Tango 1933
Dag Stenvoll and Michael Lavocah · 2020-09-16 · 3:41:38
Dag Stenvoll and Michael Lavocah look at 1933, the year of the first Argentine talking film, after the double blow of talking pictures and the Great Depression has culled the most sophisticated bands and bankrupted about half the record companies. The scene is less diverse, dominated by Canaro, Fresedo and Firpo plus the Victor house bands, with solo singers (Gardel, Charlo, Mercedes Simone, Ada Falcón, Corsini, Imperio Argentina) the real stars on the film poster. Fresedo is in what may be his best year; the milonga becomes a mainstream dance-band rhythm; Charlo goes solo with Victor; Lomuto, Donato and Cirilo Ortiz make memorable sides. The centrepiece is Elvino Vardaro's experimental sextet with Troilo on bandoneón, whose single test pressing of Tigre viejo was rejected by Victor and survives as one Vaseline-covered disc. The afterparty adds Polish tangos, foxtrots and waltzes.
What this episode gave Tangopedia
Facts said in the episode, each now cited to the minute it is said.
Talking pictures and the Great Depression together caused a huge cull of musicians and orchestras in 1931-32, and about 50% of record companies went bust, leaving a less diverse scene by 1933.
The most sophisticated bands were eliminated: Marcucci, Petrucelli and Brignolo are gone, Maffia and De Caro have no contract at the start of the year, and Di Sarli is gone too.
The first Argentine talking film's poster puts the soloists such as Mercedes Simone in lights, with dance orchestras like Fresedo, D'Arienzo and Típica Victor in small print at the bottom.
The 1933 big three are Canaro, Fresedo and Firpo, none of them among the 1940s golden-decade big four; Típica Victor and Canaro bring a more European feel.
Fresedo's 1933 may be his best year: he has found a light, romantic style quite different from the heavier 1927-29 sextet, with a piano that is not the backbone of the orchestra.
Records played · 45
Transcript
Transcribed by machine from the audio, then punctuated; names may be misheard. Tap any line to hear it. The episode is in English, and so is its transcript.
Welcome to the 18th Tango by Year program. 18? Yeah, how about that? Five months since we did Tango 1941 in the beginning of April.
Well, I think that the current world situation is going to be giving us plenty more opportunities. Yeah, we can keep going for a while still. Yeah, I think so.
So 1933, Michael, the year of the first Argentinian talking movie, which we have in the event photo. Well, it's just as well, isn't it? Because talking movies were one of the things that created the crisis that tango has just been through in the first place. So in 31, 32, we had the double whammy of talking pictures and the Great Depression. And there's been this huge cull of musicians and orchestras. And the scene that we encounter in 1933 is changed. It's less diverse, first of all, and it has different qualities.
Chapter · 1:56
Tango loses its experimenters
In 1933 half the record labels were gone and so were the boldest bands.
“So in 31, 32, we had the double whammy of talking pictures and the Great Depression. And there's been this huge cull of musicians and orchestras.”
So the bands that have been eliminated, if you like, are the ones making the most sophisticated music. They're all gone. Cayetano Polisi. Let's look at my list here. I keep this on the wall because it's so shocking. It stays here permanently. Marcucci is gone. Petrucelli is gone. Brignolo is gone. Mafia, even Mafia doesn't have a contract. Even DiCaro doesn't have a contract as the year opens. So it's been... And DiSali. DiSali has gone too.
And DiSali, yeah. 50% of the record companies have gone bust. So we've got a much less diverse scene and the quality of the music scene is a bit different because who are the big names? The Orquesta Típica Victor now is emerging and Canaro, and these are orchestras with a more European feel, dare I say that. And that has plus and minus sides to it. When I was looking through my own Music Library for 1933, I came across many beautiful Polish tangos from 1933. Of course, they don't sound the same as Argentine ones, but that's not something we'd have said a few years earlier even. So it's a very intriguing year. And yes, of course, we have now the first talking picture. But guys, did you look in detail at the poster or did you just go, that's a nice poster?
When you look at that poster, it's full of information for you because, okay, many orchestras typica are in it. Fresedo is in it. D'Arienzo is in it. But their names are in small print at the very bottom. The tango stars who get their names in lights are the soloists. People like Mercedes Simone and the actors who are nothing to do with tango really, but can sing one or two if they need to. So yes, there's a talking picture and the film is an excuse for music. You know, there's very little plot because they're so busy having sung numbers. But in terms of the publicity presentation, and that tells you how the scene is, actually the dance bands are at the bottom of the pile.
“The tango stars who get their names in lights are the soloists.”
Yeah. And two weeks ago in 1952, we talked about how the best music from that year was from the four big orchestras, and from 1933 we have nothing from those four orchestras. So it's a very different feel, but shall we try and define our own big four for 1933? So Canaro, Fresedo, Firpo, still his star is beginning to... to four, but actually it would be those three. We've got a big three in 1933 and none of the names are the big four of the golden decade of the 40s. So that's really interesting. Yeah.
Should we listen to some music? Yes, please. We ended the 52 program with Vida mía, my life, with Fresedo's own romantic composition, and I want to play first the first recording of this song from September 1933 with Roberto Ray singing as Estabilista under the course. That's a romantic start, isn't it? And this is a top year for Fresedo. Has to be said, 1933. He's making super romantic music. He already has some of the special qualities, the different instruments that he incorporates from first world and North American music. So yeah, let's see what he uses on this.
Yeah, and the second song I want to play first is also with Ray singing, and it's a very interesting and cute little thing with lots of alliterations, that's kind of letter rhyme, word starting with the same consonant. Well, the word tartamudo is a stutterer, someone who stutters, so El tarta-mudo, and what you're saying about the lyric confirms this supposition. Probably it also means the stutterer and it's short for El tarta-mudo. All right. So let's see those two. Vida mía and El tarta-mudo. Fresedo with Roberto Ray singing.
The first recording of Fresedo's own romantic composition, which ended the previous show, with the instruments he borrowed from American music.
♪ Music · 2:55 · The lyrics, on the song's page
A playful lyric full of wordplay on stuttering (such as saying 'jamón' for 'jamás'), impossible to translate.
One could argue that this is Fresedo's best year. I mean, he's really found his style, hasn't he? It's since quite a bit different to the Fresedo sextet. And I think comparing the music of this year to the sextet era, Fresedo has changed the most because emotionally, very, very different. He wasn't nearly this romantic. Oh, I'm struggling with words here because, okay, yes, the Fresedo sextet recordings, 27, 28, 29, they were romantic, but in a much heavier way, that there wasn't this sense of lightness. So that the sound is fully formed, the piano is already doing its thing, the use of the piano in the Fresedo orchestra completely different to all the other orchestras. It's not the backbone of the orchestra. He's found his sound. Yeah, for me maybe his best year.
And yes, sweet and playful, there's the lyrics. I mean, of course you couldn't find an English translation because it's playing around with all of rubbish. So at one point he starts to say, I will never. And he says, yo jamón, jamás. So jamás means never, but he says jamón by mistake, on purpose, which means ham. So you just can't translate that kind of wordplay into another language. It's quite unusual with this kind of wordplay. I can't think of any other song that has it so much. Well, not in this subtle way. D'Arienzo does a couple of things in the 40s. There's that, oh gosh, sepennie peripitapa, for example. And I had to really concentrate to do that. Can you say that fast, many times? No, I can't. All right.
In our 1940 program, we listened to Fresedo's recording of this controversial tango, Plegaria. But there are some recordings of a track called Plegaria from 1933, but it's not that one, actually. It's a waltz composed by Antonio Sureda and lyrics by Geronimo Sureda. I suppose they're brothers. Never heard of them. You have heard of them. They composed another of other famous waltzes, but I can't remember which ones off the top of my head. Okay. The Sureda brothers. Geronimo, it's an interesting name.
Well, in English, we say Geronimo, who was the tribal leader of one of the Native American tribes. Exactly. In the United States. It's not a European name. Anyway, one of these recordings is by Mercedes Simone. As we talked about, this was on the poster for the event photo. And she was the password for tonight. She was. She was. We'll hear this song, and it has a glossa, so it's interesting in that sense also. And then I want to play Charlo and Simone singing the milonga Cacareando, crowing. This is an interesting one. Well, Charlo and Mercedes Simone together, you don't get much better than that, do you know? It's very fun.
