With permission from the author,Jose Maria Kokubu

 From Charles V to Charles Gardel

An outlook of the history of Argentine Tango[1]

by José María Kokubu* 

1. Introduction 

        The origins of Tango lie far back at the misty beginnings of Argentina as a modern nation. We know that it already existed in the second half of the 19^th century, and that before 1917, year in which Carlos Gardel recorded his version of Mi noche triste[2], it had begun its worldwide expansion. Gardel discovered the rich possibilities latent in this peculiar kind of music and, through the adoption of Italian musical[3] and theatrical traditions, created a major genre out of a lively entertainment for brothels and low class gatherings. Gardel's impeccable musical taste and the fast development of the mass media at the beginning of the 20^th century provoked an overwhelming cultural phenomenon, which captivated a fast growing middle class at both sides of the River Plate. Gardel's stylistic innovations had wide diffusion within the musical milieu of Buenos Aires, and some bandoneón players such as Ciriaco Ortiz soon adopted these new modalities and applied them to their own instruments[4]. Another founding figure was Julio De Caro who enriched instrumental tango with musical criteria borrowed from European chamber music[5] such as alternation, contrast and parallelism of voices, and expressive utilisation of the different instrumental timbres. Two bandoneón players, who originally belonged to the De Caro ensemble, Pedro Maffia and Pedro Laurenz, followed the track opened by Ortiz and re-directed the history of bandoneón playing into a brand new path. Many more figures contributed thenceforth to the progress of this genre and established a completely new relationship between spoken words and music through an effective synthesis between recitative and aria styles. In 1936 Argentine Tango reached the summit of its dramatic possibilities as made evident in Nostalgias, exemplary work by Juan Carlos Cobián and Enrique Cadícamo[6]. The way was cleared for the creativeness of Aníbal Troilo and Astor Piazzolla to unveil unforeseen possibilities for future developments. Piazzolla, moreover, besides introducing Argentine Tango into the most important stages of the world, initiated a fruitful dialogue with composers and interpreters of other genres, both popular and academic. After the tumultuous arrival of Rock and Roll, Argentine Tango run into a virtual backwater until the round-the-world revival we seem to witness today.  

2. From Charles V to Charles Gardel 

When Europeans undertook the conquest of the New World during the reign of Charles V, they encountered in the Americas the widest and most fertile plains in the world. The native inhabitants –with different degrees of civilisation–  suffered human and cultural invasion in a degree yet unparalleled in the history of mankind[7]. 

During the years of colonisation, a dynamic current of economic and cultural exchange took place between the old and the new worlds. Newly acquired vocabulary such as tobacco, tomato, chocolate or potato modified European habits forever. As an example of the vast scale of this exchange, we should note that, in order to attain a meal such as modern spaghetti with tomato sauce, contributions from very distant places were required: noodles were obtained in China by Venetian Marco Polo and tomatoes, in the Americas by Genoan Columbus, a couple of centuries later. Today, it is possible to have Tagliatelle al sugo di pomodori either as a guest of an average Argentine family or at a sophisticated restaurant in Tokyo, Caracas or Sydney. Without this historical perspective in mind, it would be hard to conceive that Jacob's stew did not contain tomatoes or that chocolate does not originally come from Switzerland. Likewise, modern musical art results from the confluence of innumerable circumstances and, naturally, the tangos that Charles Gardel so beautifully sang do not escape this rule. 

3.  Negros and sailors 

          In England, while our bold conquistadors risked their lives in this part of the globe, a dance known as country-dance had become popular in certain circles[8]. From England it passed into Spain and France, where it was re-baptised as contradanza or contredanse. After some time it became common in most European aristocratic salons. So much so, that even Mozart and Beethoven produced some beautiful examples of this dance. As is known, the economic and cultural exchange between Spain and her colonies was intense, which led European contradanza to pass into the island of Cuba, where it became very popular. Vernacular versions of contradanza were called “habanera” or “Cuban dance”, and showed a strong influence of Negro slaves. The famous habanera in Bizet's Carmen stands out as an example of the two-way direction of the exchange I mean to emphasise.

          Similarly, commerce of goods and ideas also flourished along Caribbean and South-American coasts. There was an important maritime traffic between La Habana and Buenos Aires: ships from Cuba came to the Argentine coasts loaded which coconuts, tobacco and bananas and returned with salted meat for slave consumption. The crews of these ships were very active in the exchange of cultural trends and habits between both ports. 

