Domingo Federico

It's been a while since my previous post. Once again I want to give it a try and write more frequently. Let's see how it goes :).

I'd like to share with you some words about Domingo Federico. I think his music is amazing and it is not appreciated as much as it should be. In his early years, Domingo became interested in playing violin and bandoneón. His father gave him first classes. After some years, he eventually became a bandeonist. In 1941 Federico joined the famous orchestra of Miguel Caló. In 1943 he formed his own orchestra and started recording one year later.

For more detailed biographical and discographical information please go to:
Todo Tango - Domingo Federico

Most of Federico's songs (especially earlier ones) are melodic and romantic, some of them are dramatic. At the same time they have a very characteristic pulsing rhythm. I think it is this very unique combination of melody and rhythm that makes music of Domingo Federico so special.

My favourite recordings come from the 1940ies, but there are a few pearls from 1950ies. There are also some recordings from 1968-69, but they are less interesting and I would not play them in milongas.

The most important singer of the orchestra was Carlos Vidal. He recorded around 30 songs, of which several are masterpieces. It is pretty easy to build a good tanda with those songs: with good ingredients a dish is likely to taste well :).

All songs below are with Carlos Vidal:

Yuyo verde, 1944 

Yo, 1945 

Tu Melodía, 1944 

Para Qué Te Quiero Tanto, 1945 

And an amazing vals sung by duo Vidal and Oscar Larroca:

Esa Noche, 1946

Several instrumental songs from 1944-45 are also worth mentioning:

Saludos, 1944 (the first recording by the orchestra)

Con El Mayor Gusto, 1944

Honda Tristeza, 1945 

And some other songs that should be a must in repertoire of each self-respected DJ :). Building those songs in a tanda takes a bit more experience, but give it a go!

An absolute hit of many marathons and festivals:

Leyenda Gaucha, instrumental, 1952

Another great song similar to Leyenda Gaucha:

El Marajá, instrumental, 1951

The only tango recorded with Enzo Valentino:

Cualquier Cosa, 1951
But what a tango!

A great version of Y Todavía Te Quiero sung by Armando Moreno (the same who was recording with Enrique Rodríguez:

Y Todavía Te Quiero, 1956 

The most romantic song by Domingo Federico! Sung by Oscar Larroca (the same who will later sing the famous Volvamos A Empezar with Alfredo de Angelis):

María, 1945

Miguel Caló with Alberto Podestá

In the previous post I wrote that one of Caló's contributions to tango is discovering great singers Raúl Berón and Alberto Podestá. I'm particularly grateful for the second one, since he is one of my favorite singers.

I split recordings of Podestá with Caló into early and late ones. Early recordings cover only 4 tangos. In my opinion it is a mixed bag. "Yo Soy El Tango" is very light, almost kitschy. "Percal" is deep and very emotional. The other 2 songs: "Si Tu Quisieras" and "Dos Fracasos" are somewhere in between.

Alberto recorded those songs under the name of Juan Carlos Morel. Podestá was name after his mother. At that time in Buenos Aires there were some other singers with this name and Alberto wanted to avoid confusion. It was Carlos di Sarli who convinced him to use name Podestá. He said: "Kid, from now on you will be Alberto Podestá and out of all singers with this surname only you will endure".

  

The late recordings cover period from 1954 till 1972, the year when Miguel Caló passed away. Among recordings from this period we will find "Qué Falta Que Me Hacés" - possibly the best tango of all times! This song has everything a great tango should have: beautiful melody, a dose of drama, perfect orchestration, clear & regular rhythm. And let's not forget about the voice of Podestá. Sounds like a perfect recipe for a hit!

Apart from tangos, Podestá recorded with Caló's orchestra a few very popular valses... I will write about them some other time. Stay tuned :)



Early recordings:

Percal, Miguel Caló canta Alberto Podestá, 1943
Yo Soy El Tango, Miguel Caló canta Alberto Podestá, 1941
Dos Fracasos, Miguel Caló canta Alberto Podestá, 1941
Si Tu Quisieras, Miguel Caló canta Alberto Podesta, 1941

Late recordings:

Qué falta que me hacés, Miguel Caló canta Alberto Podestá, 1963
Bailan Javier Rodríguez y Geraldine Rojas

El Bazar De Los Jugetes, Miguel Caló canta Alberto Podestá, 1954
Cómo Le Digo A La Vieja, Miguel Caló canta Alberto Podestá, 1954

Aníbal Troilo with Francisco Fiorentino

If you go to any milonga with traditional music, you will probably hear at least one tanda of Troilo. If you do, there is a high chance that Francisco Fiorentino will be a singer.