And I want to quote something I read about this milonga, that's from Paul Bottemer, the guy we often, I often refer to. And he says that in the version by Charlo and Mercedes Simone we hear the full conversation emerge as she replies, giving as good as she gets until the final resolution. The style of Spanish is evocative of a rural setting. It's this really argument between the two singers. It's really fun. And yes, which in itself is evocative of the payada, with the verse duel between two improvising poet guitarists. Exactly. It's like a duel. Right. Let's hear those two. Plegaria, the waltz, and then with just Simone, and then the milonga, Cacareando. And just to remind people that the word plegaria means prayer.
A waltz (not the tango Plegaria) by the Sureda brothers, sung with a glossa and a deep, organ-like bandoneón accompaniment.
♪ Music · 2:30 ·
A rural-style argument between Charlo and Simone in the style of a payada duel, with Simone giving as good as she gets.
Very playful. I loved it. The arrangement is the same as the OTV arrangement, but I guess then I can't remember. Sorry, people. The Oracle's forgotten something. I can't remember whether or not she records with Victor, but she must be, having heard that she's recording with a Victor backing orchestra. Oh no, maybe not, because she was singing with Charlo, right? In this, this was Charlo. Yeah, yeah, and he normally sings with Odeon, so I'm not even sure of that. I was going to say, oh, she must be recording with a Victor backing orchestra and therefore it's all the same musicians, but as Charlo was the second voice it's not 100% sure. No, it is, because Charlo went solo in 1933 from Canaro, so that's what it is. It's all the same musicians who play on the OTV recording that we all know, so they just do all the same tricks. Yeah, beautiful. I'd love to hear that at the milonga. Yeah, really, really special.
And Charlo is a great singer, isn't he? So let's hear another song by Charlo. Can I say one more thing before we go on? Of course you can, always. So in the first song that you played, Mercedes Simone singing this tango Plegaria solo, I'm getting confused now, waltz, where we began with this glossa, it was like an organ accompaniment. It was a very, very deep tone and I can only assume those were some of the lowest notes on a bandoneón, but it was really interesting to hear that because it brings out the connection between the origin of the bandoneón and the organ. So yeah, I just wanted to reflect on that.
And Charlo, let's listen to the gorgeous Cobardía, cowardice. And there is a much later version of Pugliese of this song that we know from the milongas with Moran singing, but actually this is a composition by Charlo and he's accompanied by Carabelli. So maybe that he's not, he's on the Victor label, isn't he, Carabelli? Yeah. So Charlo was contracted to Odeon for several years, singing a lot with Canaro, principally with Canaro, but also as a soloist and also with Lomuto. But then Victor tempted him away with a recording contract as a soloist in his own right. So not dependent on an orchestra typical. And that's why he leaves. And these are the recordings that we hear now. So he's got a different selection of bands to sing with. And Carabelli, of course, is one of the big guys with the Victor label in this time. All right, let's hear it. Cobardía, Charlo.
A Charlo composition, recorded after he left Odeon for a solo Victor contract; its lyric explains why Morán later wanted to sing it with Pugliese.
♪ Music · 3:30 ·
Oh, man. Did you read the chorus? I know it's a lie, everything you're saying. I'm in your life only a sense of deep regret and guilt. I know it's for pity that you lie instead of killing me. I know. And yet without that lie, I can't live. Oh. It's a deadly chorus.
That's not very PC anymore, is it? Oh, God. Yeah. Do you want to say something about this? We need something strong to drink.
No, what I can say about it is when you read that intensity, then one understands why Alberto Moran wanted to sing it with Pulisi. That's true. Yeah, it's a good song for him. Yeah.
Yeah, I think we need something to cheer us up after this, and since Carabelli was backing Charlo, maybe we should hear something by Adolfo Carabelli's orchestra, and the first one actually with Carlos singing Campanitas del suburbio. It's also sad lyrics actually, but let's forget about the lyrics, at least those who don't understand Spanish, and just listen to the very sweet intro of this song, and after that another Carabelli song, this joyful Tomalá con soda with Carlos Lafuente.
Oh, that's fantastic. Tomalá con soda, literally, take it with soda, means take it easy, baby. That's the significance of the title. Yeah, and you can hear that from the music. It's very fitting, I think. And there's a violin solo also. I was thinking, could that be someone we know playing the violin?
Typica Victor, Carabelli, all the Victor labels, 1933. Three, there's only one person in the frame, I think it could be him, your friend and ours, Elvino Vardaro, who's going to be playing a big role in tonight's music. Just to point something out to everyone, yeah, if there has been this huge cull of all, well, not all but many, very many of the most interesting sextets, then what that means is the music that we're listening to is not actually representative of the scene as a whole. It's representative of the music that's able to make money. But what we're hearing, and this is true all the time, but especially true at this time, we're hearing a particular selection. So we mustn't think, oh, this is entirely representative of the music that is being played in the city.
Because it's not, because of what gets recorded. And that's something that will become very clear at the end of the program. Good. So now let's hear Adolfo Carabelli with Campanitas del suburbio and Tomalá con soda.
A sweet introduction on a sad lyric; chosen to cheer up after Cobardía.
♪ Music · 4:05 ·
A joyful track whose title means 'take it easy'; Dag thinks the violin solo may be Elvino Vardaro.
Yeah, we're definitely out of the depression, aren't we? We are, although some people are still in the depression, so there's kind of a split, and those who are out of the depression are fine, they don't care about the rest. It's a split society, a bit like today. Yeah, that's true.
So yeah, that's something we heard maybe in the music of Canaro, we'll get back to Canaro, but before we go to Canaro we'll go to Gardel, and he's in the movie business now, isn't he?
Yes, Gardel is someone who has a very clear idea about his career, so he's not content to merely be the number one tango singer in Buenos Aires. That's not enough for him. And the previous year, he traveled to Paris for maybe the third time, possibly more. And he starts to make movies with the Paramount studio in Paris. And they're successful movies. Yeah. So his sound is changing because he has his eyes set on global superstardom. Had he lived, he would have been the first global superstar.
Yeah, and it reflects in his music maybe. Some of it is not so interesting maybe, but he still has some great songs. It becomes less tanguero. It takes on a more romantic lyrical quality, which makes it more universal, but less Argentine. Well, yeah. I want to play Acquaforte. Oh!
Yeah, I mean, and we heard this before during an earlier program from a much later year. We heard the 1958 Pugliese's recording and Miguel Montero singing it. And I remember you commented on the critical lyric about this decadent life of the cabarets and luxury milongos. Absolutely. In contrast to starving workers.
This is so interesting about Gardel because he was happy to sing any kind of lyric. He was happy to sing superficial lyrics, but he was also happy to sing lyrics that sung by anyone else would have been extremely controversial. So wonderful that he sang this. It's not one of the songs I listened to preparing for this week, so I'm really excited to listen to it with all of you now. Yeah, and I was surprised to find him singing it because, I mean, it fits the communist Pugliese really well, but it's a very social critic, critical lyrics.
So Gardel, there's a phrase in English, Everyman, do you know this phrase? So Everyman does not mean all men, Everyman is a character, a character who stands for all other people. It's the character, the protagonist of an extremely famous novel in English called The Pilgrim's Progress, written by John Bunyan, I think, in the 17th century. So this universality is embodied in Gardel. That's his valence. That's one of the reasons why he has such potency for Argentines and simultaneously makes him so difficult to understand. He is Everyman. So he's capable of representing all feeling, not just one strand, not just the strand of the successful. And that's not an accident. He did that deliberately.
So yes, he would not shy away from difficult lyrics. He would happily say to people, yes, I'll sing that for you, knowing that it would elevate that lyric and make it more successful than it was before he sang it. Great quality. Let's listen to it. Acquaforte.
A socially critical lyric about cabaret luxury against starving workers, showing Gardel's willingness to sing anything.
♪ Music · 1:55 ·
That's really tough. Yeah. It's well transmitted by the way he sings. And yes, Gardel could transmit anything. And he wanted to. And what he describes in 1933 is still going on in 2020.
Yeah, and he's best with guitar backing, I think. He also has some recordings from 1933 with Canaro, I think. Yes, but he does that because the record label wants to do it and there's only about eight or so. And, you know, Canaro's an impresario. There's one done on, in Spanish they call a cortometraje, a short film on video, so it's done as a novelty. But no, Canaro is a singer with guitars, so when we understand that, sorry, Gardel, that Gardel is a singer with guitars, we understand why Vidal, for example, left Pugliese in order to go back and be less successful singing with guitars, because he's in that mold.