4. Gauchos and immigrants 

          Despite their coarseness, the first inhabitants of flatland Argentina did not lack a need for artistic expression. During the 19^th century, some people called payadores rode along the pampas and, in the manner of primitive rhapsodes, improvised poems with simple guitar accompaniments. These rough jugglers or troubadours were blessed with a gift for music and poetry, and were constantly required in all important gaucho gatherings. Naturally, there are no recordings of those poem-improvising sessions but we know that José Hernández moulded his Martín Fierro[9] in the style of the old payadores, who normally followed a rhythm of octosyllabic verse, traditional in Spanish poetry. This would prove a determinant fact for the genesis of Tango because octosyllables, typical of gaucho improvisation, are very apt to be sung in the rhythm of habanera[10]. As a result of an active commercial exchange between La Habana and Buenos Aires, and due to the coincidence in rhythm between gaucho songs and habanera, a new genre appeared that received the name of milonga[11]. Different kinds of milongas were sung by the successors of the first payadores and, presumably, also danced by Negro slaves in both sides of the River Plate. From milonga to modern tango there remained only a short way as both early tango and milonga share the emblematic 2/4 measure and a very similar musical structure.         

          The city of Buenos Aires provided fertile ground for the development of new aesthetic parameters because, among other reasons, the role of enlightened salons in the cultural life had been relevant even before the Independence. Maritime activity promoted a busy exchange of cultural values, and the rural lifestyle contributed with its rich payadoresque tradition.  Finally, the political organisation of Argentina also had great influence in this process through the educational system set up by Domingo F. Sarmiento[12], which permitted the cultural integration of men and women from the most varied and remote parts of the globe. 

          Around 1870, the arrival of immigrants accelerated dramatically as world industrialisation continued its febrile progress. The British Empire ruled the seas, kept the key of world trade and controlled the production of goods and commodities while France stood as ultimate reference for matters concerning culture and arts. The Argentine leading classes were aware of the necessity of populating the empty lands if they were to build a country after the model of the central powers. Immigrants were needed. Nations as different as Spain, Italy, Wales, Ireland, France, Germany, Russia, Poland, Ukraine, Croatia, Syria, Lebanon, Armenia, and many others, provided legions of settlers of the most varied social, cultural and religious extraction. All these groups contributed actively to the growth of the naissant culture in such fields as architecture, fine arts, music, theatre, poetry, politics, diplomacy, education, journalism, commerce and other disciplines. This colourful immigration starred one of the modern world's most original processes of human and cultural integration. 

          In short, we can say that tango's present form was shaped by the original combination of multiple elements provided by world and Argentine history: European contributions, both through colonisers and immigrants, native cultures, and cultures imported from Africa.  

5. A City of multiple characters 

          We have seen that at the beginning of the 20^th century, in the search of a new life, huge waves of immigrants arrived in Buenos Aires. The Big City welcomed them eagerly because working hands were badly needed. The horrors of the two world wars also had a strong influence in the shaping of our incipient civilisation, for many protagonists of Argentine cultural and scientific life were intimately associated with the tragedies that darkened the first half of the past century. Buenos Aires provided an original environment for the development of new forms of musical and literary creation. The predominance of males, required for jobs in agricultural and industrial activities, promoted the proliferation of many entertainment sites of doubtful reputation whose girls were immortalised in tangos such as Madame Ivonne, Muñeca Brava, Milonguita or Zorro Gris. In like manner, war, vice and social insensitiveness were masterfully described in pieces like Silencio, Acquaforte or Pan. Other typical characters were guapos[13] and malevos[14] –urban brothers of the gaucho matrero[15]–, pickpockets, jailers, duellists, thieves, cajoles, show-offs and many others, who shared their joys, hopes and sorrows with the ordinary inhabitants of the suburbs. The mongrel jargon of these rough ambiences was called lunfardo[16] and was soon to colour the speech of all social classes. Today, this variety of Spanish has become an object of study for poets, linguists and sociologists. The thematic and stylistic influence of Latin American modernism[17] in authors like Enrique Cadícamo and others was very strong as can be seen in most works of that time[18]. Naturally, love is a favourite subject of tango authors, who apparently enjoy stressing its pessimistic features. The main objects of idealisation seem to be one's mother and one's natal neighbourhood. 

6. Music and history, inseparable companions 

          The history of popular music of the 20^th century cannot be separated from the history of western culture. While it is true that in all times the lower classes have cultivated many forms of art, today, the share of the so-called popular music in all cultural activities and industries has become of enormous importance. Public and private companies and organisations in the entire world promote popular music through recitals, recordings, magazines, newspapers, films and books. In order to fully understand this phenomenon we must resort to history. 

          Naturally, it is not possible to summarise many millennia in a few lines but I shall try to mention some important landmarks that help understand the long evolution of western music. Firstly, it is indispensable to bear in mind that musical composition through tonal chords is a distinctive feature of popular music and derives directly from the historical processes we are dealing with. This applies equally to jazz, rock and roll, tango, Japanese enka or Neapolitan canzonetta. 

