Roberto Firpo · Tango By Year

1920

El amanecer
Illustrates Firpo's tram ride home from a cabaret: birds singing and, in this version only, the hammering of factories starting at four in the morning.
Only in the episode

Desde el alma
One of the earliest recordings of this well-known vals, played by a pianist performing in Firpo's style (not Firpo himself).
Only in the episode
Cotorrita de la suerte
A melancholy tango, later known from Troilo-Marino; composed by Alfredo De Franco at age 17.
Quién lo sabe
Paired with Cotorrita; Lavocah calls it outstanding and notes the double bass present throughout both pieces, giving a new walking beat.
Only in the episode

Criolla Linda
Lavocah starts his Firpo run with a strong, melancholy-tinted number, calling Firpo a romantic with real melody underneath.
A record not yet identified
A second Firpo instrumental, intense and heavy-beated with complex violin harmonies; the title is never stated in the transcript.
Only in the episode
A record not yet identified
A third Firpo instrumental played straight after the second; again the title is not said on air.
Only in the episode

Entre tangos y champagne
Teófilo Ibáñez
Firpo, 'in my view the best band of the year' for Stenvoll; a cabaret lyric.
Chamuyando en recuerdo
Teófilo Ibáñez
Another cabaret tango, 'poetry of the cabaret', with a groove and a piano that points toward Di Sarli.
Only in the episode
Sin madre
A sad instrumental by Alfredo Eusebio Gobbi, father of the Gobbi of the 1940s.
Only in the episode
Recordándote
A hypnotic Firpo waltz that reminds of Maglio's waltzes of the year.
El amanecer
After-party: Lavocah calls it one of the most romantic tango melodies; Firpo wrote it after a 4am tram ride home, with hammering factory workers heard in the percussion.
La cumparsita
After-party: Lavocah's 'compasita of the night' with 3-3-2 syncopation, pizzicato on top and the double bass slapping the bow on the strings.

Palabra de Honor
Teófilo Ibáñez
One of roughly 100 Firpo recordings this year; praised for its arrastre-driven beat and an unnamed, excellent cellist.
Una Noche en la Milonga
An instrumental version of a song Ada Falcón also recorded with Canaro as a non-dance number, about meeting someone at a milonga and never seeing them again.
Sombras de la Tarde
First of a four-song Firpo run in the afterparty; title means 'shadows of the afternoon.'
Only in the episode
A record not yet identified
Second of the Firpo run; the given translation suggests a title along the lines of 'listen up, bad guy,' using the lunfardo word 'rante.'
Only in the episode
Misa de Once
One of two strong 1929 versions of this major hit about a man who goes to church just to see a girl; Firpo's opening bell-chime imitation is subtler than rival versions.
La Eterna Milonga
Title refers to the payada, a gaucho verse-duel: this milonga is 'eternal' because neither of the two dueling singers in the story ever runs out of verses.
Canto de amor
Teófilo Ibáñez
Firpo made two recordings with this title in 1929, a waltz and this tango; played as an example of early happy love.
A record not yet identified
Played to demonstrate Firpo's heavy dragging arrastre beat, an acknowledged ancestor of Di Sarli's and Pugliese's rhythm; no title was stated on air.
Only in the episode

Vieja Recova
About the old central-plaza meat market, demolished in 1884 — already pure nostalgia by 1930; later transformed almost beyond recognition by Pugliese.
Ojos que Lloran
Carlos Varela
A melancholy Firpo waltz, still danceable despite its sadness — the hosts' favourite kind of Firpo waltz.
Verdad que no te Irás
Carlos Varela
The opener of a short closing run of Firpo tracks, since there was so much good Firpo from this year left to play.

ChapterFirpo lost it all
Roberto Firpo's next composition was called Deep Sadness.
Pobre orfanita
An instrumental with a much better beat for dancing than the previous one.
Only in the episode

Poema del viejo Balcón
The one 1932 Firpo track chosen, prized for the jazzy piano touches underneath a still-strong walking beat, and for its clear influence on Di Sarli.
Marejada
A Firpo composition, played in the afterparty, that became hugely influential on Carlos Di Sarli's own later version.

Alegre despertar
Carlos Varela
A Firpo tango with lovely violins at the end, played to show his romantic, sentimental sound.
A record not yet identified
A slow, melancholic Firpo waltz in poor sound, probably instrumental.
Only in the episode
Bajo los puentes de París
A waltz of European origin; Lavocah lets listeners guess the title from the Spanish lyric about the 'old Paris'.
Only in the episode
Bajo los puentes de París
A long, beautiful waltz that Lavocah DJs sometimes; Firpo kept to his musical vision after a flood and the crash wiped him out.
Only in the episode

Pura cepa
Carlos Varela
A tango version, explicitly distinguished by the hosts from a differently titled milonga also called 'Pura cepa'.
Only in the episode
Mecha
An instrumental waltz composed by Enrique Rodríguez, its title short for the name Mercedes; praised for its unusually strange harmony.
Only in the episode
Telegrama
An instrumental afterparty pick whose title translates as 'urgent telegram'.
Only in the episode

Quejas
Carlos Varela
Chosen to showcase Firpo's distinctive violin sound and deep, pre-1939 vibrato.
La carcajada
An unusual, wailing instrumental ('carcajada' means guffaw) that Lavocah ties to Firpo's particular violin style.

Consuelo
Carlos Varela
Chosen to showcase Firpo's thick, wind-rich orchestral sound.
Only in the episode
Barreras de Amor
Carlos Varela
A Firpo waltz prized for its groovy, deep-vibrato violins.
La Despedida
A favourite Firpo track the host couldn't let the year pass without playing; its 1936 date was double-checked live against discography sources.

El Compinche
An energetic instrumental from a fading giant trying to stay modern; pianist Carlos García audibly works to keep the music interesting.
Dicha y Dolor
Carlos Varela
Michael calls this his favourite 1937 recording so far: strong drive, swing (cadencia), and low-tone violin vibrato he loves.
La Cumparsita
One of two 1937 Cumparsita recordings closing the show; Dag calls Firpo's version 'a bit crazy'.
Only in the episode

El amanecer
Firpo's own composition, with bird sounds; Dag compares versions to whiskey ageing, and Lavocah prefers Firpo's 1928 version.

Curda completa
A Firpo quintet instrumental with a decorated piano and octave solos; it and Fantasma were recorded on the same day.
Fantasma
A super-energetic tango that reminds Dag of Donato's El huracán, mixing Firpo's style with what was going on around him.

Quién Será
Firpo's own, sentimental take on the same waltz, discovered by Stenvoll to be a sped-up transfer running at a true 79 bpm.

El talento
One of only four full-orchestra tangos Firpo recorded in 1941, chosen to show him chasing relevance in the D'Arienzo era.
La Chola
The second of two rarely-heard 1941 Firpo instrumentals, with busy, octave-handed piano playing (likely Carlos García, conducting by this point).

Vals del recuerdo
Alberto Diallo
One of Dag's favourite Firpo waltzes; notable for an unexpected Hammond organ.
Elvira te quiero
Another Firpo waltz from the year, played in the afterparty.

ChapterA cattle baron who lost it all
Firpo tried to retire and become a rancher.
ChapterHow Firpo's tram ride became a tango
Birds, a tram and 4am factory hammers.