You said also in the introduction that 33 is a year of soloists, and let's hear a couple more of them, and also backed by guitars. And we heard during Tango by Year, we've had a lot of wonderful women singers, much more than we hear at milongas, because for some reason they weren't recorded for the dance tangos.
Well, we know why that is. It's to do with the range. So if you think about the range of notes from low to high, then the piano spans all of that and the other instruments span various ranges. And which is the instrument in an orchestra, the instrument, not the voice, that most sings? It's a violin. Yeah, a violin sings more than a band d'Agnon. Nothing against the band d'Agnon, but in terms of singing, the violin sings more than a violin or a piano. And when we look at the human vocal range, which is the vocal range most similar to the violin? It's the tenor voice. That's one of the reasons. It's not the only reason, of course, but it's one of the reasons why there are not so many female vocalists. Because the soprano voice doesn't sit so easily with the range of a typica. Simple as that. Yeah.
Well, anyway, let's listen to a singer that we've never heard before during Tango by Year. Her name is Tita Galatro. She was a singer and actress born in 1914. So at this point in 33, she's 19 years old. And she sings a tango called Tango sin letra. And it's guitar backing. Do you know anything about this vocalist?
I can't tell you anything about it. I've heard her name, but just to say that there are dozens and dozens of such names. There were many, many famous female vocalists who sang in theatres who never made a single record. So the scene was very diverse.
She had very few recordings and I think she was more an actress than a singer, or at least a tango singer. And this is, I think, according to Todo Tango at least, this is her biggest hit as a tango singer. So let's hear it. Tita Galatro, Tango sin letra, and she's backed by guitars.
A 19-year-old singer and actress with guitar backing, a new voice in the series and an alto, easier to record than a tenor.
♪ Music · 2:43 ·
19 years old, Tita Galatro, that's amazing, isn't it? I couldn't believe it. But then, faced with that fact, I remembered people like Alberto Podestá and Roberto Rufino. So all of us, everybody joining together here tonight, has to remember that 19 was an extremely different thing in 1933 than it is in 2020. You know, if you were a man in 1933, you'd been working for a long time at the age of 19. I mean, for everybody, male or female, except for a very small section of society, school had started a long time ago and adult life had begun.
Beautiful voice. Yeah. Thank you for playing it. The alto voice, isn't it? It's not so... The alto voices were easier to record with the typica than the tenor voice. Yeah, I hadn't heard it before, so thank you for playing that. Right.
Let's hear another vocalist that you have heard before, Alberto Gómez. He's a veteran and he sings for Victor, or in the case of Típica Victor, Provincianos, Carabelli, and he recorded a very sweet milonga this year called Apología tanguera, where he's backed by guitars. You know, now Apollo, not this recording, but Apología tanguera is, if I'm not mistaken, written by Azucena Maizani. I think Rosita Quiroga. Okay, yes. Yeah.
And so the reason for my confusion, which Dag has pointed up, is in the 20s and the 10s, there were a number of female vocalists who dressed as men and went on stage. So they weren't disguised as men. Everybody knew that they were women. But they would slick back their hair and put on a dinner jacket with a bow tie just as a man would, and they appeared on stage in this garb. Azucena Maizani was the most famous such person, but Rosita Quiroga did it as well. So Apología tanguera, the Tanguera's Apology, is a song associated with female singers, and that's why I wanted to explain that.
Chapter · 52:15
Women in dinner jackets
Tango's first women stars sang dressed as men.
Yeah, and the reason I knew it was Quiroga is that she quit, I think, in 31 or something at the crisis, but then she recorded a very few numbers in 52, and I forgot to play this particular one two weeks ago in 1952 show where she actually did record this milonga. So you can go listen to that after if you want. It's on the Tango by Year website. Post it to the Facebook group, Dag. I did actually, I think. So let's listen to Alberto Gómez singing Apología tanguera, and with guitar backing.
A sweet guitar-backed milonga associated with female singers such as Rosita Quiroga and Azucena Maizani, who performed in men's clothes.
♪ Music · 0:16 ·
1933 is a year where milongas are starting to pick up. I mean milongas for dancing. This was not particularly for dancing, but milongas are getting popular now.
With this part of society, yes, that's right. Canaro has popularized it. But before then, it was Mercedes Simone who picked up Milonga sentimental, as we spoke about in the 1932 program. And yeah, the milonga has become a mainstream thing with the dance bands, and we're happy as dancers, we're happy for that. We certainly are. Gosh, imagine, people, if there was no vals and milonga and it was only tango. Oh, we'd be so bored. I don't think we'd have quite this affection that we do have for our beloved genre.
Yeah. Gómez, as I said, also sang for Orquesta Típica Victor. And I want to play two songs by OTV. And you said that they were quite important this year, Michael. They were one of the major bands, even though they're just a house band. They were popular. And let's hear the world's Amor cobarde with Gómez singing.
And second song I want to play is a tango called Seguime corazón with a guy called Juan Carlos Delson singing. Do you know this vocalist, Michael? It's an interesting name, Delson. I don't know anything about him, but there were vocalists of different nationalities who disguise themselves. So in this case, we get a clue, oh, he's not Spanish or Italian. But there were many others where we don't have that clue. For example, Carlos Vivan, who sang with Firpo.
And I don't know, Dag, because viewers, I don't know what Dag's going to play. That's how the show works. Carlos Vivan is the main singer with Roberto Firpo in these years. He's Irish, but you wouldn't know that from his name. Wow, I had no idea, Irish extraction, fantastic. So yeah, I think we'll hear with him later tonight, I'm looking forward to that. We can't get around it, but this game, it was also recorded by D'Arienzo in 1942, I think it was, with the Llama singing. We listened to it some weeks ago. So this is a slower and different version. But yeah, let's hear it. Amor cobarde with Gómez and Seguime corazón with Juan Carlos Delson.
A slower, different version from the 1942 D'Arienzo one; an OTV house-band recording.
♪ Music · 3:49 ·
A tango with a singer whose name suggests a non-Spanish, non-Italian origin; Vardaro's violin tone is mentioned as unmistakable.
So we have been listening to Orquesta Típica Victor without Vardaro playing the violin, Michael, you think? He creates the magic, doesn't he? Well, he does. It's a very difficult question. There's only two record labels, Victor and Odeon. Odeon have the biggest stars, which means a smaller number of people. With Victor, we have wonderful musicians. Yeah, I can't imagine any of these. I can't imagine the Orquesta Típica Victor, Carabelli and several other orchestras without the contribution of Vardaro on violin, or the contribution of Ortiz on bandoneón. But it's so distinctive, you know, it's something miraculous, you know. You pick up an instrument, one picks up an instrument, and you pick it up, I pick it up, someone else picks it up, it's the same instrument but we produce different sounds. And the violin is the instrument par excellence in this case, and Vardaro produces a tone that no one else produces. It's extraordinary what he does, you know. We're still talking about him now a hundred years later, we're still talking about his contribution.
Um, yeah, and we gotta get those t-shirts, Michael, we were talking about earlier with the Vardaro fan club. Sexteto Vardaro, I was there, except we weren't. Yeah, we should have been there. Let's go back to. Okay, you mentioned in the introduction some of the big ones, the big three of 1933, and one of those was Francisco Lomuto. Well, no, that's not one I mentioned. I would put him in fourth place. All right. Because, yes, an important orchestra in this year, certainly, but not competing for top spot. So it was Fresedo, Canaro and Firpo you mentioned, right? I, yes. And then Lomuto, and somebody else chimed in in the chat window and said, yes, but don't forget Lomuto, which is quite right, but he's definitely in fourth spot behind this leading group of three.
Anyway, let's listen to some of his songs, and the first I want to play is. Oh, this is lovely. Yeah, this is how you die of love, it means in English, and this is the first recording of this song. But I think we know it more from the Anglers recording 10 years later in 43. That's certainly true for me, but for those who hate the Anglers so much that they don't listen to him, they may not know this tango. But I like the Anglers version very much, and I also like this Lomuto version. Well, the reason we like the Anglers version is because it's re-singing, I think that's, yes, that's one of my view anyway. Yeah, okay, okay, it lifts the Anglers to like two points on the scale. Yeah, yeah, it gives him a bonus point. I'll confess that, yeah.
