 chapters that mention them, in the order the music happened.

Records played, by recording year

19281958

0 of 101 heard

1928

  1. ChapterWhy Di Sarli started in 1928

    Fresedo's departure gave Di Sarli his break.

  2. Te he besado

    Di Sarli's first recording ever, with his sextet for Victor; the walking beat, double bass and left-hand piano are already present.

    Only in the episode

1929

  1. Flor Machita

    From Di Sarli's early sextet; an instrumental whose title means 'withered flower,' with an intense melancholy Lavocah feels in the music itself.

    Only in the episode

  2. Campaneando

    Santiago Devincenzi

    Campaniar is lunfardo for keeping watch; the lyric's narrator is really keeping watch for his own lost past love, not a person.

1930

  1. Por la Pinta

    Ernesto Fama

    A rare Di Sarli sextet side not included on the well-known Tango Tunes sextet reissue.

  2. Cicatrices

    Santiago Devine

    A favourite of Lavocah's: about scars carried in the soul rather than on the body, later recorded by D'Arienzo with Mauré in 1943.

1931

  1. ChapterThe year Di Sarli lost his contract

    In 1931 Di Sarli was dropped by his label.

  2. Sueño de juventud

    A Di Sarli favourite waltz that he returned to at least twice later; Lavocah says the melody came from a composer who could not write music and had Di Sarli write it down.

    Only in the episode

  3. Maldita

    Ernesto Famá

    In Stenvoll's opinion the best of Di Sarli's last 1931 recordings before he loses his contract; a man cursing the woman who left him.

  4. Gricel / Griseta

    Roberto Rufino

    Lavocah compares a decade-earlier 'Griseta' to the 1941 Di Sarli and Rufino song.

    Only in the episode

  5. Maldita

    Ernesto Famá

    Di Sarli's last recording before an eight-year gap, chosen to show his mature sound was already fully formed by 1931.

1939

  1. ChapterA 17-year-old and a one-take tango

    Di Sarli's comeback was recorded in one take, with a boy singing.

  2. Corazón

    Roberto Rufino

    The first recording of Di Sarli's new band, with 17-year-old Rufino, done in one take, with a walking beat and a rare woody violin solo by Roberto Guisado.

  3. El retirao

    The B side: a playful, jazzy instrumental by Afro-Argentine composer Carlos Posadas (c.1913), with a strong arrastre and Di Sarli's piano.

    Only in the episode

  4. Corazón

    Roberto Rufino

    Di Sarli's December 1939 comeback recording, introducing his 17-year-old new singer nicknamed 'Terremoto' for his powerful voice.

1940

  1. Catamarca

    Picked for its unusually jazzy, rhythmically wild piano and violin counter-melody, from Di Sarli's first 1940 session.

  2. En un Beso, la Vida

    Roberto Rufino

    Shows how far Di Sarli's sound softened and smoothed out in just six or seven months compared to Catamarca.

    Only in the episode

  3. Alma Mía

    Roberto Rufino

    One of Rufino's first two Di Sarli recordings in 1940.

  4. Milonga del Sentimiento

    Roberto Rufino

    Notable for Di Sarli abandoning his usual restrained right-hand piano role to play a florid, attention-grabbing solo line throughout.

  5. El Pollo Ricardo

    An early, busier Di Sarli instrumental; listeners were challenged to pick out bandoneóns against the violins in the opening bars.

  6. Shusheta

    Closed the Di Sarli set as an arrangement Lavocah called a 'work of genius' with no real comparison point.

1941

  1. Marianito

    A choppy, energetic Di Sarli instrumental from May, played to contrast with the more lyrical December track that follows.

  2. Lo mismo que antes

    Roberto Rufino

    A far more lyrical December recording with new singer Roberto Rufino, showing how quickly Di Sarli's 1941 sound matured away from his choppier early-year, D'Arienzo-like tracks.

  3. Cuando el amor muera

    Carlos Acuña

    A rare Di Sarli vocal without Rufino, with Acuña filling in; a sad lyric about a love that will end.

    Only in the episode

  4. Bien frappé

    Roberto Rufino

    A Rufino song about liking his whisky nicely chilled over ice.

  5. Don Juan

    Lavocah's teaching tango, here in the 1941 version: polyrhythm of three against four in the left hand under smooth violins. New Year's resolution: DJs should play the 1940s version.

  6. ChapterThe mistake nobody caught

    There is a glitch in Di Sarli's Germaine, 80 years old.