Francisco Fiorentino started his career as a bandoneonist, not as a vocalist. In 1928 he joined the orchestra of Francisco Canaro. The orchestra leader realized that Fiorentino is a talented singer. Since then, for several years Fiorentino did both playing and singing in orchestras of Juan Carlos Cobián, Roberto Firpo, Pedro Maffia, Juan D'Arienzo, Roberto Zerrillo, Minotto Di Cicco and Francisco Canaro.

In 1937 Fiorentino joined the orchestra of Troilo and stayed working with him until 1944. This was the top period in his career. Afterwards, he created his own orchestra lead by Astor Piazzolla, but it did not turn out to be a success. For more detailed biographical and discographical information please go to:

Todo Tango - Francisco Fiorentino (available only in Spanish)

I split the recordings of Troilo with Fiorentino into 2 groups: early (from 1941 till 1942) and late (from1942 till 1944). It is much easier to build consistent tanda if you stick to songs from one period only. More experienced DJs can obviously mix them.

Songs from early period are very rhythmic and fast (65-70 beats per minute). They are full of syncopations. A tanda of songs from this period will never fail. Both beginners and advanced dancers will enjoy it and the energy in the room will go up! From this period comes the famous recording of En Esta Tarde Gris.

Songs from late period are very melodic and slow (58-65 beats per minute). If played in milonga, some of them can be challenging for less experienced dancers. You can use tanda of recodings from that period after a tanda of milonga, when you want to calm down the dance floor and bring more emotions.

Song examples:

Early period:

En Esta Tarde Gris, canta Francisco Fiorentino, 1941
Bailan Gaston Torelli y Noelia Hurtado

Tinta Roja, canta Francisco Fiorentino, 1941
Bailan Paulina Cazabon y José Luis Gonzalez

El bulín de la calle Ayacucho, canta Francisco Fiorentino, 1941
Bailan Javier Rodriguez y Andrea Misse

Late period:

Malena, canta Francisco Fiorentino, 1942

Cada Vez Que Me Recuerdes, canta Francisco Fiorentino, 1943

Sosiego en la noche, canta Francisco Fiorentino, 1943

Orquesta Típica Victor (OTV) - Golden Age recordings

From its creation Orquesta Típica Victor was recording in Guardia Vieja style. The songs from that period were very simple and rhythmical, all the instruments were playing together - "a la parilla". Some other popular orchestras playing in that style were: Adolfo Carabelli, Sexteto Carlos di Sarli, early Francisco Lomuto and Francisco Canaro. In the middle of 30ies the style changed and Golden Age period started. The music became more sophisticated, melodic and romantic. Also OTV did follow that trend.

Songs from that period are probably less known among the dancers than the ones from the Guardia Vieja epoch. I like them a lot, both as a DJ and as a dancer. I'd like you to pay special attention to two of them.

"Una Vez" is the first one. I think that it is currently the most popular song of OTV from that period. It is truly beautiful, its melody usually brings all the dancers to the dance floor. It happens that some songs become popular in the milongas because of some famous couple's performance video on Youtube. I think "Una Vez" is an example of it. It got much more popular (at least at the milongas I was attending) after Noelia Hurtado and Carlitos Espinoza performed to it (link to the video below).

By the way: Noelia had also an important contribution to promoting another tango hit - "Invierno" by Francisco Canaro. At that occasion it was still with Pablo Rodríguez.

Another song to check is "Loca", a song better known from d'Arienzo's repertoire. The version by OTV is pretty much completely unknown. The quality of the recording available is not great and it is not easy to build a consistent tanda with it. I would rather leave playing it during marathons with crowd of experienced dancers.

Song examples:

Una Vez, Canta Ortega del Cerro, 1943
Bailan Carlitos Espinoza y Noelia Hurtado
Bailan Murat y Michelle Erdemsel

Bajo El Cono Azul, Canta Alberto Carol, 1944
Bailan Anita Monteagudo y Pablo Retamar

Tu Vida Es Mi Vida, Instrumental, 1937

Mi Taza De Café, Canta Alberto Carol, 1944

Loca, Instrumental, 1944

Adios Buenos Aires, Angel Vargas, 1938
Bailan Juan Carlos Martinez y Nora Witanowsky

Desesperanza, Canta Mario Pomar, 1939

Orquesta Típica Victor (OTV) - Overview

From the beginnings of tango "industry" some of the recording companies were creating their own tango orchestras. Their main purpose was to represent the companies and make recordings. They usually did not perform in public. Example of such orchestras are: Orquesta Típica Brunswick, Orquesta Típica Columbia, Orquesta Típica Select. But by far the most famous one was Orquesta Típica Victor (OTV).