But I love the melody of this song, and I'm kind of curious why other bands didn't pick it up, because I guess it wasn't a hit, but it should have been. Because, well, they may have picked it up but simply not recorded it, because generally one recorded a hit that was a new song, you know, sometimes. Oh, okay. So here's an example in the early 50s, 1951 or 52, Canaro records a milonga called Tomo mate, which has never been recorded before and had its premiere in 1857, nearly 100 years before. So there are just so many good songs that if you're at the second level, it's very easy not to get recorded. Wow, yeah. And I think I play one more Francisco Lomuto song, and the second one is much more playful, you should say. Si soy así, with Fernando Díaz singing. And this is.
Si soy así, if I'm like that, ¿qué voy a hacer? What am I going to do? Con las mujeres, no me puedo contener. I just can't stop myself with the ladies. Yeah, exactly. And it's his own composition. This, well, I mean, but he didn't write the lyric. No, but it's. Although sometimes he did write the lyric, because sometimes you will see music by Francisco Lomuto, we know who that is, lyric by Pancho. So Pancho is in Spanish one of the ways of referring to a Francisco. Pancho Laguna. But Pancho Laguna is the pen name as a lyricist of Francisco Lomuto. So there are quite a number, not just one, it's quite a lot of tangos where Lomuto also wrote the lyrics under this pen name, but not this time, I don't think.
It's a bit of a hit this year because it was recorded also by Canaro and with Ada Falcón, and Gardel also recorded it. But I want to play the Lomuto version since he composed it. So yeah, let's hear those two. They're very different in terms of mood, but we're not playing tandas here. So it's Cómo se muere de amor and Si soy así, both with Fernando Díaz singing.
The first recording of the song, which is better known from De Angelis's 1943 version; Dag loves the melody.
♪ Music · 3:25 · The lyrics, on the song's page
A playful, macho lyric ('what am I going to do?') by Lomuto himself; also recorded by Canaro with Ada Falcón and by Gardel the same year.
This is the fun one to dance. It's very playful. Very much. And he sings, widows, married or single, for me they're all pairs on the tree of love. It's hilarious, and very macho the lyrics. Yes, it is macho, but a very widespread attitude until very recently. And almost so over the top that it becomes like parodic. Yes, and that's very hard to know for us now. How would this lyric have been perceived at the time? Would people have listened to it and thought, oh God, stupid guy? You know, we just don't know.
Yeah. Let's hear a final piece of the Lomuto chapter from 33. The waltz. Oh, with Mercedes Simone singing in a duo. Yeah. Yes. Absolutely superb waltz. And we're very lucky to have this recording, because there are not many waltzes with male-female duos. So hats off to Lomuto for recording this. Yeah. Let's enjoy it.
A rare male-female duet waltz, which Lavocah says is lucky to have survived.
♪ Music · 1:51 ·
Oh, awesome. Sexy. And if you like, this was also a good recording with Charlo from this year, and I recommend listening to that also. So who were the singers on that recording? That was Fernando Díaz and Mercedes Simone. Beautiful. How come there are so many, so few duos with women singers? I guess it's because there's so many, so few women singers in general.
Well, I mean, generally speaking, I mean, for all of us, we have to remember that even not 100 years ago, but the time when we were born, the role of women in society, the space that they were permitted to take was very different from how it is now. So think about how the tango environment was in 1933. It was not a space where women moved very easily, and that's the main reason why there are not so many women recorded with the dance numbers, because in 1933 women didn't go to nightclubs where people were going out and living a very free life until four o'clock in the morning. That's something that's only been permitted much later.
But you think they could still go into the recording studio in the daytime, so it's a bit strange nevertheless. Well, they weren't members of the environment. So, yeah. And what you said earlier about the earlier women vocalists dressing up as men had to do with this social environment, I guess, that even though people knew there were women, it still makes sense to do that. Some of them did. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. It's interesting, isn't it?
Let's move on to another Victor house orchestra, Los Provincianos. And you mentioned. Well, I mean, this is just another name for Cirilo Ortiz's band, and I really don't understand why he had to give it different names. It's something that's mystified me. There must be some reason that I haven't yet guessed. Yeah. A difference in the kinds of tracks he records under the rubric of Los Provincianos. Because Cirilo Ortiz is not from Buenos Aires. He's from Córdoba in the north. So, therefore, the provinces, Los Provincianos. And that's a rubric used also by Francisco Lauro, who we've kind of forgotten about now.
But why sometimes Cirilo Ortiz and why sometimes, it could just be for marketing, you know, like the Orquesta Típica Victor sometimes recorded under the rubric of the Típica Porteña, just to be a different band. Maybe as simple as that, but I don't know. Could it be about the dynamics between the musicians in the band, that they didn't want to put one name in front and they just chose a more neutral name? Because he has great musicians with him, doesn't he? Has Troilo, a second bandoneón, and in certain years on violin, oh, maybe not this year, I read about this. It's hard to know. Yeah, exactly. Yes, of course that changes. I think they would have done that if that was true at that particular time. So if it says Cirilo Ortiz, then we know that he's the band leader, and if they change the name, then maybe someone else is controlling the arrangements.
There's a violin solo towards the end of this tango, Novísima, and I'm just curious if it's Gobbi playing that violin solo, but we probably don't know, because there's no strict records of who's playing at the different recordings. No, well, let's listen to it. I mean, Gobbi's violin, generally speaking, is small. It's a strange word to use for an instrumentalist, but that's the correct word. It's small, but full of feeling. So let's listen to it together and come to our own inner feeling, whether we think it's him or not.
A Victor house band with a violin solo near the end; hosts debate whether it is Gobbi, concluding the tone is Vardaro's.
♪ Music · 1:33 ·
So, Michael, you always say it's impossible not to recognize Vardaro. Was it him? It's Vardaro! Okay. Probability of Vardaro, 100%.
It's about the vibrato. When you make vibrato, vibrato means the vibration, it means the modulation of the note. And vibrato has two qualities: one is how deep the vibrato is, how much the note changes, and how rapidly it changes. And Vodara's vibrato is like no one else's. One second, half a second, it's enough. We know, it's enough.
“Vodara's vibrato is like no one else's. One second, half a second, we know it's enough.”
Great. So it could be actually like Vardar on first and Gobbi on second violin. I like to think about that. I don't think so. They wouldn't be playing in the same orchestra. No, I don't think so. Gobbi doesn't make any sense as a second violin. You'd choose a lesser player to be the second violin.
Let's go on to a track by which Cirilo Ortiz records in his own name. And then he's backed by guitars. We played this before during earlier programs. Oh, with his trio? Yeah, yeah, yeah, so it's him with two guitars. Yeah, yeah, two guitars, yeah. And there's a beautiful walls recorded this year called Soledad, loneliness. Oh, you're gonna kill me, this is one of the best songs of 1933, everyone. Isn't it? It's an exquisite example of what you called this conversando, right? This conversando, yes, the talking bandanon, talking bandanon, where he uses the octave notes. I've got special memories of dancing this song 20 years ago, which I'm not going to share with the group.
Chapter · 1:28:48
Seven bars of Cirilo Ortiz
A waltz built from almost no notes.
Wow. So they played this during Milongas 20 years ago. I never heard this. No, I did at home. Okay. Maybe you can share it after. Okay. No, that's private. Okay. Let's hear the song.
A guitar-backed waltz in Ortiz's own name, an exquisite example of the 'talking bandoneón' with octave notes and very few notes.
♪ Music · 2:53 ·
Someone said exquisitely delicate. Let's just hear it again. Well, what's really interesting about Cirilo Ortiz's bandoneon playing, particularly in that song, is how few notes he plays, but still makes it interesting. So let's just recap, shall we? There's only two notes in that, there's A, and the first note is played five times, and six if you count the one when it comes down, but it's still interesting. That's art, and it's a clear influence on Troilo as well. Yeah, yeah, it's the same.
Replayed at Lavocah's request to hear how few notes Ortiz plays, a clear influence on Troilo.
Yeah. Let's go to another waltz by another orchestra, Edgardo Donato. He recorded the waltz this year which I don't think I've heard at milongas, because it's not often played. Anyway, it's called Veneración. So, Veneración, Dag. Yeah, more shame you for not playing it. So I play that maybe in 50 percent of the milongas that I DJ. And is Andres geerstorfer here with us tonight? I don't know if he is, but I'm pretty sure he does too.
