I always enjoyed the clear, spare sound of the Angel D'Agostino orchestra without wondering how it was created. This clip shows how: it wasn't an 'orquesta'. It was a quartet, the leanest possible tango group; piano (D'Agostino), bandoneon, violin, bass. The individual lines sing and the singer, Angel Vargas, is the fifth line.
And this clip from a 40s film has subtitles, so the whole little story is clear, as is the sense of the song, Barrio de tres esquinas, one of the classics of tango. The local kid comes back from the big city, contemptuous of the barrios of Buenos Aires: his childhood friend, the singer Angel Vargas, reminds him that the barrio is a place of affection and friendship. & then there's a second song, a comic interlude, in which everyone moves back 50 years.
An 'orquesta tipica' would have at least two more bandoneons and violins. It would have a more dramatic impact, but I still value the intimacy of the D'Agostino sound. & I wonder how many other Argentine films there are (preferably subtitled) with the musicians and dancers of the period.
6 comments:
what a treasure that film is .. if you find more please do post!
" Yo soy soy del barrio ... de tres esquinas.... "
Thanks, anon, glad you enjoyed it. It's a real glimpse into the immense charm there is in tango. If you wanted to introduce anyone to tango, this clip might give a good idea of the music and background. It's a neat piece of film-making too.
I wish I could find more like this. But I can't even find out what this film is called. It might have been made in 1940, but about 25 Argentine films were made that year: there's a yearly list of Argentine films on Wikepedia. Quite a few films involved musicians (Canaro and Gardel as well as D'Agostino) and dancers (El Cachafaz and others). I'd like to find a list of films including tango: even more, I'd like to find the films themselves! Especially subtitled. I'll keep looking.
not the same thing but you might want to see Tango, Nuestro Baile. I managed to get it on DVD. youtube has a nice clip.
It is a strange surreal mix of documentary and fiction. Of strange lighting, time, and characters. And you get some real legends in there just picking their noses or pouring a drink, or or wringing their hands in the cold. EL Fino, Portalea .. Its fantastic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTjMfVe-QE4
Thanks, yes, I've been trying to get hold of Tango: Nuestro Baile without success, only Flamenco Connection in the States seems to have it, but they don't seem to have an email address, so I can;t find if they'd mail to to the UK.
i got mine from amazon uk:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tango-Our-Dance-DVD-US/dp/B000EMGIQE
Thanks! This was my problem:
'Your search "tango: nuestro baile" did not match any products'!
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