Tonight there is a review of Modern Tango World, the new magazine that recently turned 1, and some post-Gotan Project music. Then the focus is on Uruguay with an introduction to the life and music of Juan ‘Firpito’ Baüer, and an interview with Nestor Vaz. That’s Tango Capital at 7:00pm AEDT tonight

•   on 2xxfm 98.3 in Canberra
• streaming live to the internet from http://www.2xxfm.org.au/listen

PLAYLIST:

• El Amanecer, meaning ‘The Dawn’, a tango written by Roberto Firpo and recorded by him on 4 January 1938.
• No Te Quiero Más, meaning ‘I do not love you any more’, a tango recorded by Enrique Rodríguez, on 15 March 1940, with music composed by Juan Baüer, with lyrics by Juan Antonio Estape, and sung by Armando Moreno.
• Adíos, Arrabal, meaning ‘Good-bye, Neighbourhood’, a tango recorded by Julio De Caro in 1930, with music composed by Juan Baüer in 1930, with lyrics by Carlos César Lenzi, and sung by Pedro Lauga.
• Juventud, meaning ‘Youth’, a tango recorded by Carlos Gardel singing on 20 March 1930, with music composed by Juan Baüer in 1929, and with lyrics by Roberto Aubriot Barboza.
• La Mano Encima, meaning ‘The Upper Hand’, a neotango recorded by Plaza Francia in 2014, with music and lyrics by Eduardo Makaroff, and sung by Catherine Ringer.
• Cenizas, meaning ‘Ashes’, a neotango recorded by Plaza Francia in 2014, with music and lyrics by Eduardo Makaroff, and sung by Catherine Ringer.
• La Muerte Del Ángel, meaning ‘Death of the Angel’, a concierto recorded by Nestor Vaz Quinteto in 2008 of music composed by Astor Piazzolla.
• Palersur, a candombe written by Nestor Vaz in 2013 and recorded by Nestor Vaz Quinteto in 2015.

To those  listening on the internet stream, I do apologise for the technical problem that arose on the weekend. The program did not stream and accordingly I am making this edition of the podcast available freely so that listeners can hear the majority of the content.

To access the podcast, go to: http://www.patreon.com/TangoCapital

Cantor de la orquesta Jorge Maciel kicks off this week’s edition, and Tángalo perform with Nestor Vaz, all  followed by a discussion of tango in relation to the martial arts with Rina Sawaya.

That’s the tango hour this week, 7:00pm this Sunday:

•   on 2xxfm 98.3 in Canberra
• streaming live to the internet from http://www.2xxfm.org.au/listen

PLAYLIST:

• Un Tango Para El Recuerdo, meaning ‘A Tango For A Memory’, a tango, recorded by Pugliese, on 24 June 1957, with music by Rafael Del Bagno, with lyrics by Antonio Cantó, and sung by Jorge Maciel.
• Adios Corazon, meaning ‘Goodbye Heart’, a tango, recorded by Pugliese, on 29 May 1958, with music by Lalo Etchegoncelay, with lyrics by Héctor Sapelli, and sung by Jorge Maciel.
• Remembranza, meaning ‘Remembrance’, a tango, recorded by Gobbi, on 8 September 1948, with music by Mario Melfi composed in 1940, with lyrics by Mario Battistella, and sung by Jorge Maciel.
• Tu Amargura, meaning ‘Your Misery’, a vals, recorded by Gobbi, on 25 July 1949, with music and lyrics by Laureano Martínez Smart, and sung by Jorge Maciel & Ángel Diaz.
• La Cumparsita, meaning ‘The Little March’, a tango, recorded by Pugliese, on 6 August 1959, with music composed in 1924 by Gerado Matos Rodríguez, with lyrics by Pascual Contursi, Enrique Maroni, and Gerado Matos Rodríguez, and sung by Jorge Maciel & Carlos Guido with Luis Mela reciting.
• La Intriga, meaning ‘The Intrigue’, a tango, recorded by Gobbi, on 23 November 1950, with music by Héctor Stamponi composed in 1950, with lyrics by Marcó, and sung by Jorge Maciel.
• Una Emoción, meaning ‘An Emotion’, a tango, recorded by Tanturi, on 17 November 1943, with music by Raúl Kaplún, with lyrics by José Maria Suñe, and sung by Enrique Campos.
• Pensalo Bien, meaning ‘Think Well’, a tango, recorded by D’Arienzo, on 22 June 1938, with music by Juan Visciglio, with lyrics by Lolo López & Julio Alberto, and sung by Alberto Echagüe.
• Esta Noche de Luna, meaning ‘This Moonlit Night’, a tango, recorded by Di Sarli, on 17 December 1943, with music by Graciano Gómez & José Garcia, with lyrics by Héctor Marcó, and sung by Roberto Rufino.