All right, it's rocking. Donato is one of the bands that's, um, yeah, we didn't mention him in the introduction. Can you see how energized I've become? Uh, yes. '33, Donato is really coming up, and waltzes like, um, Penas and Veneración give the stamp of what he's going to do. And I mean, if you don't play these guys after tonight, you will, because my friend in the next window, Dag here, is going to show you something you've been missing.
It has an introduction, but the highlight of this song in my view is about halfway, when there's this part where the piano plays the melody and then there's directly to a cello counter melody, one of his brothers. And we don't hear, I mean, we heard cello, Donato's cello, or not Donato's, but well, Donato's if it's his brothers. It's Donato's cello in one of the earlier programs, but it kind of gets submerged in the later Donato, but he keeps the cello through all this in his orchestra. Yes, the instrumentation becomes more rich in the 40s, and bands like the Troi Orchestra, Troi introduces a Troi in 1942, but you have to really pay attention to hear it. But here in 1933, there's fewer members in a Typica, so it's easier to hear what they're doing. Yes. And I mean, the supreme example, Donato has had a cello for many years. It's not a novelty in 1933. He's been doing it since the 20s. The supreme example, of course, is Pedro Maffia, but he's not recording in 1933. Donato, Veneración. It's a waltz, an instrument.
A rocking Donato waltz with a piano melody answered by a cello counter-melody, played by one of his brothers.
♪ Music · 2:45 ·
Rock and roll! Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, that's the playfulness of Donato. You can recognize that. It's actually quite sophisticated. The way the violin came in often on the offbeat, not on the one, but afterwards as an echo to the melody. Really sophisticated, but in a way that doesn't sound sophisticated. I love it. It's Donato's best epoch. And yeah, now I'm thinking I should have mentioned him at the beginning. Wonderful orchestra in '33.
Yeah. Well, one orchestra you did mention was Francisco Canaro. And he, through all this early 30s period, he recorded a lot. And you talked about earlier, Michael, his this series, Sinfonica. And I think there is one, just one recording from '33 in this series where it's more arranged music, and it's called Pinta Brava, an instrumental. It's an interesting one. It has this kind of habanera rhythm.
Yeah, I mean, Canaro in '33, it's difficult to really describe what's going on. But if one listens from '33 to '32, just with Canaro's orchestra, there is a hardening. And one can hear that the tender Canaro that we had hints of in the 20s is beginning to go, and we have intimations of the zeitgeist of what's going on in the scene at large. Yeah, and the series Sinfonica is going. But Pinta Brava, Pinta Brava is really quite a fascinating track, because most people listening have got no idea what this track is. And a few people will think, oh, that's a Pugliese number. But it's a Pugliese instrumental from 1949. And this is Tango by Year. So we're not going to play the different versions, because we can't follow a '33 number with a '49 number. But this is your homework. You've got homework tonight, everyone.
So these versions are reasonably easy to find, particularly the Polly Easy one. If you can't find the Canaro one, you'll be able to listen to it on SoundCloud when Dag publishes it next week. But listen to it. And Canaro wrote Pinta Brava, and he didn't write it in 1933. He wrote it in 1915, something like that. So, yes, yes. Old stuff. Old stuff, early stuff. So we'll listen to his recording. It's an interesting tango. The structure is a bit different to what we're used to. So we know that some tangos have introductions, but this is different, because in Pinta Brava, Pinta means your look. Pinta Brava means a wild look, strong look. Yeah? Check me out. Tango Pinta Brava. Yeah? That's Pinta Brava.
So when you listen to the Pugliese version, Pugliese really brings this out, like for the first 30 seconds nothing happens, and then bang, the piece starts out of nothing. And I think if you haven't heard the Pugliese piece, this piece isn't so impressive, but when you hear the Canaro version, you hear what Pugliese heard in it in '49. So your homework is to listen to this and then immediately afterwards listen to the Pugliese version. Good, I'll do that also after the after party. Yeah.
So, but as a contrast to this, I want to play Milonga by Conor, because he recorded several Milongas this year. And you mentioned Milonga sentimental, which is I think the first one he recorded, which everyone knows. And we heard a '32 version by Simone. It's the year that Milonga hits the typical. Yeah, but I'm not going to play that one, I'm going to play another one. I think it's only recorded by Canaris, Milonga del novecientos, Milonga of the 900. Well, 900 in this case referring to the year 1900. And there's a, it's not a Milonga, it's a tango, or is it? I can't remember any longer. Soy del Noventa, I am from 90, referring to 1890.
So numbers, whether they be tangos or milongas with this kind of title, are referring back to the very early origins of tango music in 1890, 1900. So there's a nostalgic lyrics probably about that era. Yes, and with archetypal stereotypical characters. But first, let's hear the instrumental Pinta Brava, which is part of Canaro's Serie Sinfonica.
From Canaro's Serie Sinfónica; the 1949 Pugliese version made the piece famous, and the homework is to hear them back to back.
♪ Music · 3:05 ·
A nostalgic milonga referring to the origins of tango around 1900, from the year milonga entered the dance orchestras.
Danced to it · 5 of 7
Nice to get into the era of the milongas. Yeah, it was a new thing for the dance bands at this time. Yeah. And Famá, I think this is his best period, in my view, in the late 30s. Well, maybe it's more the Canaro style that ruins a bit for me the experience of these songs, but at this time Canaro with Famá, I think, is very nice. I don't know exactly what to say. I mean, I agree with you 100%. There is a massive, massive change in 1939 between Canaro-Maida and Canaro-Famá. It's not just a change of vocalist, it's a change in every aspect of expression. And for me, Famá's greatest vocal performances are in '32 and '33 and not later. But then I'm a sensitive, romantic kind of guy.
This is why we love you, Michael. If you're an extrovert, you're going to like Canaro with Famá from '39, '40. Yeah, another singer with Canaro was Ada Falcón. We talked about her in several programs before. And this year she recorded... She's one of the top artists from this year. She is, isn't she? So, I mean, I did the introduction talking about Orchestras Typica because we're dancers and, you know, we want to hear about the dance orchestras. But if we think about the tango scene more generally, '33, huge year for Ada Falcón. One could even argue the most important artiste in this year. Yeah.
And she has a beautiful recording. This is her as a solo artist, just backed by Canaro, of the tango Ventarrón. And I think this is a beautiful interpretation. And I was considering playing it as the last song because I like it so much. But it came in second place. Well, Ventarrón is clearly a song we had to play tonight. And for most of our listeners, if we say Ventarrón, they're going to think of the typical Victor. But there's a lot of competition for best interpretation of Ventarrón in 1933. And as we're not dancing tonight, Ada Falcón, I think, comes out top of the pack.
And Ventarrón, you know, we all know what the word means. It's a reference to a big wind. Viento is the wind, but in this case it means to somebody who's all puffed up. And it's, if I'm not wrong, it's a Pedro Maffia composition, I think. Or at least, yes, Pedro Maffia, 1930. Did he record it also? He couldn't find it, well, he didn't record in 1933, so it must have been later in case. Yeah, I can't remember, but you know, perhaps he recorded it, or rather wrote it in this year, but was out of contract, so we missed his version probably. So let's listen to it, Ada Falcón singing Ventarrón.
Falcón's solo interpretation (backed only by Canaro) in a year with many Ventarróns; Dag nearly made it the last song.
♪ Music · 1:53 · The lyrics, on the song's page
Wonderful voice. Exceptional. I love it. I remember you said in an earlier program, because I wrongly played her sister, Adelma Falcon, Backpack Guitars, and you said that Ada only recorded with Canaro backing, Canaro's orchestra backing. They were like really close. And it's a pity in a way. I would like to hear her sing with another orchestra or just with guitar backing because she has a fantastic voice.
It's a tragic life. She chose her path and what else could we say? Speaking of tragedy, let's move on to Firpo. One of the other great orchestras from this year you mentioned.
Yeah, I've been waiting for him. Yeah, he has some great songs. And I want to play two of his good stuff. First, Alegre despertar. Glad to wake up, it means. And it's a tango. It's with Carlos Varela singing. And I love this. It has some lovely violins towards the end. And then the waltz. La Lejana. I think it's an instrumental if I'm not wrong or I might mix it. I think it's instrumental. It's very slow and it's not the best sound quality, but what a beautiful melancholy melody.
