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

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

Juan d'Arienzo - Overview

The orchestra of Juan d'Arienzo is one of the most important (if not the most important) in the tango music history. I'm pretty sure that very few people would disagree with it. As per music survey I have carried out in February 2012, Juan d'Arienzo is the most frequently played orquesta in Buenos Aires (considering tango, milonga and vals all together).

D'Arienzo recored with many singers, but in my opinion there are 2 big names: Alberto Echagüe and Hector Maure. We can obviously find a lot of good songs recorded with other singers, but in general they are less interesting and for that reason they are not so frequently played in milongas.

Concerning instrumental recordings: in my opinion in all periods (1935 till 1975) we can find very good songs that can be played in milongas.

In the history of tango music you will not find many orchestras that would have a great selection of tangos, valses and milongas. D’Arienzo is certainly one of them. All 3 genres are play frequently in milongas both in Buenos Aires and Europe. Other orchestras that have wide selection of danceable and popular tangos, valses and milongas are Francisco Canaro, Anibal Troilo, Edgardo Donato.

The big entrance of d'Arienzo happened in 1935. But he did record quite may songs before that, in 1928. Between the singers at that time we had Carlos Dante and Francisco Fiorentino (that will become famous with other orchestras later on). From dancing and dj-ing perspective songs from that period are not really interesting.

Click the link below if you want to see the timeline of d'Arienzo's orquesta with the musicians set-up in different periods.
D’Arienzo – Orchestra’s Members

For detailed biographical information please go to:
Todo Tango - Juan d'Arienzo

For the best discographical information please go to:
Discography of Juan d'Arienzo