Tango in 1917

This article gathers events and recordings that the available sources assign to the year 1917. The best-documented strands concern Carlos Gardel and his duo partner José Razzano, the tango 'Mi noche triste', and Gerardo Matos Rodríguez's 'La cumparsita', which is associated with Roberto Firpo ^[1][2][3][4].

A Spanish-language biography of Gardel states that in 1917 the duo recorded its repertoire, including 'Mi noche triste', and calls it the first tango Gardel recorded ^[1]. The Fundación Internacional Carlos Gardel titles its 1917 chapter 'El primer tango canción' ('The first tango canción') ^[10]. Sources differ on when the duo's recording work began: two give 9 April 1917, while a biography of Razzano gives May 1917 ^[6][10][11].

The same year, according to Spanish-language encyclopedia articles, Firpo and his orchestra gave the first public performance of 'La cumparsita' at La Giralda in Montevideo on 19 April 1917 ^[2][4]. One of those articles notes that, because of an error in the numbering of discs, the premiere is sometimes placed in 1916 ^[2].

A tango discography lists dozens of sides it dates to 1917, by Gardel and Razzano with José Ricardo, Roberto Firpo, Eduardo Arolas, Juan Félix Maglio, Augusto Pedro Berto, Celestino Ferrer, Alberto Alonso and Minotti Di Cicco, Juan Carlos Cobián, Enrique Delfino and Vicente Loduca ^[5]. A biography of Eduardo Arolas places in 1917 his participation in a combined Canaro-Firpo orchestra for carnival dances in Rosario and the start of his recordings for Victor ^[8].

The Fundación Internacional Carlos Gardel states that on 9 April 1917 Gardel began his recording series for Odeón, recording in the old studios on Cangallo near Callao together with his duo partner José Razzano ^[10]. A chronicle of 'Mi noche triste' likewise dates the recording for the Nacional-Odeon label to 9 April 1917 ^[11]. A biography of Razzano, however, says the duo's recording work started in May 1917 ^[6]. The sources therefore differ on the starting date ^[6][10][11].

The same Razzano biography notes that at the start of this recording work Gardel and Razzano were credited as authors of nearly all the songs, and comments that this was not completely true ^[6]. Another source lists Gardel's 1917 recordings with the guitarist José Ricardo under the Odeón name ^[3].

A biography of Roberto Firpo states that Firpo and the Gardel-Razzano duo recorded together only once, in 1917 ^[7]. The title of that tango is cut off in the available excerpt ^[7].

The Spanish-language Gardel biography adds several episodes from the same year. The researcher Félix Scolatti, who accompanied the duo on its only tour of Chile in 1917, recalled that Gardel was constantly looking for new popular rhythms ^[1]. According to Scolatti, Gardel listened closely to what ordinary people sang in streets and squares, memorising the songs and taking notes so he could identify them later ^[1]. The same biography says that a person named Silva met Gardel almost by chance in 1917, when the duo, then in Montevideo, decided to have photographs taken to promote their image ^[1].

A Gardel discography records two cases of earlier material that Gardel recorded again in 1917 ^[9]. One was a piece he re-recorded in 1917 and 1933 as 'El tirador plateado' ^[9]. The other was a composition also known as 'Gorjeos' or 'La mariposa liviana', re-recorded in 1917, 1929 and 1930 ^[9].

According to the Spanish-language article on 'Mi noche triste', Pascual Contursi used a Gardel performance in Montevideo in 1917 to show the singer his lyric 'Lita' ^[3]. Gardel then sang it at the Teatro Urquiza in Montevideo and later in Buenos Aires ^[3].

The Gardel biography states that 'Mi noche triste' was the first tango Gardel recorded, and separately that in 1917 Gardel sang and recorded a tango for the first time ^[1]. The Gardel foundation presents 1917 under the heading 'The first tango canción' ^[10].

A chronicle of the piece states that the recording for Nacional-Odeon took place on 9 April 1917 ^[11]. It adds that, for reasons it does not explain, the author registered the lyric in June 1917 under the title 'Mal de ausencia', without saying whether it was a tango or simply a poem ^[11]. The sources thus refer to the lyric by different titles: 'Lita' in one account and 'Mal de ausencia' in the registration ^[3][11].

The Gardel biography also records that 'Flor de durazno' was premiered on 28 September 1917 ^[1]. According to the same source it drew a very good public response, stayed in production for several years and passed 800 performances ^[1].

The Spanish-language article on 'La cumparsita' states that its melody was created and written in early 1917 by the Uruguayan musician Gerardo Matos Rodríguez ^[2]. According to the same article, the piece began as a march, composed by Matos Rodríguez, then a young architecture student, for the carnival comparsa of the Federación de Estudiantes del Uruguay and its upcoming celebrations ^[2].

Two encyclopedia articles credit Roberto Firpo and his orchestra with the first public performance ^[2][4]. They give the date as 19 April 1917 and the venue as La Giralda on Plaza Independencia in Montevideo, described as a confitería in one passage and a café in another ^[2][4]. The same article notes that the premiere is sometimes placed in 1916 because of an error in disc numbering, so the year is reported differently in some accounts ^[2]. The article describes 'La cumparsita' as one of the most widely disseminated tangos in the world ^[2].

A discography lists a 1917 recording of 'La cumparsita' ^[5]. That listing credits Roberto Firpo in one entry and Alberto Alonso and Minotti Di Cicco in another under the same identifier, so the performer credit is not settled in this source ^[5].

A biography of Eduardo Arolas states that in 1917 he joined, as featured bandoneonist, a large orchestra formed by merging the units of Canaro and Firpo, assembled for the carnival dances in Rosario ^[8]. The same biography says that from 1917 until his death he wrote the tangos for which he is best known ^[8]. It also says that in 1917 he began recording for the Victor company, where his orchestra's sound, brilliance and distinctive rhythmic swing could be heard ^[8].

A discography gives exact dates for several Arolas recordings from late April 1917 ^[5]. These include 'Adiós, Buenos Aires' and 'Lágrimas' on 23 April, 'Anatomia' and 'La guitarrita' on 24 April, and 'El chañar', 'Rawson', 'Marrón glacé' and the paso doble 'El gitanillo' on 26 April ^[5]. On 30 April the listing places 'El gaucho néstor' and the aire provinciano 'Yo ya sabía' ^[5]. It also lists 'Moñito' under 1917 without a day ^[5].

The following lists are drawn from a single discography that dates these sides to 1917 ^[5]. In most cases it gives only the year ^[5]. Genre labels are given as the listing records them ^[5].

The listing credits 'Mi noche triste' under one identifier to Carlos Gardel, to José Ricardo with Carlos Gardel, and to Celestino Ferrer, so its entries for this title are inconsistent ^[5].