  7. Germaine

    Known basically only from Di Sarli; first violin Guisado bends the third note of the riff like a blues guitarist, and there is a skip at 38 seconds that is on the original master.

  8. La mulateada

    Roberto Rufino

    A half-fast milonga about a candombe; Lavocah explains the Reds (federalists) and Blues (unionists) and Rosas's patronage of the candombes.

1942

  1. No está

    Alberto Podestá

    First Di Sarli track played, with newly-poached singer Podestá.

  2. Decime qué pasó

    Roberto Rufino

    Second Di Sarli track, with his other 1942 singer Rufino.

  3. Rosas de otoño

    Alberto Podestá

    A Di Sarli waltz praised for its violin counter-melodies, again with Podestá.

    Only in the episode

  4. La cumparsita

    First of this year's two La Cumparsita readings, Di Sarli's instrumental.

  5. ChapterThe Gold Disc Before D'Arienzo

    Before D'Arienzo. Before Di Sarli. Tango's first gold-disc star played the accordion.

  6. Cuando un viejo se enamora

    Roberto Rufino

    A funny milonga about an old man in love who wears a corset at night and does not smile for fear his false teeth fall out.

1943

  1. Title unclear (counter-melody example)

    Roberto Rufino

    Lavocah calls it arguably the single best example of a counter-melody in tango.

    Only in the episode

  2. Todo

    Roberto Rufino

    Picked as one of the best examples of counter-melody in tango, where a violin line answers and weeps against Rufino's vocal.

  3. Anselmo Acuña

    Chosen for the funky polyrhythm in Di Sarli's left-hand piano, said to be some of the clearest in his music.

    Only in the episode

  4. La capilla blanca

    Alberto Podestá

    One of the most romantic, dreamy tangos ever recorded; Podestá is in his second stint after Rufino went solo.

1944

  1. Vuelve a llover

    Alberto Podestá

    Dag translated the title as 'it's raining again'; the exact Spanish title was not said clearly.

    Only in the episode

  2. Un lamento

    An instrumental Dag picked to show off Di Sarli's growling left-hand piano bass and weeping-violin counter-melody.

  3. La capilla blanca

    Alberto Podestá

    First of several extra Di Sarli sides to balance the single Podestá track from the main show.

  4. Milonguero viejo

    An instrumental Di Sarli pick, despite the milonga-sounding title actually a tango.

  5. Vamos, corazón

    Alberto Podestá

    A second Di Sarli-Podestá vocal to go with the instrumentals.

    Only in the episode

  6. Champagne tango

    Closed out the run of extra Di Sarli recordings with another instrumental.

1945

  1. Que no sepan las estrellas

    Jorge Durán

    Opening Di Sarli with his new baritone, a sea song; Dag picks up where the last show's 1958 programme ended, and the lyrics about the ocean confirm it.

  2. Siete palabras

    A Di Sarli instrumental Lavocah finds timeless: unlike the Durán vocals he cannot guess the year from the sound, and he is more cautious about mixing it with vocals.

  3. Con alma y vida

    Jorge Durán

    A bubbling, playful Di Sarli milonga, one of only two he made; a Di Sarli and Héctor Marcó composition, re-recorded twice, the other time with Serpa in 1953.

  4. Tus labios me dirán adiós

    Jorge Durán

    Afterparty: one of 'about 55 star tracks' with Durán; Lavocah points to the violins under the voice.

    Only in the episode

  5. Tinta verde

    Afterparty: unusual because it keeps a violin solo (Roberto Guisado) in 1945, after Di Sarli had otherwise banned solos from every instrument but the piano.

  6. A record not yet identified

    Jorge Durán

    Afterparty: a closing Di Sarli vocal; the lyric begins 'La dicha es un castillo con un puente de cristal'.

    Only in the episode

1946

  1. La Vida Me Engañó

    Alberto Durán

    A lament of existential despair, handled very differently to Alfredo De Angelis's more joyful version of the same song.

  2. El Once

    One of several Di Sarli instrumental versions of this piece; this 1946 take is rarely heard, with a clear countermelody.

    Only in the episode

  3. Hoy tal vez ni te acuerdes de mí

    Alberto Durán

    A rare Di Sarli waltz; the hosts praise its dark, swinging phrasing and Durán's tasteful rubato within Di Sarli's tight limits.

    Only in the episode

  4. ChapterDrink Di Sarli: tango's most reliable brand

    You can never go wrong with Di Sarli - it's practically an advertising slogan.

  5. El Pollo Ricardo

    A later, less-played Di Sarli instrumental; praised for the left-hand piano and closing pizzicato.