The orchestra was created in 1925 and existed until 1944. Throughout its history many of the best tango musicians worked there. Adolfo Carabelli was the first leader of the orchestra. Among other famous names we could find bandoneonists: Luis Petruccelli , Ciriaco Ortiz, Carlos Marcucci, Pedro Laurenz; violinists: Agesilao Ferrazzano, Elvino Vardaro, Antonio Buglione, Cayetano Puglisi. Most of those musicians have created their own orchestras after leaving OTV. Among the most important singers we should list: Roberto Díaz, Carlos Lafuente, Alberto Gómez, Ernesto Famá, Luis Díaz, Ortega del Cerro, Angel Vargas.

Between 1925 and 1937 the orchestra was recording in Guardia Vieja style. Later on it followed trend and moved to the Golden Age style. To read about the difference between those styles please check one of my previous posts: Guardia Vieja vs Golden Age.

In the repertoire we will find very wide selection of tangos but also many valses and a few milongas. In my next posts I will write more about them and give many examples...

For more detailed information please go to:
Todo Tango - Orquesta Típica Victor

Rodolfo Biagi - Valses

Orchestra: Rodolfo Biagi

Singers: Alberto Amor, Andres Falgas, Jorge Ortiz, Teófilo Ibáñez, Hugo Duval, Instrumental

Period: 1938–1956

Biagi is very highly ranked when it comes to his selection of valses. They are amongst my favorites. The variety of songs is quite high and many recordings are available on CDs (aprox. 22 ). We will find faster ones (in general recorded between 1938-1939) and slower ones (mostly later recordings). All of them have a very clear rhythm, but several songs (e.g. Paloma) are more melodic and softer than others.

DJ comment

You don’t risk anything by playing a tanda of Biagi valses in any milonga. They always work very well. The quality of the recordings is consistently very good which makes building tandas easier. For me most of the songs are great and I am happy to hear any of them. 

Song examples:

La Loca de Amor, Canta Teófilo Ibáñez, 1938

Amor y vals, Canta Alberto Lago, 1942
Bailan Chicho - Juana
Bailan Claudio Forte - Barbara Carpino
Bailan Mario Consiglieri - Anabella Diaz Hojman

Cuatro Palabras, Canta Jorge Ortiz, 1941
Bailan Fausto Carpino - Stephanie Fesneau
Bailan Alejandro Berón - Verónica Vazquez
Bailan Jaimes Freidgen - Mariana Dragone

Lágrimas y Sonrisas, Instrumental, 1941

Paloma, Canta Alberto Amor, 1945

Viejo Porton, Canta Teófilo Ibañez, 1938, Bailan Arce Montes
Bailan Gustavo Naveria - Giselle Anne
Bailan Sebastian Jiménez - María Inés Bogado
Bailan Ozgur Demir - Marina Marques
Bailan Nestor Ray - Silvina

Adoración, Cantan Hugo Duval, Carlos Heredia, 1951
Bailan Claudio Forte - Barbara Carpino
Bailan Thierry Le Cocq - Alessia Lyndin

Rafael Canaro

Orchestra: Rafael Canaro

Singers: Aldo Campoamor, Luis Scalon, Raul Sanders, Carlos Dante, Roger Toussaint, Instrumental


Period: 1927–1948

In this post I'd like to write a few words about one of less famous orchestras and it's leader Rafael Canaro. There are many not widely known facts about Rafael and I am more than happy to share some of them with you. Rafael was a brother of Francisco, one of the biggest and most famous tango musicians of all times. In the family there were 3 more brothers, each of them was a tango musician and an orchestra leader: Humberto, Juan and Mario.

The Canaro family was coming from Uruguay. We should not think that tango equals Argentina and Buenos Aires. The contribution of Uruguay and Mondevideo to the history of tango is significant. Other musicians coming from that country were: Edgardo Donato, Julio Sosa, Miguel Villasboas and many others. The most famous tango "La Cumparsita" was composed in 1919 by Gerardo Matos Rodríguez in Montevideo.

Rafael Canaro spent more than 10 years in Europe. He lived and recorded mainly in France (some songs are in French), but also in Spain and Germany. He composed (together with Francisco) one of my favorite tangos: Sentimiento Gaucho

DJ comment:

In my opinion Rafael Canaro recorded his best songs in Europe (1929-1939). You will find there lots of songs from repertoire of his brother Francisco, but they sound quite different. If you want to calm down the milonga and make your dancers hug each other more, a tanda of Rafael Canaro is a great choice.

