Artistic and Literature in Spanish America The history of tango Dra. Patricia Nigro

Artistic and Literature in Spanish America

The history of tango

Dra. Patricia Nigro

mailto:[email protected]


Stylistic originsCandombe, Vals criollo,

European styles,

including polka, milonga,

habanera, flamenco,

mazurka, contradanse

Cultural origins Late 19th century, in

Buenos Aires and

Montevideo

Typical instruments Violin, piano, guitar, flute and bandoneon

Mainstream popularity Major, became a craze

in Europe and North

America in 1930s and

40s


Subgenres

Neotango – Tango-canción

Fusion genres

Tango-rock

Regional scenes

Dodompa (Japanese tango) –

Easter Island


• It is traditionally played by a sextet, known

as the orquesta típica, which includes two

violins, piano, doublebass, and two

bandoneons. Earlier forms of this ensemble

sometimes included flute, clarinet and

guitar. Tango music may be purely

instrumental or may include a vocalist.


• It was developed in Argentina and

Uruguay from the mid 19th

century.

• The first Tango ever recorded was

made by Angel Villoldo and

played by the French national guard

in Paris. Villoldo had to record in

Paris because in Argentina at the

time there was no recording studio.


– Early tango was played by immigrants in Buenos

Aires. The first generation of tango players was

called "Guardia Vieja" (the Old Guard). By the

end of the 19th century, this blend of salon,

European and African music was heard throughout

metropolitan Buenos Aires. It took time to move

into wider circles: in the early 20th century it

was the favorite music of thugs and gangsters

who visited the brothels, in a city with 100,000

more men than women (in 1914).


– The tango was associated with the underclass,

and the better-off Argentines tried to restrict

its influence. In spite of the scorn, some, like

writer Ricardo Güiraldes, were fans.

– Güiraldes played a part in the international

popularization of the tango, which had

conquered the world by the end of World

War I, and wrote a poem ("Tango") which

describes the music as the "all-absorbing love

of a tyrant, jealously guarding his dominion,

over women who have surrendered

submissively, like obedient beasts".

• One song that would become

the most widely known of all

tango melodies also dates from

this time. The first two sections

of “La Cumparsita” were

composed as a march

instrumental in 1917 by then 17-

year-old Gerardo Matos

Rodríguez of Uruguay.


• 1920s and 1930s, Carlos Gardel, perpetual symbol of the tango.

• Tango soon began to gain popularity in Europe, beginning in

France. Superstar Carlos Gardel soon became a sex symbol

who brought the tango to new audiences, especially in

the United States, due to his sensual depictions of the dance

on film.

• Carlos Gardel became especially associated with the transition from a lower-class "gangster" music to a respectable middle-class dance. He helped develop tango-canción in the 1920s and became one of the most popular tango artists of all time. He was also one of the precursors of the Golden Age of tango.



• Gardel's death was followed

by a division into

movements within tango.

Evolutionists like Aníbal

Troilo and Carlos di Sarli

were opposed to

traditionalists like Rodolfo

Biagi and Juan D'Arienzo.

• The "Golden Age" of tango music and dance is generally agreed to

have been the period from about 1935 to 1952, roughly

contemporaneous with the big band era in the United States.

• Some of the many popular and influential orchestras included the

orchestras of Juan D'Arienzo, Francisco Canaro, and Aníbal Troilo.

• D'Arienzo was called the "Rey del compás" or "King of the beat" for the

insistent, driving rhythm which can be heard on many of his recordings.

"El flete" is an excellent example of D'Arienzo's approach.

• Canaro's early milongas are generally the slowest and easiest to dance

to; and for that reason, they are the most frequently played at tango

dances (milongas); "Milonga Sentimental" is a classic example.


• Afterwards, the orchestras of

Osvaldo Pugliese and Carlos di

Sarli made many recordings.

• Di Sarli had a lush, grandiose

sound, and emphasized strings

and piano over the bandoneon,

which is heard in "A la gran

muñeca" and "Bahía Blanca"

(the name of his home town).


• Pugliese's first recordings were not too

different from those of other dance

orchestras, but he developed a complex,

rich, and sometimes discordant sound,

which is heard in his signature pieces,

"Gallo ciego“ and "La yumba".

• Pugliese's later music was played for an

audience and not intended for dancing,

although it is often used for stage

choreography for its dramatic potential.


• The later age of tango has been dominated by Ástor Piazzolla,

whose “Adiós nonino!” became the most influential work of

tango since Carlos Gardel’s “El día que me quieras” was

released.

• During the 1950s, Piazzolla consciously tried to create a more

academic form with new sounds breaking the classic forms of

tango, earning the derision of purists and old-time performers.

• The 1970s saw Buenos Aires developing a fusion of jazz and

tango.


• The recent trends can be

described as "electro

tango" or "tango

fusion", where the

electronic influences are

available in multiple

ranges: from very subtle to

rather dominant.


• Tango is danced in an embrace that can vary from very open, in which leader and follower connect at arms length, to very closed, in which the connection is chest-to-chest, or anywhere in between.

• Dancers generally keep their feet close to the floor as they walk, the ankles and knees brushing as one leg passes the other.

• The government of Argentina does host an annual competition of tango in Buenos Aires, attracting competitors from around the world.


Artistic and Literature in Spanish America The history of tango Dra. Patricia Nigro

Documents

Transcript of Artistic and Literature in Spanish America The history of tango Dra. Patricia Nigro