  6. Así Era Mi Novia

    Alberto Durán

    Introduced as one everybody already knows, opening a run of several Di Sarli-Durán tracks.

  7. Cosas de Tango

    Alberto Durán

    Called a neglected masterpiece that doesn't get played at milongas nearly often enough.

  8. Duelo Criollo

    Alberto Durán

    Called the most essential Di Sarli-Durán track, with an amazingly strong arrastre comparable to Pugliese's attack on the beat.

1947

  1. Otra Vez Carnaval

    Jorge Durán

    Opens the Di Sarli set to showcase Durán's new bass-baritone voice, Di Sarli's only singer from 1945 to 1947.

  2. La canción más triste

    Alberto Podestá

    Paired with Otra Vez Carnaval to contrast Durán's dark voice with Podestá singing for Di Sarli.

  3. Pueblera

    Jorge Durán

    Picked as an example of how Di Sarli's melodic, phrased style carries even into his milongas, which are usually upbeat rather than sad.

  4. De Vuelta

    Di Sarli recorded this waltz twice; this earlier version is chosen over the later remake with Oscar Serpa.

    Only in the episode

  5. La Rachela

    A little-known instrumental chosen over El Pollito for lack of time; prized for its weeping violin counter-melody at the close.

    Only in the episode

  6. Dinero, Dinero

    Alberto Podestá

    Podestá is Di Sarli's only singer this year; the refrain 'money, money' turns into a complaint that wealth ruined a happy relationship.

    Only in the episode

1948

  1. La novia del mar

    Oscar Serpa

    One of only two Di Sarli tracks of the year, with new singer Serpa; a beautiful, if less punchy, interpretation of a sailor's lament for a girl who left with a captain.

1951

  1. ChapterTwo Years of Silence, Then Di Sarli Wins Anyway

    His copycats finally had the stage to themselves — until he came back.

  2. El Pollo Ricardo

    From Di Sarli's comeback batch of 20 re-recorded old numbers; picked to showcase his powerful 'growling' left-hand piano.

  3. El Siruja

    A short, four-part (ABAB) instrumental; praised for its counter-melody in the B sections.

    Only in the episode

  4. La Cumparsita

    First of three closing versions of La Cumparsita, played back to back.

  5. El Opio

    An old Guardia Vieja tango, composed by Francisco Canaro in 1916 and recorded by Di Sarli in 1951.

  6. El Recuerdo

    A short introduction leads straight into Di Sarli's left hand rambling around the bottom of the keyboard.

    Only in the episode

  7. El Pollito

    Demonstrates Di Sarli's 3-3-2 piano rhythm, building late on into a true polyrhythm (piano in groups of 3 against the orchestra's 4 beats) to a powerful climax.

  8. Germaine

    Unusual phrase structure: phrases end on the second beat rather than the fourth or first, producing a simultaneous very low and very high note; attributed to Biagi's influence.

1952

  1. Cuatro vidas

    Oscar Serpa

    Michael calls this 1950s Di Sarli at its most vigorous, with Serpa's resonant voice and a lyric Michael rates as perfect.

  2. Un momento

    Oscar Serpa

    An unusually mature vals lyric: not a simple love story, but a man singing that he wants something lasting rather than a fleeting night.

  3. La cachila

    One of the rare recordings where Di Sarli, who almost never shows off on piano, lets rip about 30 seconds in; Michael calls it "Beethoven."

  4. Los 33 orientales

    Named for the 33 men who led Uruguay's war of independence against Spain; Michael calls it a resistance song with the same thunderous left-hand piano as La cachila.

    Only in the episode

  5. Domani

    Mario Pomar

    Italian for "tomorrow"; one of Michael's favorites, with Pomar's more proper, straight voice contrasted against Serpa's style elsewhere in the night.

  6. Siete palabras

    A 1952 re-recording the hosts call stronger and more vigorous than Di Sarli's original 1945 version.

  7. El Ingeniero

    Dag calls this the strongest arrastre (dragging bass pull) ever recorded in tango, growling and raw, compared to the smoother, more reverberant later RCA Victor remake used in beginner tango classes.

  8. Por el camino

    Oscar Serpa

    One more Serpa vocal, closing out his 1952 appearances in the episode.

  9. Mi refugio

    A melody by pianist Juan Carlos Cobián, a personal friend of Di Sarli's from their shared Bahía Blanca days, that Michael says doesn't get played often enough.

  10. La viruta

    Michael flags a double piano glissando in the first phrase and mid-piece discords before a violin solo; together with Carasucia and Don Juan he calls it a trio of older songs transformed by Di Sarli's own interpretation.