Yeah, Firpo is romantic and sentimental. And if you don't have these qualities in your soul, his music won't reach you. But if you do, then there's still a step to take because his musical expression is very different to the other orchestras. The sound of the violins you just mentioned, the violins, and he uses them in a different way to the other bands, but I love it. And at times there's a very deep melancholy in his music. Yeah, I like it, and you especially hear it in his waltz, I think. Yes. So what are we going to hear from Firpo tonight? Alegre despertar, the tango, and then La Lejana.
And does he play the piano himself at this point, you know? I'm not sure if he's still playing on the recordings in 1933. It's possible that he's still conducting. Um, yeah, I think he's by now he's just conducting and it's not him that we hear on the piano, although of course the pianists are playing in the style that he's laid down. All right, let's enjoy this. The Forgotten Hero, Roberto Firpo.
A Firpo tango with lovely violins at the end, played to show his romantic, sentimental sound.
♪ Music · 2:25 ·
Chapter · 1:59:42
The sextet Victor said no to
The best sextet of its day recorded one test and was told: not commercial.
A slow, melancholic Firpo waltz in poor sound, probably instrumental.
Hmm. Very slow for dancing, but for listening really grabs me by the heart. Maybe when this crazy time is over, in whatever way it's over and we're dancing again, we're going to hear a bit more Firpo. Yeah, I hope so. And wouldn't you love Todo Firpo Tango Tunes edition? At least from this period. Well, that's going to be a big edition, isn't it? Because Firpo is the second most recorded tango orchestra of all time. 2,800 tunes. That's crazy.
And even if you go, oh, I don't like those late Firpo quartet stuff, which is what a lot of people say, that eliminates a really small percentage. I mean, I haven't checked the numbers, but just off the top of my head, I think it will still leave more than 2,000 numbers of Firpo with his orchestra. There could be a separate Tango Tunes waltz Firpo waltz edition that would be like a big sell. I'd love to see that. That's like when the drug dealers give away some drugs at the beginning and get you hooked, you keep that. Yeah, no, you just have this, just give it away and then the people will come back.
Yeah, speaking of drugs, this is the next singer I've got really addicted to during this Tango By Year series, Imperio Argentina. We know, everyone. Yeah, don't we know? I think Dag is addicted to Imperio Argentina. And this year she recorded a song we know from many or several other orchestras, Silencio. And we listened to the Rivero version, I think from, was it 47, where he sings it with Troilo. Beautiful, yes. No, not from 47, from 50. This was the farewell recording, wasn't it, with Troilo we listened to? That's right.
4th of April 1950. Exactly, exactly. Yeah, you remember the date. Beautiful song. And there is a version by Gardel from 33 with Canaro backing, but I must say I really prefer Imperio singing it. I haven't heard this version. Good. There are a number of good interpretations of Silencio from this year. So yeah, I'm very curious. Let's hear it. She's backed by guitars and the piano this time.
Dag prefers her guitar-and-piano version to Gardel's 1933 recording with Canaro's orchestra; the lyric is about the mother of five brothers killed in the First World War.
♪ Music · 2:41 ·
I'm speechless, Michael. Can you say something? Well, let's just remind people of what we explained about the song last time. Silencio is about the silence that follows death in war. And Gardel, who came to the old continent many times, was inspired by the story of five brothers who were in Alsace and some of them were impressed into the German army. If you don't live in Europe, then Alsace is the province. Today, it's in France, on the border between France and Germany, but in France. But it changed hands over the course of the centuries.
Chapter · 2:09:05
A tango about five dead brothers
Silencio is the sound of a mother after war.
And these brothers were impressed in the German army and they died in the war. And this is the mother of these brothers singing about the silence in the night after her boys died. It's pretty heavy stuff. It's heavy stuff. Tango doesn't always just deal with the same old story of the man who's been deserted by the woman. Not always. And let's go from this sad tango to a milonga with the uplifting title, Milonga triste.
Oh, this is a very... Milonga triste is already in 1933? I didn't realize. This is the version by Ignacio Corsini. Okay. It's beautiful. I hope I'm not wrong with the year here, because at least according to Maya Deleves, it's recorded in 1933. Well, we'll listen to it anyway. And he's backed by guitars. And of course, we listened to Corsini before and enjoyed his songs earlier. And this is a Sebastian Piano composition.
Yeah, the same team that's produced Milonga sentimental. Yeah, and the lyrics by Romero Mansi. So I think this is the first recording, at least according to my database, it's the first recorded Milonga version of this. Well, it's definitely the first recording, but I think a few of us are going to be checking afterwards if it really is 33. You can check it and you can nail me if I'm wrong. And I will delete it from the SoundCloud recording if it's not from... No, don't do that.
Milonga triste is an interesting recording because it's not really... The feeling of it is very different to all the other Milongas that we know. And that's largely down to the lyricist, who pushes this Milonga in a new direction. Because Milonga is mostly party music, isn't it? So Milonga triste, sad Milonga triste, it's already a contradiction in terms. Very interesting, slow and painful.
And after this I'll play also Corsini, a waltz. It's called Cobardía, and it's not the same song as we heard with Charlo singing earlier, which was a tango. But this is a waltz with the same name recorded the same year. These are both with Corsini backed by guitars. Moving.
The first recording of a Sebastián Piana and Homero Manzi milonga, an unusual sad milonga; its date is queried.
♪ Music · 2:35 · The lyrics, on the song's page
A waltz of the same title as the Charlo tango, with guitar backing.
So whenever Milonga triste is from, there is some disagreement. So I guess we have to keep looking and find out where it's really from. But 1933 is, in a way, the year of the Milonga. We could have had a Milonga segment tonight because that's the year when the Milonga rhythm became integrated into the dance orchestras. And Cobardía, the waltz, beautiful. Beautiful. I like this voice with the guitar backing, is a fantastic mix. I'll never tire of that. Yeah.
So we're approaching the end and it'll be the grand finale. And as you said earlier, Michael, you don't know what I'll be playing during these programs, but there's one song that you knew that I'll be playing tonight, because we'll be talking about this song before many times and it's impossible to get around it, because it's just one recording, test recording with this orchestra. And you can tell me what I'm talking about because you know. Tigre viejo, of course, Sexteto Elvino Vardaro. Guys, if you've been feeling a bit sleepy, wake up. This is it.
So I said at the beginning, you know, be careful, maybe what's on disc is not really representative of what was happening in the musical scene, because there's been this great culling of experimental music in 31 and 32 with the depression and the bankruptcy of the Brunswick and Columbia record labels. But in 1933, there was a chance to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Elvino Vardaro, who had had a sextet with the young Osvaldo Pugliese in 1929-1930, a sextet that had failed, had another attempt and he formed a sextet to make leading edge music. He formed a sextet as the greatest violinist of his time with Aníbal Troilo as first violin. First bandoneon, I suppose. As first bandoneon, thank you, Dag.
José Pascual as the pianist. Who's that? You don't know who he is unless you remember that he is the composer of Arabal. Hugo Barrales, who plays violin in Troilo's Orchestra, is the second violin. The double bass player is Pedro Caracciolo, which is a name that none of you will know unless you remember that he's the bass player that Polito brought in to make the bass do something in the D'Arienzo Orchestra of 1940. So not 1940, late 38.
So this is, it's the best sextet of its day. And Vardaro makes experimental music. He records a single test record on the Victor label. I'm not going to say, Doug, what I suggest we do is we play it twice. So I don't want to say anything about the musical content of the piece now. I just want to introduce it in terms of its historical situation and the people who are playing, and then you'll play it and then we'll talk about the music and then we'll listen to it again. Totally agree.
Because Vardaro just thought, I'm going to make a rock and roll awesome record, and it's four minutes long. He takes Tigre Viejo, a piece from Salvador Corpillo, which you will know from the version of Osvaldo Fresedo from the same year. I can't describe what happens. It's absolutely extraordinary. We'll hear it together. And it's recorded by the Victor Record Company as a test pressing. Yeah. And there were lots and lots of these.
So it's a test pressing. They record it and then they play it to the executives and who knows who else. You know, maybe they've got a focus group. That's what they call it now. And they decide if they're going to play it. And the news came back to Vardaro. This music is not commercial and we're not going to print your record. We're not going to give you a contract.
