Tango Music

The instruments of tango music.

Tango Music: The first instruments used with the tango were the guitar, flute and violin. Later, the bandoneon became the indispensable instrument of this dance. The bandoneon is said to be the spirit of Tango; Tango compositions are also dedicated to this “devil’s instrument”. Bandoneon is a kind of concertina and it’s really hard to play. All Tango compositions are written on the bandoneon, except for some Tangos that are performed solo.

For all the tango music masters perhaps the most recognizable piece in the world “La Cumparsita”

was originally written in 1916 by Gerardo Matos as an anthem and later arranged as a Tango piece. “La Cumparsita” means a small street community or a show at the carnival. Another famous Tango piece is “El Choclo” composed by Angelo Villoldo in 1905. This piece is one of the most acclaimed songs of all time, and its new arrangement “Kiss of Fire”, released in 1950, entered the American pop charts.

Tango music, with the deep and loud sound of the bandoneon, 

took on a more intense and thought-provoking and sometimes even melancholic tone. Words describing the lives of people were written on the melodies.

The main ideas used by the tango songwriters,

were related to the fatalistic views and, in their own opinion, the tests that life puts people through. Carlos Gardel was the greatest Tango performer of all time. Gardel was a true Latino and died in a tragic plane crash in 1935. His tomb, located in the La Chacarita district of Buenos Aires, is regularly visited by fans. He is accompanied by the guitar in many of Gardel’s songs, reflecting the lifestyle of former payadores. The first Tango piece performed by Gardel in 1917 was “Mi Noche Triste” (“Sorry night”). This piece was about the sadness of a lover who was abandoned and gave himself to drink.

Enrique Santos Discepolo, a well-known Tango lyricist and composer, once said,

“Tango is a sad thought told through dancing.”

 

Argentine Tango: tango lessons, tango seminar, tango dance choreography, tango show, tango music, tango dj’ing, everything about tango.

Kerem Elena Tango.  tangopera.com