The intellectual and social significance of Osvaldo Sosa Cordero’s works is firmly based in his commitment to research and preservation of traditional music, whether from the Guarani or other first peoples of Argentina, or the rural traditions  of the criollas. With this grounding his own works cross the divide between the mythologisation of rural Argentina and the dominance of the city of Buenos Aires. He could write a milonga such as De Pura Cepa (Of Pure Strain), which, in the spirit of other nationalistic milongas such as Del Tiempo Guapo and No Hay Tierra Como La Mia, nobilises the milonga: He describes it as:

Milonga de mi Argentina
la gentil embajadora  / del cantar de mi nacion

Milonga of my Argentina
the gentle ambassador / the song of my nation.

But he positions it at a national level, and  he also posits the link between milonga tradicional, as he describes it, and tango:

Milonga, madre del tango

Milonga, mother of tango

And then he could write a tango such as Yo Llevo Un Tango En El Alma, (I wear a tango in the soul) in which in turn he nobilises the tango:

Madre buena, patio, fango, / drama, fábrica, humildad…
Todo, todo sabe a tango, / a canción de mi ciudad…

Good mother, patio, mud, / drama, factory, humility …
Everything, everything tastes like tango,/ a song of my city …

* * * * *

In the early part of the 20^th century industrialisation and immigration steadily continued the shift of the balance of power from the provinces of Argentina to the capital, Buenos Aires that had started with independence and federation a century earlier.  Change is always threatening to someone, and one reaction was the reification of rural Argentina and denigration of urban Buenos Aires as morally inferior to the traditions of the country. The milonga became associated with the noble rural lifestyle, epitomised by the mythologised gaucho, whilst the tango was identified with the sinful city – although to avoid confusion I should at this point note that the legend of the brothel origins of tango has been comprehensively debunked.

 

To legitimise tango in this highly politicised environment was no small matter. At such a time these songs from Cordero attempt to reconcile these opposing forces by placing the two elements of Argentina on the same footing in a popular format.

 

Photo credit: Argentinian Badge as presented in the Congreso building: Myk Dowling

 

 

 

This week Tango Capital explores a what-if scenario, looking at the life and music of Charlo.Then an ongoing series of interviews with DJs kicks off, with Adelaide DJ Pat Petronio.

That’s Tango Capital, 7:00pm this Sunday 30 October:

 

•  on 2xxfm 98.3 in Canberra
• streaming live to the internet from http://www.2xxfm.org.au/listen

PLAYLIST:

• Llamale H, meaning ‘Call Him H’, a tango recorded by Orquesta Típia Victor, on 15 March 1932, with music by Hermes Romulo Peressini, and sung by Charlo.
• Campanitas Del Suburbio, meaning ‘Little Bells of the Suburb’, a tango recorded by Adolfo Carabelli, on 25 July 1933, with music by Jaime y Pedro Lloret, and sung by Charlo.
• Romance, meaning ‘Romance’, a tango recorded by Adolfo Carabelli, in 1932, 1933, or 1937, and sung by Charlo.
• Tu Pálida Voz, meaning ‘Your Faint Voice’, a vals recorded by Charlo, on 15 June 1955, with music by Charlo, composed in 1942, with lyrics by Homero Manzi, and sung by Charlo.
• Oro Y Plata, meaning ‘Gold And Silver’, a milonga recorded by Charlo, on 18 December 1951, with music by Charlo, composed in 1943, with lyrics by Homero Manzi, and sung by Charlo.
• Jamás Retornaras, meaning ‘Never Return’, a tango recorded by Miguel Caló, on 9 October 1942, with music by Osmar Maderna, with lyrics by Miguel Caló, and sung by Raúl Berón.
• Tristezas de la Calle Corrientes, meaning ‘Sadnesses of Corrientes Street’, a tango recorded by Miguel Caló, on 2 September 1942, with music by Domingo Federico, composed in 1942, with lyrics by Homero Expósito, and sung by Raúl Berón.
• Que Te Importa Que Te Llore, meaning ‘Do You Care That I Cry’, a tango recorded by Miguel Caló, on 30 June 1942, with music by Miguel Caló, with lyrics by Osmar Maderna, and sung by Raúl Berón.
• Dos Fracasos, meaning ‘Two Failures’, a tango recorded by Miguel Caló, on 31 July 1941, with music by Miguel Caló, with lyrics by Homero Expósito, and sung by Alberto Podestá.