And Osvaldo Vardaro, who is Elvino Vardaro's nephew, who I'm in contact with on Facebook, told me, I spoke to him about this and he said, when Elvino heard the news, he was so angry that he took his violin bow and he smashed it on the piano where he was standing and broke it. Because we've listened to music, which although it's been full of feeling, has not been cutting the bleeding edge. But here it comes.
Chapter · 2:22:46
The record that survived in Vaseline
One disc. Covered in Vaseline. Hidden in a cupboard.
“He was so angry that he took his violin bow and he smashed it on the piano where he was standing and broke it.”
Wasn't that a really expensive violin bow that he poached to get a train ticket back from somewhere else? If it was his Satori, it was an extremely expensive and irreplaceable bow. Yeah. So appreciate the anger behind the refusal of, yes, Victor refused to print the record that you and I are going to hear now, people. Let's hear it.
A single test pressing never released; Vardaro's sextet with Troilo, with tempo and volume dynamics, solos by Pascual, Troilo and Vardaro.
♪ Music · 3:34 ·
Yeah, we want more recordings from this orchestra, don't we? You know, if I really think about it and feel about it, it's a pain in my guts. Not in my heart, actually, but in my guts that they didn't run with that. Because this decision of the Victor Company, and you can understand it. We've just had 31 and 32. We've had the Great Depression. We've had record companies going bust. Who's going to sign an experimental orchestra in 1933?
It's not commercial. It's true. It's a very risky endeavor, and it very nearly extinguishes a musical impulse in the city. The ideas in this song come back with Laurenz in 1937, four years later, in Arrabal. So Arrabal is the son of Vardaro's Tigre Viejo. It's an extraordinary piece.
“The ideas in this song come back with Laurenz in 1937, four years later, in Arrabal. So Arrabal is the son of Vadaro's Tigre Viejo.”
Let's talk about the different ways it was extraordinary. First of all, for the sense of dynamic, in both technical uses of the word dynamic. First of all, in terms of the tempo. So the tempo was not fixed as we went, and not even just from the verse to the chorus, in between, inside sections of music, the tempo would suddenly hesitate and then continue again. But it didn't interrupt the dancing flow of the music. There wasn't a point we thought, oh no, I couldn't dance to that. As a dancer I would have been left stranded high and dry. No. So a tempo dynamic and also a volume dynamic, a volume dynamic that we'll hear again with Larry's kind of sound. That's extraordinary for 1933. That, yeah, that's the first time we've heard that.
And the way the solos are sent around the band. Now, we've heard bands that do solos around the orchestra before, like Julio de Caro, and it's not a new idea in tango music. It's something that's taken from classical music, you know, from Tchaikovsky, from the development of a symphony. In classical music, there are standard ways of developing a theme, and it's passing it around the different sections of the orchestra. That's one of its aspects.
But here there's something different, because you've got Vardaro and you've got Troilo in one band. Now, how easy is it to accommodate two world-class stars of different instruments in one band? It's not easy. Normally, one predominates and then the other guy has to shut up. But here, they manage it. Troilo does a solo and then Vardaro does a solo and they create two different emotions.
Oh! Plus there's the percussion in the first section, this chick, chick, chick, chick, which is not the double bass actually. It must be one of the violins, not Vardaro, the second violin, which would be Barrales. And the piano solo is also nice, I think. The piano solo is exceptional, and it should have reminded all of you listeners of what Orlando Goñi is going to do, except it's not Orlando Goñi. But it is a step on the road towards Goñi's conception of piano. So it's totally awesome in like half a dozen different aspects.
So should we listen to it again? I think we should. So what are we going to listen to? We're going to listen to the change of tempo through the sections. We're going to listen to the change of volume dynamic. We're going to enjoy José Pascual's piano solo, Troilo's bandoneon solo and Vardaro's violin solo. I think that's enough to be getting on with.
Played a second time after the discussion so listeners can follow the tempo changes and solos.
♪ Music · 3:13 ·
You know, we could just listen to this half a dozen times and just comment on a single aspect and that would be a fantastic program. So let me now tell the story of the disc, because as a test recording, there's one disc, there's one single physical object that preserves what all of us just heard. Not several thousand or tens of thousand, one. And this disc was in the possession of the second bandoneon player in the band, Jorge Fernandez. Jorge Argentino Fernandez. Argentino, his nickname.
And after he died, the family didn't know what to do with it. So they thought, oh, well, we need to preserve this. It is important, which is something, because Argentina has not always preserved its heritage. So they covered it in Vaseline. They covered the disc in Vaseline and put it in a cupboard. And I know it's hard to believe. And some years after that, the disc was taken to a collector. So Osvaldo Vardaro, Elvino's nephew, and the family of Jorge Fernandez took it to the collector Hector Luce, the greatest collector ever. Sadly, he died before he was able to give an interview explaining about his collection, extraordinary collection.
“So they covered it in Vaseline. They covered the disc in Vaseline and put it in a cupboard.”
When I say collection, it's not just a collection of different discs. His collection is broader in different dimensions to what we think. So for example, he had the original cylinders from the 1900s. So it's not just a collection of shellacs, it's a collection in many different ways. And he cleaned the Vaseline off the record by dissolving in olive oil and made the transfer which you hear now. So there's only one transfer of Tigre Viejo and that's it. And as Matthias said in the chat window, this sounds modern.
“He cleaned the Vaseline off the record by dissolving in olive oil and made the transfer which you hear now.”
So modern, nearly 100 years old, super modern, fantastic song. You know, I mean, what can you play after that? You know, where do you go after that? Where do you go after the Vardaro Vaseline experience? Actually, we're finished, but there we go, that's it, there's nowhere to go. Let's dig to tradition and play a cumparsita while you prepare for the after party, Michael. I hope you want to play some more.
Yeah, so let's, I can't remember all the versions of La cumparsita from this year, but the one I picked is actually Canaro's. Excellent choice. It's been very confusing, because Canaro recorded La cumparsita in 27, 29 and 33. So normally with recordings so far apart, of course, the number of the record would be different. But that's not the case in this time, because in 27 Canaro recorded La cumparsita with El on the B side and it was a hit. So when he did it again in 29 they made the same coupling, and then when he did it in 33 they did the same coupling. But those of you who are knowledgeable will say, oh, but that's no problem because the matrix number will be different. But no, they used the same matrix number and it's been confusing people ever since, but we've managed to work it out. So what Doug is about to play you, you can rest assured, it's definitely the 33 version.
Chapter · 2:38:00
Three Cumparsitas, one matrix number
Canaro recorded La cumparsita three times with the same record number.
Let's hope so. No, definitely, because that's the most widespread version with Minotto on bandoneon, because he came back to Canaro at the end of 32 and you'll hear his trillings. That's one of the giveaways. Before I put it on, let's say goodnight to everyone, those who don't stick around for the after party, and thanks for coming back and good to see everyone. And thanks again, Michael, for, you've been really engaged and enthusiastic tonight, great.
The music gives me life. You know, I can't be without it. Yeah, music is life. It is. So let's keep living until, well, maybe I should say also that in two weeks, I think we'll go for, because now we went to like 33 this year and two weeks ago we weren't 52. So I wanted to return a bit more to the core material. So I think next, or in two weeks, we'll go to 1939, which is in the middle of the golden age.
Good stuff. I think you can expect a long after party for 1939. Yeah, so make a coffee, have a coffee ready next time. Great, good stuff from D'Arienzo. Yeah, lots of good stuff. A huge year. And of course, the year the war breaks out. So, you know, the world is blowing itself to bits. Let's party. A little bit of the feeling we have tonight. So see you in two weeks in 1939. And I'll post a recording from this program one week from now. So, okay. Thank you, Doug. Thank you. And this is Canaro's La cumparsita, 1933.
Canaro's third recording (1927, 1929, 1933), a big-selling record with Minotto Di Cicco on bandoneón.
♪ Music · 2:34 · The lyrics, on the song's page
Beautiful music. Yeah, isn't it? Yeah, and a big selling record. Big selling record. So let's play a few more. It's not going to be a super long after party tonight, but let's go on and play a few more songs. Thank you for your selections, Doug. Thank you. I enjoyed a lot. I really enjoyed the breadth always of your selections.
So I always like to play at this point a non-tango song, which gives everyone a chance to go and get a cup of tea or a mate or a coffee or a wine or whatever it is you're drinking. So let's hear something from 1933. Not too obvious, I think. This is Clarence Williams. Here is Clarence Williams, a jazz musician from the United States from 1933.