Rafael Canaro's orchestra is one of the "non-mainstream" ones. I tend to avoid frequently playing tandas of those orchestras. I like keeping their special and less popular character. Other orchestras in this category could be: Jose Garcia, Donato Racciatti, Hector Varela, etc... But this is only my personal preference, you are free to do as you feel right.

Song examples:

Viejos Tiempos, Canta Aldo Campoamor, 1939

Paciencia, Canta Luis Scalon, 1938

Que le importa al mundo, Canta Luis Scalon, 1938

Yo no sé por qué te quiero, Canta Raul Sanders, 1936

A Montmartre, Canta Carlos Dante, 1929

Rien que nous deux , Canta Raúl Sanders, 1937 - in French

La mélodie de notre adieu, Canta Roger Toussaint, 1936 - in French

Enrique Rodríguez - Foxtrots

Orchestra: Enrique Rodríguez

Singers: Armando Moreno, Roberto Flores, Roberto Videla, Instrumental

Period: 1937–1970

A few days ago I was at a tango marathon. Around 5 a.m. on Sunday the energy of the milonga was going down and the only reasonable choice for me seemed to be going to the hotel. Suddenly the DJ started playing a tanda of Foxtrots by Rodríguez. The floor filled up with the dancers (I was one of them) immediately and it brought the milonga back to life. So here comes the topic for this post...

As I wrote in one of my previous posts, Rodríguez was recording quite many different music genres (e.g. Corridos, Foxtrots, Marchas, Pasodobles, Polcas). His orchestra was called “Orquesta de todos ritmos”. Foxtrots had quite an important place in the repertoire. I´m aware of at least 50 recorded songs. During milongas they can be treated as "special" milongas. They are a bit more difficult to dance than a regular milonga, but I think it does not matter much. The fun you get dancing those foxtrots compensates any difficulties...

In songs recorded by Rodríguez there are many references to locations from outside of Argentina. In his foxtrots there are quite many Hungarian motifs. This is particularly close to my heart as I´m currently living in Budapest. The ones that come to my mind now are:

-          Noches de Hungría (also the name of a great tango marathon of Budapest),

-          Danza Hungara no5 (based on Hungarian dance by Johannes Brahms),

-          Alma de Dios (based on  Cancion Hungara from Zarzuela Alma de Dios)

-          Amor En Budapest

-      Please let me know if there are more of them :)

DJ Comment

I've got only one remark: don't use those foxtrots too often. If you do, their special character will be gone... So "play with moderation" :)

Song examples:

La Calesita Se Destrozó, Canta Roberto Flores, 1937

La Colegiala, Canta Roberto Flores, 1938
Bailan Yanick Wyler - Sigrid Van Tilbeurgh
Bailan Gaston Torelli ' Mariela

Amor En Budapest, Canta Armando Moreno, 1940

Noches de Hungría, Canta Armando Moreno, 1942

Se Va El Tren, Canta Armando Moreno, 1942

Suavemente, Canta Armando Moreno, 1942

Por Las Calles De Istambul, Canta Armando Moreno, 1944

Danza Húngara No. 5, Instrumental, 1947

Japonesita, Canta Roberto Videla, 1951

Francisco Canaro - Fast / Late Milongas

Orchestras: Francisco Canaro, Quinteto Pirincho

Singers: Ernesto Famá, Carlos Roldan, Instrumental

Period: 1938-1947

As time went by, the milongas of Canaro became faster and faster. In the period between 1932-1937 the speed was ranging from 76 to 90 bpm. 76 is rather slow (e.g. Milonga Sentimental), 90 starts to be reasonably fast (e.g. Milonga de Antańo). Suddenly in 1938 songs started to speed up and after that period they ranged from 96 bpm to 116 bpm (116 is a really fast milonga - e.g. Requebrada).

Personally, as a dancer, I like most of the songs recorded between 1938 and 1939. One can find amongst them "hits" like: Reliquias Porteñas, La Milonga de Buenos Aires, No Hay Tierra Como La Mía and many others... Similar to many other orchestras something changed in the beginning of  the 1940ies. The later milongas are less enjoyable and more difficult to dance.

DJ comment:

As written above, the milongas from the later period are very fast. For that reason they might not  be appreciated by some less experienced dancers. Milongas sung by Carlos Roldan are very good, playful but not very easy to dance. Quite many times I have seen dancers (even pretty advanced ones) leaving the dance floor in the middle of tanda.

So you'll probably need to be a bit more careful while playing the later milongas of Canaro, but still they should be in the repertoire of every DJ. There are lots of great songs to choose from.

