Tango Review
The Origins And Evolution Of Tango Music
At the end of the 19th Century, when the city of Buenos Aires was still expanding outwards through the deserted ´Pampa´, a new music was born. It had the musical influences of the habanera, a slow dance in 2/4 time, brought over by the seamen from Cuba and of the Milongas that the travelling singers, the payadores, would sing inland. From the mixture of these races, customs and feelings came this new music: the Tango
These primitive musicians had begun to play Tango in an intuitive manner. The groups consisted of a flute, a guitar, a violin and an exotic instrument of German origin called El Bandoneon. In 1897 the great names of the "Guardia Vieja", the Old Guard, started to appear, and they created the "Orquestra Tipica" which is now the basis of the Tango. Carlos Gardel incorporated the singer´s personality into the music in 1917, marking the beginning of the "story like" lyrics of the Tango song.
Without a doubt the great golden era was the decade of the forties. The endless numbers of instrumentalists, poets and interpreters combined with the support of the radio, the cabaret, and the dancing halls, led to the creation of the "binomials" (singer and orchestra): Troilo-Fiorentino, D´Arienzo-Echague, Tanturi-Castillo, De Angelis-Martel, Pugliese-Moran.
A different language, with its own vocabulary, was incorporated into the Tango by musicians belonging to the forties generation, but with a desire to create a new era. This process called "Tango Moderno" (Modern Tango) started with Horacio Salgan´s "A Fuego Lento", Mariano Mores´ "Tanguera", Eduardo Rovira´s "Sonico", and was given its definitive edge by Astor Piazzolla, who provided the new generation with the foundations for a permanent progression.
As with any artistic expression, the Tango was enriched by the contributions of its protagonists and found the necessary elements for its stylistic evolution from its poetical, singable, instrumental and danceable characteristics. As a significant element of film, literature and the fine arts, the Tango encapsulates the Argentinean identity.
"Tango can be fully enjoyed only if one completely surrenders to and connects with one´s partner, both physically and emotionally, while dancing."
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