Afterparty cortina: a US jazz recording by Clarence Williams.
♪ Music · 3:03 ·
That was Clarence Williams from 1933, Tomorrow Night. Now let's listen to a few Polish tangos. I said at the introduction to the program, 1933 was a really strong year for tango in Poland with many different artists. The first one I would like to play you is from Hanka Ordonówna, I hope I'm saying that correctly. If there's any Polish people with us, they can correct me. This is called Miłość ci wszystko wybaczy, Love Will Forgive You Everything. Wow, what a message. And I'll just read you a little bit of the lyric. Love forgives you everything. It changes your sadness into laughter. Love beautifully explains betrayal, sin and lies.
A Polish tango ('Love will forgive you everything') by a top-level artist, from a rich Polish tango year.
How about that? Isn't that special? I'll play you one more. This next one, so, Hanka Ordonówna, an artist of the top level. This next one, not an artist of the really top level, not a top three artist, still exquisite. This next one is Stefan Witas. And the title is Znam cię tyle lat, I've known you for so many years, again from 1933, an extremely rich year for tango in Poland.
A Polish tango with Hawaiian guitar and violin counterpoint behind the singer, to show how widespread the Hawaiian guitar was.
I think that surprised one or two people, huh? Really interesting song. So the Hawaiian guitar was a worldwide phenomenon at this time, not just some strange thing cropping up in Argentine tango. But yeah, there was canter point going on, violin canter point behind the singer. They weren't all like that, but there's a number of good songs.
There's more we could play but we need to move on. So if you're interested in Polish popular music from this period, the place to start is Adam Astin, but I'm not going to play him tonight. Listen to the Foxtrot Nicodem, huge hit from 1933. But let's move on.
And within Europe I would like to play you one track by Aleksander Wertyński. Now Aleksander Wertyński, my god, I don't know how to describe Aleksander Wertyński. You just have to, Aleksander Wertyński, in the, oh gosh, what's it called, the Comedia with the pantomime characters. Aleksander Wertyński always dressed as Columbine the clown, the clown with the sad face. What's that, the Comedia Italiana, something like that? Ines is nodding. Comedie l'arte, thank you Rachel. Yeah, that's what I was trying to say.
So Aleksander Wertyński, if you haven't come across Aleksander Wertyński, is an extraordinary artist who moved the Comedie l'arte into the musical sphere because it was not a musical form, it was a stage theatrical form, and he has a beautiful song from 1933. Now his songs are not just taken from the Comedie dell'arte, they are groundbreaking, lyrically often bizarre and that is true as well from the song that presents itself to us from 1933. It's recorded in Warsaw. Aleksander Wertyński is Russian. He made his very best recordings probably in Paris. This is recorded in Warsaw with Jerzy Petersburgy on piano. It's a hugely important Polish composer that I know Agata will recognize and it has the bizarre title of Liljowy murzyn which I will just put for you in the chat window. Have a listen to this as it says in the Monty Python show and now for something completely different.
A bizarre, intense song by the Russian pantomime artist, recorded in Warsaw with Jerzy Petersburski on piano; Lavocah calls it a shocker.
♪ Music · 1:04 ·
Bit of a shocker, eh? Something completely different. Let's have something to cheer us up. That's really quite intense. Big orchestras that we didn't hear so much of, Canaro and Donato. I don't really know where to go. Let's go to Donato. No, I know what we'll do. We'll play some waltzes. That's what we'll do. Waltz time. First of all, Edgardo Donato. Donato. This is a waltz which somehow is not very well known. Penas.
A less well-known Donato waltz; first of three waltzes.
Next one, Canaro. So this is a little waltz standita with three orchestras. First Donato, second Canaro. I'm going to play Adiós juventud. Now be careful. Adiós juventud, goodbye youth. There's also a Canaro tango called Adiós juventud. So don't get confused. This is the waltz, it's from 1933, really interesting performance and Ernesto Famá is singing there. There's an exquisite violin solo in the middle of the piece and Famá's vocal performance is also really special.
An exquisite violin solo with separately articulated notes and a special Famá performance.
Danced to it
♪ Music · 3:15 ·
Very special performance. I'm not going to play that again, but if you listen to it again, either because you look out the track or you listen to the recording on SoundCloud, in that violin solo, the notes were separately articulated. It wasn't a legato. All the notes were brought out separately. Articulated is what we'd say musically, and that requires exquisite control of the violin boat to do at speed and tells us that the violinist was a top player. Anyway, third waltz, Firpo. Now a little bit of European hint coming back to us because this is a song I'm not going to announce the title, I'm going to let you all recognize it. I think a song that you will know.
A waltz of European origin; Lavocah lets listeners guess the title from the Spanish lyric about the 'old Paris'.
♪ Music · 3:35 ·
Beautiful. How about something a bit more mainstream? Something you'd have heard before. Canaro's first milonga. And the thing to notice is the fact that he doesn't keep a regular beat.
Canaro's first milonga, a classic where the beat is not regular.
Danced to it · 5 of 62
A classic. A timeless classic. We'll never forget that. Let's listen to some Fresedo. Fresedo was a huge orchestra in 1933, partly because he was so good and partly because a lot of the competition vanished. And I want to play some tangos, but also some foxtrots, because Fresedo, as we know, was very influenced by North American music and did it very well. He traveled to North America three times on three separate occasions. Let's start with No sé llorar. All from 1933. Isn't it great? Pick a year. Still full of good stuff.
Three tangos of Fresedo from 1933. No sé llorar, which means I don't know how to cry. Linda cordobesita, little lady from Cordoba. And, raka lakana, which means scram. It's the police.
First of three Fresedo tangos in a year he was huge, partly because the competition vanished.
A Fresedo tango with Ray, about a little lady from Córdoba.
Third Fresedo tango of the set, whose title Dag translated as 'scram'.
So let's listen to a couple of Fresedo's Foxtrots. We'll play two. First of all, something that sounds more Argentine in the Foxtrot world. Contigo quiero ir. I want to go with you. Again with Roberto Ray singing as all the songs of Fresedo that we've heard tonight have been. And then the second one, a bit less well known, a lot less well known. Por favor, please, with a different singer, Charles Wimmer, who sings in a more English style and a much slower place. So, first, Contigo quiero ir, and then, Por favor.
A foxtrot that sounds more Argentine, showing Fresedo's North American influence.
A less well-known foxtrot with a singer in a more English style and a much slower pace.
I'm very glad that managed to charm some of you because it would be easy to dismiss it as not typical of the Argentine style. But very charming. So now I'll play three Donato numbers and then that will be it for tonight. Donato is interesting in these years as we wait for the D'Arienzo explosion to happen. Knowing as we do that it's coming. It's very tempting to think of Donato as a bridge between what's come before and what's about to happen. That's our interpretation with a full knowledge of history.
There were many bands apart from Donato that played fast tangos that relied on pizzicato and other effects in the violins at this time. For example, the group of Ernesto Ponziò, which was also quite successful in 1933, but without recording. But they don't have the same feeling as D'Arienzo. Are they a bridge to D'Arienzo? I can't say. I'm shy and hesitant to say it. I think that's too simple a view of history. Certainly it's an ingredient. So first one I'll play just three. Pobre soñador, poor dreamer.
First of three Donato numbers, a fast tango relying on violin pizzicato, played as a bridge to what D'Arienzo would do.
♪ Music · 1:51 ·
Well, if you like that, you'll like the next one even more. Here comes... Which means...
Closing Donato number whose lyric begins 'What a plate, che!', which Lavocah says listeners will like even more.
♪ Music · 2:02 ·
Folks, sadly, this is going to be it for tonight. But between now and next week, I can promise you some posts on Paul Leisi, and we're going to have a huge time next time in 1939. Goodness, it's going to be massive. Bring your Valium. Actually, you won't need it. You just listen to the music.
Thank you to Dag for the concept, the idea and the inspiration. To all of you for supporting this idea. To our sponsors, the communities in Bogen and Norwich and to the Marabu Nightclub in Buenos Aires. And we'll have some more things to tell you about that, but next time that's it for tonight. Thank you for joining us. It means a great deal to both of us to share this music with you, and we'll see you in two weeks. Until then, stay safe.
Tango By Year is Dag Stenvoll and Michael Lavocah's, published here with their permission. The audio plays from SoundCloud.