Song examples:

Reliquias Porteñas, Orquesta Francisco Canaro, Instrumental, 1938
Bailan Javier Rodriguez - Geraldine Rojas
Bailan Javier Rodriguez - Andrea Missè
Bailan Sebastian Jimenez - Maria Ines Bogado
Bailan Fabian Peralta - Virginia Pandolfi

La milonga de mis tiempos, Orquesta Francisco Canaro, Instrumental, 1938, Bailan Sebastian Arce - Mariana Montes
Bailan Sebastian Arce - Mariana Montes, Version 2

Mi Buenos Aires, Orquesta Francisco Canaro, Canata Ernesto Fama, 1938

Milonga Brava, Orquesta Francisco Canaro, Canta Roberto Maida, Bailan Pablo Noelia
Bailan Sebastian Achaval - Roxana Suarez

La Milonga de Buenos Aires, Orquesta Francisco Canaro, Canta Ernesto Fama, 1939
Bailan Sebastian Arce - Mariana Montes

No hay tierra como la mía, Orquesta Francisco Canaro, Canta Ernesto Fama, 1939

Parque Patricios, Orquesta Francisco Canaro, Canta Ernesto Fama, 1940

Caran Can Fu, Orquesta Francisco Canaro, Canta Carlos Roldan, 1941, Bailan Oscar Mandagaran - Georgina Vargas

Serenata, Orquesta Francisco Canaro, Canta Carlos Roldan, 1944

La Naranja Nacio Verde, Orquesta Francisco Canaro, Cantan Carlos Roldan, Hector Castel, 1944

Se Dice De Mi, Orquesta Francisco Canaro, Canta Carlos Roldan, 1943

Arrabalero, Orquesta Quinteto Pirincho, 1950, Bailan Horacio Godoy - Cecilia Garcia

Alfredo de Angelis - Valses

Orchestra: Alfredo de Angelis


Singer(s): Carlos Dante, Julio Martel, Oscar Larroca, Floreal Ruíz

Period: 1944–1961

Comment:

So far I have been writing only about tangos. But now the time has come: valses!

As I wrote before, de Angelis is probably more famous for his valses than for his tangos and milongas. I would split his valses between early and late ones. The early ones (1944-1950) are very popular and highly appreciated by most dancers. The late valses (1950-1961) are less popular and many dancers don't like them. I personally love the late ones, especially those sung by the duo Dante - Larroca. Have a look on the video examples and you will notice the difference very quickly.

DJ:

The valses of de Angelis are similar to the milongas of Francisco Canaro: you can go the whole evening without using them, but you will probably do better to put them on your list :). The late valses are not really appreciated by many dancers, but one tanda played at the right moment may work. Give it a try and challenge your dancers a bit :)

The energy of the de Angelis' valses is quite high but it does not mean that they are very fast. It is not the beats per minute, but rather the orchestration that makes the difference. I propose you a small experiment: compare Lina, Criolla or Como Las Margaritas with d'Arienzo's Mentias or Pabellon de Rosas. All songs have similar beats per minute (aprox 70), but the valses of d'Arienzo seem much slower...Interesting, isn't it?


Song examples:

Mi novia de ayer, Orquesta Alfredo de Angelis, Canta Floreal Ruíz, 1944

El Vals De Nochebuena, Orquesta Alfredo de Angelis, Canta Carlos Dante, 1944

Soñar y nada más, Orquesta Alfredo de Angelis, Cantan Carlos Dante y Julio Martel, 1944

Ilusión Azl, Orquesta Alfredo de Angelis, Canta Carlos Dante, 1945
Bailan Sebastian Arce - Mariana Montes
Bailan Fernando Sanchez - Ariadna Naveira

Pobre Flor, Orquesta Alfredo de Angelis, Cantan Carlos Dante y Julio Martel, 1946

Pequeña, Orquesta Alfredo de Angelis, Canta Carlos Dante, 1949
Bailan Julio Balmaceda - Cecilia Gonzales

El Santo de la Espada, Orquesta Alfredo de Angelis, Canta Julio Martel, 1950

Criolla, Orquesta Alfredo de Angelis, Cantan Carlos Dante, Oscar Larroca, 1951

Como Las Margaritas, Orquesta Alfredo de Angelis, Cantan Carlos Dante, Oscar Larroca, 1952

Lina, Orquesta Alfredo de Angelis, Cantan Carlos Dante, Oscar Larroca, 1952

Adiós, Adiós, Orquesta Alfredo de Angelis, Cantan Carlos Dante, Oscar Larroca, 1955

Angélica, Orquesta Alfredo de Angelis, Canta Juan Carlos Godoy, 1961