A brief history of music in Argentine Tango
From Villoldo to Peralta!
Music that expresses a longing for something, for home, love, meaning, that is supposed to help bear the weight of life, carries a special power within it.
However, unique is a genre of music that captivates people worldwide and is deeply rooted in the culture and daily life of the people where it originated.
European migrants arriving in Argentina
Ángel Villoldo (1861-1919)
Men dancing tango by the river, 1904
Originating in the Rio de la Plata region (Argentina, Uruguay), a unique situation emerged. Massive migration flows, mostly of men, encountered a vast country that was sparsely populated over long stretches. However, in the urban area of Buenos Aires, especially in the southern districts, the situation was the exact opposite.
We are writing about the end of the 19th century, and what we call Tango today began to take its musical form. Initially instrumental, lyrics were added later, which were often suggestive. Because of their nature and the fact that they were performed in brothels or pubs in the immigrant districts, they were rejected by the upper class. The instruments of the early Tango were mainly the guitar and the flute, sometimes the violin. The bandoneon, characteristic of the Tango, was added later. Parallel to this, the dance evolved, originally danced mostly by men, which is not surprising given the significant shortage of women at that time. In the first decades of the 20th century, Tango found enthusiastic followers not only in Europe, especially in Paris, but worldwide.
Names from this period include Carlos Gardel, Angel Villoldo, Rosendo Mendizábal, as well as Juan D’Arienzo, Roberto Firpo, Osvaldo Fresedo, and Francisco Canaro. The most famous Tangos from this early phase are El Choclo, Mi noche triste (which made Gardel famous), El entrerriano, and of course La Cumparsita, the most recorded Tango of all time. During this time, the first shellac recordings were made. El Choclo was recorded in 1907 by singer Aida Lafuente under the Victor label, and Francisco Canaro recorded his first Tango "Pinta brava" in 1912.
The 1920s marked the definitive triumph of the Tango. Orchestras toured Europe and North America, Gardel became a global superstar, and thanks to the ever-improving recording technology, practically all recordings from that time are available to us. The famous Golden Era of the Tango began and would last until the 1950s.
Complex composition techniques emerged, leading to more demanding Tangos. Roberto Firpo and Julio de Caro must not go unmentioned. Besides these two, Francisco Canaro, Osvaldo Fresedo, Francisco Lomuto, Juan D’Arienzo, Carlos Di Sarli, and many more were already active during this early phase of the Golden Era.
It's attributed to Firpo for permanently establishing the piano as a staple instrument in a Tango orchestra. Moreover, many famous Tango orchestra leaders were pianists, such as Carlos Di Sarli, Osvaldo Pugliese, Lucio Demare, Horacio Salgán, among others.
Another star of the time was Ignacio Corsini, who as a singer and composer gained fame especially in the 1920s.
Pedro Laurenz, who began with Lomuto and De Carlo, then recorded with Pedro Maffia and later founded his own "Orquesta Típica", made his first recordings in 1937 with Victor (he later switched to Odeon). In the 1930s, many of the orchestras that are played worldwide at Milongas today became established. Besides the aforementioned, Edgardo Donato, Rodolfo Biagi, Anibal Troilo, and Miguel Caló are worth mentioning.
However, the most important Tango musician of the 1930s was undoubtedly Juan D’Arienzo. His 116 recorded pieces between 1935 and 1939 (Tango, Vals, Milonga, and 2 Polkas) were another milestone for the genre; their liveliness, danceability, and virtuosity were unparalleled.
The 1940s, mainly up to 1945, marked the next pinnacle of development while Argentina experienced political instability and change. Juan D’Arienzo remained a superstar, Carlos Di Sarli made his mark with both his instrumental pieces and his singers Roberto Rufino and Alberto Podestá, and the 1940s brought further Tango icons. Aníbal Troilo, alongside Pedro Laurenz, the premier bandoneonist, became Argentina's favorite for many decades. His charismatic singer Francisco Fiorentino redefined Tango singing. Astor Piazzolla started with Troilo as a bandoneon player and began to revolutionize Tango from 1946 onwards, like only one other did, who many consider the most outstanding figure in Argentine Tango.
That person is Osvaldo Pugliese, or as many call him: San Pugliese. Pugliese founded his orchestra in 1939, but we can only enjoy the recordings since 1943. The reason was a strike from 1941-1943 that many joined, and Pugliese, being a political person and an active member of the communist party, participated. Pugliese performed well into old age, and his music holds a special place in Argentine Tango.
There were many orchestras in Tango history; some remain well-known and loved today, some have only a few pieces played, and many, like Francisco Lauro, Manuel Buzon, Juan Sanchez Gorio, Juan Cambareri, among others, are almost entirely forgotten. Besides Pugliese, Astor Piazzolla must be mentioned, who established the so-called "Tango Nuevo", which initially met significant resistance in Argentina. Alongside Libertango and Adios Nonino, the Tango opera "Maria de Buenos Aires" is among Piazzolla's most famous works, with a libretto written by Horacio Ferrer.
Listen to how María De Buenos Aires sounds!
In our time, heading into the 2020s, the author of these lines would like to particularly mention two musicians.
Julian Peralta, who in 2001 was a founding member of Orquesta Típica Fernández Fierro, known for its avant-garde style and live performances. After separating, Peralta founded the Tango ensemble Astillero, which remains active to this day.
The second is Agustín Guerrero (not related to the Tango musician of the same name who wrote El Once), a young composer and pianist like Peralta.
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