Puente Alsina is a famous bridge in Buenos Aires, one so famous it has a tango named for it. But both words and music of that tango were written in 1926 by Benjamín Tagle Lara whereas the current neo-colonial structure that links the suburbs of Nueva Pompeya to Valentin Alsina was opened in 1938. In fact the words refer to the second of the bridges, a temporary iron structure that was in use from 1910 to 1938.

The image shows it in 1928, only two years after the song was written. It is clearly a working bridge carrying trade as well as traffic and located in a working district, and the lyrics should be interpreted in that light.

The bridge has always been the Puente Alsina in popular parlance, and references to it—such as in Buenos Noches, Buenes Aires ( ? written in 1958) and the 1947 version of the lyrics to El Choclo—have been in that name. The official name has been a different matter. I have mentioned the tensions between Buenos Aires and the provinces in previous posts, and  the Batella de Puente Alsina (Battle of Alsina Bridge)  in 1880 between Buenos Aires and its own province is one of the few official references to the bridge under that name. The series of bridges have variously been officially named Valentin Alsina, Jose Felix Uriburu, and now Ezequiel Demonty, although 2002 to 2015 the current bridge was renamed to align with popular parlance as Puente Alsina.

The tango Puente Alsina has been recorded dozens of times – and the one played on 23 October, from Otros Aires is, as the name says,  just  ‘Another Puente Alsina’  although it is a reconstruction of their first version from 2007. Otro Puente Alsina – Reloaded was recorded in 2013 by Otros Aires with Joe Powers playing harmonica by invitation.

The lyrics read in part as follows:

 “…Viejo puente, compañero y confidente,
sos la marca, que en la frente,
del progreso te ha dejado
el suburbio rebelado
que a tu paso sucumbió.

Yo no he conocido caricias de madre…
Tuve un solo padre que fuera el rigor
y llevo en mis venas, de sangre maleva,
gritando, una gleba, su crudo rencor.
Porque te lo llevan, mi barrio, mi todo…”

 …Old Bridge, comrade and confidant,
the mark, the leading edge,
of progress has left you
the suburb rebelled
 your path succumbed.

I have not known a mother’s caresses …
I had only a father that was harsh
and I carry in my veins the blood of thugs,
crying bondage, holding a grudge.
Because they take, my neighborhood, my everything,..

Clearly urban gentrification is not a new phenomenon, and the poor always lost out.

Image reproduced from Wikipedia: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puente_Alsina

This week the harmonica  is the focus, with music from Hugo Diaz and Joe Powers, and then tango teacher Erika Mordek will join us to discuss the fine art of getting a dance. That’s Tango Capital

7:00pm this Sunday 23 October:

 

 

• on 2xxfm 98.3 in Canberra
• streaming live to the internet from http://www.2xxfm.org.au/listen

PLAYLIST:

