Music 103: Tango

What are some of the qualities of the tango as a dance?

couples dance; specific heterosexual interpretation of gender roles stylized in choreography; physical motions of dance usually focus on the 2 of 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4 groups; often divided into slow-slow-quick-quick-slow (2+2+1+1+2); standard figures or steps - such as the 8 step; counterclockwise circular dance - awareness of floor space is important

gauchos

cowboys in Argentina; highly mythologized nationalist figures, synonymous with the countryside; of mixed Spanish and Native American descent, often seen as anti-European; potential links with violence; guitarist-singers

exoticism

cultures (usually Western cultures) appropriate or fantasize about other cultures

tango nuevo

emerges in the 1950s and 1960s; musicicans bring new innovations and forms to the traditional tango; there is tango for listening, concert music tangos. (influential man is Astor Piazzolla)

Carlos Gardel

(1887-1935) singer (well-known for deep baritone voice); also composes tangos. His first huge hit was in 1917, touring South and Central America as well as Europe. He begins making films in 1930s. Dies in a plane crash in 1935, plunging Argentina into mourning. Embodies the split personality of tango: the paradox of lower class tango in Argentina and the cosmopolitan sex appeal of Europe's fascination with tango - does this by dressing as a cosmopolitan tango artist in Argentine nightclubs and a gaucho in European clubs. By 1920s-1930s, due to Gardel and transnational interest in tango, Argentines themselves start to accept tango as a "cleaner and more decent" dance style

Astor Piazzola

(1921-1992) Born in Argentina, moves to NYC at age 2; bandoneon player. 1939: returns to Argentina, playing in cabarets in Buenos Aires. Trains as a classical composwer with Alberto Ginastera, Nadia Boulanger (Paris). 1955: returns to Argentine, experimenting with harmony, form, rhythms. Instrumentation was typically tangos for larger ensembles.

tango cancion

(tango with words); around 1910, starts to emerge. Draws from lunfardo: lower class dialect of Buenos Aires. Poetry usually focuses on pessimistic themes, sad, melancholy images or ideas. Rhythm tends to be more irregular (slows down, speeds up). First recorded tango with words was Carlos Gardel in 1917. In 1924, words are added to "La Cumparsita."

We talked about 3 streams of influence that contributed to the development of early tango-what are these 3 streams?

1. gauchos (Cowboys in Argentine) 2. African/Afro-Argentine influences 3. European immigrants *huge flux of them to Argentina in 1880s through 1950s, bringing instruments such as the bandoneon and musical styles and dance styles such as the waltz

How has the sound, setting, and significance of tango changed over time? Particularly in terms of class?

Tango loses lower-class connections in Argentina when brothels closed in 1919; upper class accepting tango in the 1930s. Tango becomes popular in central Buenos Aires and not just in suburbs. Tango becomes a symbol of Argentine national pride. 1930s: Golden Age of Tango worldwide, seems to symbolize both the glitz of the 1920s and the pathos of the Depression. Begins to fall favor in 1940s, but 1950s: tango as a ballroom dance becomes increasingly central, several distinct variants emerge, such as tango nuevo (new tango).

How is tango both a music with a strong national identity and a music that throughout its history has always been a transnational art form? Make sure to think about this in terms of the beginnings of tango, what happens in the 1910s, Gardel's career, Piazzolla, and tango today.

Tango traveled far and wide, gaining favor from Europe for its exoticism but also becoming a form of national Argentine pride. Tango has always been a mixture of cultures, including the gauchos of Argentine and the Afro-Argentine culture. In 1910s, tango music begins to incorporate words and lyrics, focusing on certain themes. Tango today takes a major role in competition dance culture (like Dancing with the Stars); there are lots of broadway and west end theatrical shows based on tango music; ballroom dance competition teams on college campuses; explosion of interest in "Latin" dances; in 2009, UNESCO added tango to the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Tango is not really a diasporic music or music of mass migration but a music transported by technology and travel, taking on new meanings overtime.

How do these changes reflect/express ideas about class, gender&sexuality, and nationality?

Tango was generally associated with poorer working class until later. Tango had a strong reflection of the male gender in the idea of compadrito, an urban gaucho with emphasized stereotypes of heterosexual masculinity. It was not until later that becomes a symbol of national Argentine pride.

bandoneon

a button concertina; accordion (brought by European immigrants)

compadrito

a mythologized type; an imagination of an urban gaucho, emphasized stereotypes of heterosexual masculinity, including images of the pimp and dominating aggressive lover, stereotypical dress in black with heeled shoes, movement of the feet may reflect knife duels-more general links to violence and anger; often linked with heterosexuality, lust.

tango

a type of partner dance; originating in Argentina

Afro-Argentine influences

musical influence from candombe (an Afro-Uruguayan dance style), rhythms particularly syncopated rhythms, several famous early tango musicians are Afro-Argentines, community spaces such as dance halls in specific neighborhoods in Buenos Aires, often neighborhoods with a large Afro-Argentine population, influence on dance styles such as milonga

orquesta tipica

piano, violin, bandoneon (ensemble -> begins around 1911 but grows larger overtime)

glissandi

special slides in the violin

arrabales

the outskirts of Buenos Aires, the slums (where there are cafes and bordellos for tango music to be performed at)

Know the musical characteristics of the early tango.

usually in quadruple meter (in the bass); other rhythms may emphasize offbeat, habanera rhythm is also quite common