  11. La cachila

    Eduardo Arolas's tango with the only really long piano solo in Di Sarli's music; Lavocah hears Beethoven.

1953

  1. Duelo criollo

    Mario Pomar

    A knife-fight song with a very strong rastra and what Lavocah calls the strongest violin marcato in tango; the open texture lets you hear the bandoneón.

  2. Quejas de bandoneón

    Lavocah prefers it to Troilo's version, for the spacious texture that puts the moaning low bandoneón line in dialogue with the violins.

  3. ChapterWhy Di Sarli's tangos are so short

    Di Sarli plays slow. Why are his records so short?

  4. Con alma y vida

    Oscar Serpa

    A Di Sarli milonga (his own composition, recorded before in 1945) picked for its cadencia, the swing of a phrase.

1954

  1. Tinta verde

    One of two Music Hall instrumentals from January 1954 (dates uncertain), played for the dirtier sound and as a bracket with Muy suave's pizzicato.

    Only in the episode

  2. El cachafaz

    Scrambling left-hand piano, a wailing bandoneón opening and an A-B-A-C structure with astounding B and C parts.

  3. Sueño de juventud

    Oscar Serpa

    A Discépolo waltz composed around 1939 that Di Sarli recorded three times, one of only about 20 waltzes in his career.

  4. Verdemar

    Oscar Serpa

    A song belonging to Rufino, reinterpreted by Di Sarli and Serpa; about grief, with a final chord that leaves some light.

  5. ChapterDi Sarli's own voice

    The only time Di Sarli speaks on a record.

  6. No me pregunten por qué

    Mario Pomar

    Di Sarli's return to the studio with RCA Victor, opened by a spoken introduction by Di Sarli himself to his friends and 'the music I most love, the tango'.

  7. El choclo

    After-party: the RCA Victor version, the one everyone knows, played in contrast to the Music Hall one.

    Only in the episode

  8. ChapterThe dirty El choclo

    Di Sarli recorded El choclo twice in 1954. One is dirty.

  9. El choclo

    After-party: the earlier, dirtier Music Hall version (about six months earlier), which Stenvoll prefers for its emotional contrast.

    Only in the episode

  10. Tormenta

    Mario Pomar

    After-party: Di Sarli and Pomar staring into existential dread, a Discépolo song.

  11. Verdemar

    Oscar Serpa

    Picked for Serpa's unusual, non-porteño voice and the recurring theme of the sea in Di Sarli's work, who was born on the coast.

1955

  1. Milonguero Viejo

    The fourth of Di Sarli's recordings of his own composition, oddly pitched up a key with no singer to justify it, which Lavocah reads as tango drifting from its roots.

  2. Sin Ella

    Oscar Serpa

    An old Charlo composition, played to showcase Serpa, Lavocah's favourite of Di Sarli's two stable singers.

  3. Corazón

    Mario Pomar

    Played against dancers' memory of Rufino's fast 1939 version to show how much slower and more 'melodic wash' Di Sarli's 1955 sound has become.

  4. El Ingeniero

    An instrumental Lavocah especially loves for how far Di Sarli stretches the melody, composed by the same man who wrote El Recuerdo.

  5. Noche de Locura

    Oscar Serpa

    A big song of 1954-55 (Miguel Caló recorded it in 1954); played as what Stenvoll calls Di Sarli's especially special take.

  6. Bailemos

    Mario Pomar

    Played last of the three, with the story of its composers witnessing a real breakup dance at a milonga and writing the song about it that night.

1958

  1. Nubes de Humo

    Jorge Durán

    Title track of Di Sarli's final LP, released November 1958; a man smoking and regretting a lost love, closing on the idea that youth fades like smoke.

  2. Una Fija

    An instrumental whose title, a sure bet, matches the reaction: dancers in the chat immediately ask when they can dance to it again.

  3. Indio Manso

    Lavocah's own favourite late Di Sarli tango, prized for the paired double-bass notes that frame each phrase beneath the seductive violins.

  4. Bahía Blanca

    Di Sarli's own composition, twenty years in the making, dedicated on the sheet music to the city that saw him born; his last tribute before his death the following year.

  5. A record not yet identified

    Horacio Casares

    One of Di Sarli's last recordings, in 1958, symphonic and operatic; heard as 'Call me my love'. Lyrics promise to arrive on silver moonbeams.

    Only in the episode

Tango By Year is Dag Stenvoll and Michael Lavocah's, published here with their permission. The audio plays from SoundCloud.