El cabeceo

Ir al contenido
Tango By Year · Episodio 34

TBY Lost Afterparty V - 1926-1927

Dag Stenvoll y Michael Lavocah · 10 de mar de 2021 · 2:43:30

A 'Lost Afterparty' that lets Dag Stenvoll, who missed the main 1926-27 broadcast through illness, catch up on the year and play listener-requested tracks that Michael Lavocah didn't use. The year sits at tango's technological hinge: the switch from acoustic to electrical recording during 1926 opens up the sound of the orchestras, especially the bandoneón. Victor, having lost its biggest star Fresedo to rival label Odeon, responds by building its own house orchestra (Orquesta Típica Victor) out of session musicians it can never lose. Pedro Maffia and Pedro Laurenz's bandoneón duets, born almost by accident when Maffia's new band wasn't yet recording, turn out to be a direct root of Aníbal Troilo's later style, while Julio De Caro's harmonically adventurous arrangements already point decades ahead, at the cost of being hard to dance to. Firpo and Canaro still dominate by prestige and sheer output respectively, but it is Fresedo, 'unplugged' and still playing his own bandoneón solos, whom Lavocah names his favourite orchestra of the year.

0% escuchado

faltan 2:43:30

Lo que sigue, como se publicó

Tango 1949Episodio 35 · 17 de mar de 2021 · 3:54:37

Lo que este episodio dio a Tangopedia

Datos dichos en el episodio, cada uno citado al minuto en que se dice.

  1. In 1927 alone, Canaro recorded over 350 tracks by himself, an extraordinary rate of production.

    Francisco Canaro

  2. Canaro was still in Paris at this time; his orchestra's 1926 recordings were actually directed by Minotto, and even into early 1927 it may still have been Minotto rather than Canaro himself.

    Francisco Canaro

  3. A violinist (heard as 'Vodaro'/'Vardaro') appears as an uncredited session player on many Victor and Maglio recordings of this era, recognizable by his tone, though he never led a commercially successful band of his own.

    Elvino Vardaro

  4. Pracánico was both Electra's musical/artistic director and the composer of well-known tangos including 'Corrientes y Esmeralda' and 'Mentira.'

    Francisco Pracánico

  5. French labor law made it hard for foreign musicians to get work permits, so touring Argentine tango bands registered as 'foreign artistes' rather than musicians and had to perform, and even travel between gigs, in gaucho costume.

    Argentine tango orchestras in Paris, 1920s

Suena ahora

Un disco aún sin identificarRosita Quiroga & Agustín Magaldi

Warm-up track before the main program; a tender, prayer-like duet that Stenvoll says he saved from the main show but liked as an opener.

Solo en el episodio

♪ Música · 2:39 ·

Un disco aún sin identificarRoberto Firpo (jazz band)

Firpo's jazz-band side project, played to show tango's overlap with the jazz orchestras of the same era.

Solo en el episodio

♪ Música · 4:25 ·

Stakanchiki granyonyePyotr Leshchenko

A Russian romance (not tango) about a man left alone, played for its 'deep Slavonic sadness,' similar in feeling to tango lyrics.

Solo en el episodio

MaríaFrancisco Canaro · 1927

A simple vals Canaro liked enough to record twice: acoustically in early 1926, then again electrically in 1927; picked for its delicate piano playing.

♪ Música · 2:30 ·

Sangre azulFrancisco Canaro · 1927

Picked for its violin counter-melody (obbligato) against delicate piano; used to explain what a counter-melody is.

Bacán fuleroFrancisco Lomuto

Picked for its delicate piano against Lomuto's usual heavy beat.

♪ Música · 2:30 ·

LagrimitasFrancisco Lomuto

Paired with Bacán fulero; noted for a violin counter-melody late in the piece.

Capítulo · 34:17

Victor Built Its Own Orchestra So It Could Never Lose a Star Again

When Fresedo defected to a rival label, Victor didn't find a replacement. It built one that could never leave.

Capítulo · 36:02

The First Viola in Tango

A dark, low note nobody could place, until two tango nerds solved a 95-year-old mystery.

Barra universitariaOrquesta Típica Victor · 1927

Played to test a mystery low string solo; its key (F# minor, dipping to F#) rules out a violin, pointing to what may be the first viola on a tango record.

ConfesiónOrquesta Típica Victor · 1926-06

An early OTV electrical recording (Odeon wasn't electric until November 1926); praised for its spacious, soft, almost hypnotic sound.

El moritoMercedes Simone · 1927

One of Simone's earliest recordings, backed by guitars; played partly to debate whether 'el morito' refers to a horse or a person (the lyrics suggest a person).

Solo en el episodio

BrasiliaFrancisco Pracánico · 1927

An instrumental vals by the Electra label's pianist-composer-director, chosen for its timeless, almost hypnotic charm.

