Topic
Tango in 1922
In 1922, tango-labelled works made up just over half of the songs recorded in a year described in an article on Carlos Gardel, with twelve tangos among twenty-one songs [1]. A 1922 discography lists recordings by Osvaldo Fresedo, Roberto Firpo, Francisco Canaro, Ignacio Corsini and Gardel with José Razzano [3], and the same year Osvaldo Pugliese's father bought him the piano he used for the rest of his career [2].
This article gathers what the available sources record about tango in the year 1922. The material is almost entirely discographic. It consists of a year listing of titles, performers, genres and, in some cases, exact recording dates [3]. It is supplemented by single statements from articles on Carlos Gardel and Osvaldo Pugliese [1] [2] and by a note from a Gardel discography [4].
An article on Carlos Gardel states that 1922 was the year in which tangos first exceeded half of the songs recorded, with twelve tangos out of twenty-one songs [1]. The 1922 year listing contains a larger number of Gardel entries than this figure, and the two counts are not reconciled in the sources (see the disputed entries) [1] [3].
Beyond tango proper, the 1922 listing includes waltzes (vals and vals sentimental), maxixes, a polca and a milonga [3]. It also includes Argentine folk and regional forms such as the tonada, zamba, estilo, canción and canción campera, and a pasillo colombiano [3].
Carlos Gardel
An article on Gardel describes 1922 as the point at which tangos came to make up more than half of the songs recorded: twelve out of twenty-one [1]. In the 1922 listing, most of the Gardel entries credit the guitarists Guillermo Barbieri and José Ricardo as accompanists [3].
The listing gives the following titles for Gardel with Barbieri and Ricardo:
- Camarada (tango) [3]
- Córdoba (tango) [3]
- El carretero (canción campera) [3]
- El patotero sentimental (tango) [3]
- El taita del arrabal (tango) [3]
- La brisa (tango) [3]
- La cartita (tango) [3]
- La cautiva (tango) [3]
- La maleva (tango) [3]
- La provinciana (tango) [3]
- Loca...! (tango) [3]
- Los indios (tango) [3]
- Madre (tango) [3]
- Mis flores negras (pasillo colombiano) [3]
- Nido de amor (tango) [3]
- Pobre corazoncito (tango) [3]
- Polvorín (tango) [3]
- Porotita (genre not given; credited to José Ricardo and Guillermo Barbieri) [3]
- Un bailongo (milonga) [3]
The listing also contains the vals Tu diagnóstico, credited to Carlos Gardel alone [3].
The Gardel discography notes that the verses of Un bailongo were written by Cepeda [4]. It also states that Gardel sang the piece in milonga rhythm and recorded it in 1922 [4]. The year listing likewise classes Un bailongo as a milonga [3].
The listing credits Mis flores negras to Gardel in three separate entries, each with different personnel [3]. Because the sources do not explain this, the variation is recorded as disputed below [3].
Gardel and Razzano duets
Several 1922 entries credit Gardel together with José Razzano, accompanied by Barbieri and Ricardo [3]. These titles are almost all in folk or song forms rather than tango:
Osvaldo Fresedo
Osvaldo Fresedo's 1922 entries are the only ones in the listing that give exact day dates for some recordings [3]. Those dates run from 24 May to 12 November 1922 [3].
Dated entries, in date order:
Other Fresedo tangos are listed under 1922 without a day date:
Roberto Firpo
Roberto Firpo's 1922 entries cover a range of dance forms. Besides tangos, they include waltzes, two maxixes and a polca [3]. All of them are dated only to the year:
- Buen amigo (tango) [3]
- Cachonguita (tango) [3]
- El borrador (tango de salón) [3]
- El huérfano (tango) [3]
- El llorón (tango) [3]
- En plena mar (vals) [3]
- Ibis (maxixe) [3]
- La polka del auxilio (polca) [3]
- Madre...! (tango) [3]
- Patotero sentimental (tango, with Ignacio Corsini) [3]
- Pembere (maxixe) [3]
- Tierrita (tango) [3]
- Un placer (vals sentimental) [3]
Other performers
The 1922 listing also includes single entries by several other performers:
Repertoire shared between performers
Several works appear in the 1922 listing under more than one performer, sometimes with slight differences in title [3]. El huérfano is listed for both Francisco Canaro and Roberto Firpo [3]. A third entry under the same work identifier is garbled and cannot be attributed [3].
The tango listed as Madre for Gardel appears as Madre...! for Firpo, under the same work identifier [3]. The work listed as El patotero sentimental for Gardel appears as Patotero sentimental in two other entries [3]. One of those entries is credited to Ignacio Corsini, and the other to Roberto Firpo with Corsini [3].
Osvaldo Pugliese
An article on Osvaldo Pugliese records that his father, Adolfo, helped him take his first steps in music [2]. The same article states that in 1922 his father bought him a German Fröster piano [2]. According to that source, Pugliese played this piano throughout his career, from his time with Pedro Maffia until his last days [2]. The source adds that the piano is now held at La fundación la casa del tango [2].
References
- Carlos Gardel · es.wikipedia.org“Hasta que en 1922 los tangos superaron la mitad: doce sobre veintiún canciones grabadas.”
- Osvaldo Pugliese · es.wikipedia.org“Adolfo, su padre, lo ayudó a hacer sus primeros "palotes" en la música, le compró un Piano Fröster alemán en 1922”
- tango.info · tango.info“Almita herida! | T0370085930 | tango | Osvaldo Fresedo | - | zxx | 1922-08-25 | 03:17 | 3 | info”
- fundacioncarlosgardel.org · fundacioncarlosgardel.org“Son de Cepeda también los versos de "Un bailongo" que Gardel canta a ritmo de milonga y graba en 1922.”
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