• Melodia De Arrabal, meaning ‘Melody of the Poor Suburb’, a tango, from the collection Tangos, recorded by Hugo Diaz, in 1975, with music by Carlos Gardel, with lyrics by Alfredo Le Pera & Mario Battistella.
• Sur, meaning ‘South’, a tango, from the collection A Los Cuatro Vientos, recorded by Hugo Diaz, with music by Anibal Troilo, with lyrics by Homero Manzi.
• Mano a Mano, meaning ‘Hand to Hand’, a tango, from the collection Tangos, recorded by Hugo Diaz, in 1975, with music by Carlos Gardel, with lyrics by Celadonio Flores.
• Zamba Del Angel, meaning ‘Zamba (Dance) of the Angel’, a Zamba, from the collection Antologia Volume 4 1967-1968, recorded by Hugo Diaz, in 1967-8.
• Quejas De Bandoneon, meaning ‘Moans of the Bandoneon’, a tango, from the collection Apasionado, recorded by Joe Powers, in 2015, with music by Juan de Dios Filiberto.
• Otro Puente Alsina, meaning ‘Another Puente Alsina’ (Puente Alsina is the name of a bridge), from the collection 4, recorded by Otros Aires, in 2013, with music by Otros Aires and with Joe Powers by invitation on harmonia.
• Milonga Criolla, meaning ‘Native-born Milonga’, a milonga, from the collection Roberto Maida Canta sus Exitos, recorded by Franciso Canaro, on 6 October 1936, with music by Alberto Soifer, with lyrics by Manuel Robero, and sung by Roberto Maida.
• El Flete, meaning ‘The Nag (The Racehorse)’, a tango, from the collection Instrumental – Vol 1 – Solo Tango, recorded by Juan D’Arienzo, on 3 April 1936, with music by Vicente Greco, composed in 1916, with lyrics by Gerónimo Gradito.
• Verdemar, meaning ‘Sea-Green’, a tango, from the collection Tango Tunes 26DISARLI1943FLAC, recorded by Carlos Di Sarli, on 7 October 1943, with music by Carlos Di Sarli, composed in 1943, with lyrics by José María Contursi, and sung by Roberto Rufino.

 

It’s a quick recap of how tango became a Parisian phenomenon, with music from Osvaldo Fresedo to take us on that journey. Gotan Project, Astor Piazzolla, and Troilo round out the music list, and Erika Mordek‘s Tango Manual features.

7:00pm this Sunday 16 October:

• on 2xxfm 98.3 in Canberra
• streaming live to the internet from http://www.2xxfm.org.au/listen

 

PLAYLIST:

• Arrabalero, meaning ‘Of the poor suburbs’, a tango, on 26 February 1927, with music by Osvaldo Fresedo, composed in 1927, with lyrics by Eduardo Calvo.
• La Cachila, meaning ‘The Little Bird’, a tango, recorded on 15 November 1927, with music by Eduardo Arolas, composed in 1921, with lyrics by Héctor Polito.
• Alma En Pena, meaning ‘Soul in Sadness’, a tango, recorded on 9 October 1928, with music by Anselmos Aieta, composed in 1928, with lyrics by Francisco García Jiménez, and sung by Ernesto Famá.
• El Choclo, meaning ‘The Corncob’, a tango, from 1952, with music by Ángel Villoldo, composed in 1898, with lyrics by Enrique Santos Discepolo, and sung by Raul Berón.
• Triunfal, a tango nuevo, from 1957, with music by Astor Piazzolla, composed in the early 1950s.
• Vuelvo Al Sur, meaning ‘Return to the South’, a neotango, from the collection La Revancha Del Tango, from 2001, with music by Astor Piazzolla, composed in 1988.
• Lunático, meaning ‘Lunatic’ and the name of Carlos Gardel’s racehorse, a neotango, from the collection Lunático, from 2006.
• Domingo, meaning ‘Sunday’, a neotango, from the collection Lunático, from 2006.
• Last Tango In Paris, a neotango, from the collection La Revancha Del Tango, from 2001, with music by Gato Barbieri, composed in 1972.

Carlos Gardel recorded a foxtrot on his first trip to Paris, in 1923, called Oh Paris. It is easy to forget that the tango orquestas that are venerated today were at the time the popular music of the day, and that extended beyond the rhythms of tango, vals, and milonga that are acknowledged to day. The range included also the ranchera, the polca, the marcha, the pericón, the chacarera – dances derived from Argentinian folklorico. It also included the modern rhythms imported from America and from the British (who even at this early stage had a firm grip on the shape of ballroom dancing) – dances such as the rumba, the Charleston, the one-step, and of course the foxtrot. But much of the music in these rhythms was written locally.