Solo en el episodio

♪ Música · 2:20 ·

CrepúsculoBianco-Bachicha · Juan Rajá

A dark, emotionally overt Parisian recording; Rajá is lead vocalist with Bianco and the rest of the band joining the chorus.

Solo en el episodio

♪ Música · 2:46 ·

MaipúBianco-Bachicha

An instrumental paired with Crepúsculo, sharing its special 'sound picture.'

Solo en el episodio

Capítulo · 1:06:11

Dressed as Gauchos to Play Tango in Paris

To legally play music in Paris, these tango musicians had to pretend they weren't musicians at all.

Risa locaPedro Maffia & Pedro Laurenz · 1926

A De Caro-orchestra era bandoneón composition by Laurenz, picked for its bubbly piano B section (Francisco De Caro).

GigolóJulio De Caro (with Laurenz & Blasco) · 1927

An instrumental by the De Caro family, played to hear the post-Maffia bandoneón line-up (Laurenz and Blasco).

Solo en el episodio

♪ Música · 3:00 ·

Flores negrasJulio De Caro · 1927

Composed by Francisco De Caro; played for its true classical counterpoint and 'astonishing' piano conduction.

Verlo bailado · 34
AmuradoPedro Maffia & Alfredo De Franco · 1927

A bandoneón-duo version of the year's biggest hit, sourced by a listener (Jenny); showcases Maffia's velvety tone and ligado phrasing with his 17-year-old protégé.

Solo en el episodio

♪ Música · 3:00 ·

MocositaPedro Maffia & Pedro Laurenz · 1926

Another bandoneón duo from when Maffia and Laurenz still played together, prized for how distinctly their two personalities come through.

Solo en el episodio

♪ Música · 2:49 · La letra, en la página del tango

Desde el almaRoberto Firpo

One of the earliest recordings of this well-known vals, played by a pianist performing in Firpo's style (not Firpo himself).

Solo en el episodio

♪ Música · 0:02 · La letra, en la página del tango

Capítulo · 1:38:58

The Teenager Who Wrote Tango's Loneliest Waltz

He was 17 when he wrote one of tango's most heartbroken melodies.

Capítulo · 1:39:19

The Boy Who Sold Papers at Seven, Danced Tango into His Nineties

He started working at seven. Decades later he was a living link to tango's first generation.

Cotorrita de la suerteRoberto Firpo

A melancholy tango, later known from Troilo-Marino; composed by Alfredo De Franco at age 17.

Quién lo sabeRoberto Firpo

Paired with Cotorrita; Lavocah calls it outstanding and notes the double bass present throughout both pieces, giving a new walking beat.

Solo en el episodio

FeliciaJulio Pollero · 1927

An instrumental version that reminded Stenvoll of 'Champagne Tango'; notable for an old-fashioned high bandoneón second melody.

Solo en el episodio

La letra, en la página del tango

MandriaRosita Quiroga

An unannounced guessing-game track with guitar backing; identified from the lyrics and later discussion as D'Arienzo's much later hit 'Mandria,' sung here by a woman.

Solo en el episodio

La letra, en la página del tango

Ataja por PompeyaJuan Maglio

A rare, little-heard Maglio instrumental with a strong beat reminiscent of D'Arienzo.

Solo en el episodio

Leguizamo soloJuan Maglio · José Galarza & choir

A choral number named for champion jockey Irineo Leguizamo; unusual for having vocals in a year of mostly instrumentals.

Solo en el episodio

♪ Música · 2:44 ·

ArrepentidoJuan Maglio

A unique instrumental recording Stenvoll hadn't found in other versions, praised for its mysterious mood and for Elvino Vardaro's violin.

La letra, en la página del tango

SerpentinasJuan Guido · 1927

A Guardia Vieja-style instrumental; its jazzy piano B section briefly made Stenvoll suspect a young Biagi, before Lavocah ruled it out by date.

Solo en el episodio

Capítulo · 2:18:06

The Night They Almost Caught a Young Biagi Red-Handed

For five minutes they thought they'd found a secret young Biagi recording. Then the dates ruled it out.

Frases de amorOsvaldo Fresedo · 1927

A sweet, stripped-back six-piece Fresedo piece, chosen to open his segment as Lavocah's favourite orchestra of the year.

♪ Música · 3:00 ·

Agua mansaOsvaldo Fresedo · 1927

A delicate, intimate instrumental, the only recording of this Juan Carlos Giro composition.

Un sueñoOsvaldo Fresedo · 1927

A solo bandoneón piece played by Fresedo himself, offered as a special treat for 'bandoneon addicts.'

Solo en el episodio

Si supieras (La cumparsita)Carlos Gardel

Closing La Copacita segment: Gardel's guitar-backed vocal recording of La cumparsita under its alternate lyric title, said to be the only Gardel Cumparsita the show has ever played.

Solo en el episodio

♪ Música · 6:29 ·

Tango By Year es de Dag Stenvoll y Michael Lavocah, publicado aquí con su permiso. El audio se reproduce desde SoundCloud.