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Tangos in Concert
code: TR040307
In this CD we have recorded a selection of classical and modern tangos, performed by the Leonardo Marconi Quintet (piano; guitar; violin; bandoneon and double bass).
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During the 19th Century major political, cultural and economic transformations took place in the territories that would later form the Republic of Argentina and the city that would give rise to Tango: at the start of the Century, the city of Buenos Aires, founded on June 11, 1580, under the name of City of the Holy Trinity and Port of Good Airs (Buenos Ayres) was the capital of the Viceroyship of the Provinces of the Plata River, ruled by the Spanish Crown.
The country began its organization as a modern state during the third quarter of the century, with the implementation of very broad and sustained programs to promote a quality popular education. In the following decades, this contributed to shaping a national cultural identity, by blending together the very different cultures brought by the flows of immigrants of varied origins. The National Constitution, enacted in 1853, promoted immigration from Europe by offering immigrants the same rights and guarantees granted to the country's nationals. In the last decades of the century, the former capital of the viceroyship had become the seat of the National Government, and had what was then the largest port, which constituted the entry door for immigrants.
The settlement of the country's hinterland was facilitated by the construction of a large network of railways, in the space of just a few decades. This, together with an efficient telegraph and post service, contributed to providing effective, secure and efficient communications for people and goods. The massive inflow of immigrants expanded rural production to most of the area of the Pampas –a large geographical region with extremely high agricultural yields- and to other zones in the country. In many cases, the arriving immigrants settled in the countryside or in cities in the hinterland, while others settled in Buenos Aires, transforming the characteristics of the city on a permanent basis. In the period from 1880 to 1914 the population of Argentina multiplied almost four-fold, from approximately 2.5 million people to close to 8 million. The population of the city of Buenos Aires grew by 850% between 1869 and 1914, from 180,000 to 1,500,000 people. During this period, there were times when Buenos Aires had two foreign born inhabitants for each one born in the country, and three single men per single woman. In this scenario of profound and rapid changes, educational and economic progress favored many of these immigrants or their children, with the following generations becoming a dynamic blend of ancestries and cultures. Some individuals migrated from the rural areas to the cities, while others moved from urban areas to the countryside. It is in this scenario that Tango was born in and from Buenos Aires. Its musical sources and the etymology of the name are still the subject of controversy.
Tango was the music initially performed in whorehouses and dances or milongas in the marginal areas, and later moved to cabarets, night clubs, theaters, tea houses, etc. The fact that tango had originated in the bordellos meant that it was initially rejected by the Argentine aristocracy and higher classes. It is interesting to note that twice during the 20th Century, its great success abroad causes it to be reassessed domestically. The first time was at the starting of the Century, when in 1911 it was introduced as a new dance –with insinuating characteristics and certain voluptuous overtones- in the ball rooms of the Paris elite. Its growing presence in France first and in Europe later, to become established after the First World War, caused it first to be tolerated and later accepted by Buenos Aires society. After 1950, Tango went into a slow decline in terms of popularity in Argentina, particularly in the case of the young, who began preferring other types of music. Then, in the 80's a series of tango shows organized in Buenos Aires, toured different countries of The Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific, with great success. Once again, success abroad was reflected in a new positioning for tango with local audiences in Argentina.
The commonly accepted position is that Tango emerged at the end of the 19th Century based on habaneras and milongas. Although some of the traits of these two genres can be found in tango, they had their own distinctive identities, that they retained and maintained after tango's identity become established. The evolution of popular musical styles is usually structured on the basis of elements known to many, that are transformed –in a sort of Darwinian musical evolution– until forming a new style, by accepting and integrating certain traits of its predecessors while discarding others.
Tango undoubtedly acquired, since its beginnings, characteristics representative of the popular culture of Buenos Aires, creating a sort of musical localism which coexisted from its establishment with musical nationalism or music with national roots, to become consolidated in the years of the Centennial and later in folkloric and academic themes. The long century that has elapsed since the creation of Tango has demonstrated its vitality and ability to transform itself.
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