Over a recording career of 50 years Canaro recorded nearly 2000 tangos and around 350 valses, but he also recorded over 100 rancheras, and a similar number of foxtrots, along with a host of other rhythms in smaller quantities. Amapola is a charming foxtrot written by José Marcía Lacalle García and with lyrics by Luis Vicente Roldán that Canaro recorded on 16 July 1927. For that release Canaro’s orquesta is referred to as a “jazz band”! The song was recently re-recorded in Australia in 2011, by José Carbó and the Grigoryan brothers on their 2012 CD My Latin Heart.

Amapola, lindísima Amapola,
Será siempre mi alma tuya, sola.

Poppy, pretty little poppy,
Always will my soul be only yours…

Canaro was one of the most prolific recording artists but other recordings from other orquestas follow a similar pattern with proportionally reduced numbers. De Sarli’s recordings include over 500 tangos, 30-odd valses and 20-odd milongas, but also 3 rancheras, 2 foxtrots and 1 each of paso doble, rumba, and schottische. This last dance is originally a Scandinavian relative of the polka and it even features in the lyrics of a tango, Buenas Noches, Buenos Aires, that I played two weeks ago. It was written by Sebastián Piana with lyrics by Osvaldo Sosa Cordero:

Pinceladas de Río y Nueva York, / con acentos de Londres y París,
ya cantando con Napoles, amor, / o en un schottisch riendo con Madrid.
…Buenas noches, Buenos Aires, /te saluda mi canción.

Brushstrokes of Rio and New York, /with accents of London and Paris,
and you are singing with Naples, love, or in a schottisch laughing with Madrid.
…Good Night, Buenos Aires, you  greet my song

Image credit: https://tango.info/02480002741107

Who was  Froilán Aguilar?

Find out this Sunday, and hear Lola Diaz discussing her perspective on tango as a member of a tango partnership, all supported by music from Rosita Quiroga and some Golden Age dance numbers.

That’s Tango Capital, from 7:00pm AEST

• broadcasting in Canberra on 2xxfm 98.3
• streaming live to the internet at http://www.2xxfm.org.au/listen

And my thanks go to Michael Hayes, of Canberra, for helping source Caló’s Murmullos at the last minute. 🙂

PLAYLIST:

• La Musa Mistonga, meaning “The Poor Muse”, a tango cancion, recorded on 1 March 1926, with music by Antonio Polito, with lyrics by Celedonio Esteban Flores, and sung by Rosita Quiroga.
• Caminito, from Ignacio Corcini, meaning Little Pathway, a tango composed in 1926, with music by Juan De Dios Filiberto, with lyrics by Gabino Coria Peñaloza, and sung by Ignacio Corsini.
• Murmullos, from Miguel Caló, meaning “Murmurs”, recorded on 18 December 1950, with music by Froilán Aguilar, with lyrics by Juan Carlos Patrós, and sung by Ricardo Blanco.
• Mocosita, meaning “Little Brat”, recorded on 8 April 1926, with music by Gerado Matos Rodriguez, with lyrics by Victor Soliño, and sung by Rosita Quiroga.
• Prostibularia, from Nestor Vaz Quintet, recorded in 2015, meaning “Of a brothel”, with music by Nestor Vaz.
• Nueve Puntos, from Carlos Di Sarli, meaning “9 Points”, recorded on 5 May 1943, with music by Francisco Canaro.
• Pabellón de las Rosas, from Juan D’Arienzo, meaning “Pavilion Of The Roses” (the name of a major reception venue in Buenos Aires), recorded on 12 December 1936, composed in 1913, with music by Jose Felipetti, with lyrics by Antonio and Angela María Catania.
• Silueta Porteña, from Francisco Canaro, meaning “Silhouette Of A Buenos Aires Woman”, recorded on 17 July 1936, composed in 1936, with music by Nicholas Luis Cuccaro & Juan Ventura Cuccaro, with lyrics by Orlando D’Aniello & Ernesto Noli, and sung by Roberto Maida.