          Dancing, poetry and songs have accompanied mankind since its early days. The present forms of those artistic expressions, either classical ballet, Colombian cumbia, Argentine tango or Broadway musicals are the consequence of a shared evolution. For example, it is known that in 18^th century Europe the different types of dances of the Baroque Suite helped shape the purest expressions of musical form such as classical Sonata, Symphony and Concerto. We have seen how, in the Americas, European Contredanse became one of Tango's direct ancestors through modifications produced by individuals of African background. It should never be forgotten that the tonal conception of music, which permits the composition of melodies with the accompaniment of chords, is characteristic of most genres of 20^th century's popular music. 

          It was usual for musicians in the 18^th century to employ a notation system called “figured bass”, which simplified the transcription of complex musical ideas[19]. This system is a kind of musical shorthand that, today, all popular musicians apply to their compositions and arrangements in the shape of chords and tablatures. In order to achieve this result, however, many centuries had to pass since the ancient Greek systematised into modes the different scales utilised in their music. After the adoption of Christian religion by Emperor Constantine the Great in A.D. 310, the Church reorganised the   and the Greek modes under the name of Ambrosian and Gregorian modes and provided blueprints for the future evolution of western music. When, as from A.D. 1000, polyphony was incorporated to church music, a long road towards tonal music began that culminated in 1722 when Jean-Philippe Rameau published his Traité d'harmonie. In the second half of the 18^th century the classical musical forms were created and today they continue to be used under different degrees of innovations and changes (Sonata, Symphony, Concerto, Lied, and chamber music.) The classical sonata form[20] freed itself from basso continuo and other formal requirements of baroque music thus permitting the concept of free counterpoint and free harmony to develop[21]. The conditions were set in the 19^th century for the rise of national and popular music, which went on during the next century leading to modern genres such as Tango, Jazz and Rock and Roll. The wide diffusion of empirical concepts of tonal harmony allowed much less instructed musicians to make incursions into composing and improvising. Learning music through “tones” or tablatures opened the way of musical creation to many people, who, despite the fact of being illiterate, could easily handle musical shorthand so as to play and compose “by ear”. The concept of harmony through chords permitted payadores and village musicians without great musical knowledge to accompany their songs and provide dancing music for the lower classes.

7. Words and music 

          Words and music cannot be detached from one other because words need “music” in order to exist. The ancient Greeks and Hebrews already intoned their poems and Psalms according to their own singing modalities. As we have seen, through the influence of early Christianity these two modalities merged into a new musical style that was developed under the patronage of the Church. Medieval Plain Chant, heir of old traditions, gave great importance to the role of words within musical discourse, for it is words that provided its rhythmical structure. The development of modern musical notation led to the definitive organisation of modern musical form that took place in the 18^th century through rigorous systematising of melody, harmony and rhythm. 

          Tango-canción[22] –as well as Neapolitan canzonetta and many other types of popular songs– derive from the baroque aria da capo in two parts. After 1776, techniques of classical sonata form were also applied to opera arias[23], and this opened the way for modern popular songs[24] to appear. Most tangos-canción consist of two parts, the first one, close to recitative-style in character and the second, very melodious and cantabile. We have to mention here that, in order to indicate the end of a recitative and the beginning of the correspondent aria; a cadence dominant-tonic was usually played –as is now in tango, under the nickname of chan-chan. A clear example of such features is found in Cuesta abajo by Gardel and Le Pera, where the first part has a marked recitative character and the second is clearly cantabile. This pattern is very common and appears in pieces as diverse as Arrabal amargo, Sur, Nostalgias, Che bandoneón, Una canción, Silbando and many others. 

          The great innovation brought in by Gardel was the employment of a much freer musical phrasing, through which the actual melodic line becomes detached from the written notes and from the basic rhythmical pulse. As we said earlier, instrument players soon imitated this original modality. Nevertheless, the autonomy of words is made possible only when other formal aspects that concern harmony, rhythm and phraseological structure[25] are neatly defined, thus permitting singers to “speak” and “say” while singing, in the manner of Julio Sosa or Roberto Goyeneche. Bandoneones, violins and other instruments were also apt for such a liberty of expression and now compete with human voice in the originality of their phrasing. 

8. The birth of a new form

          The rise of consumer markets as main protagonists of the economy promoted a geometrical growth of cultural industries. Radio also played an outstanding role through wide diffusion of famous musical scores. Argentine broadcasting opened with Parsifal, major work that could thus reach many homes, otherwise unable to enjoy such costly a production. Thenceforth, a process of “amplification” began –in Argentina and in the whole world– that altered for good all parameters of culture. The record industry enlarged the audiences of opera theatres and concert halls, and revolutionised the art of music appreciation. All music lovers became able to deepen their knowledge of symphonic and operatic repertoires. Musical critics shaped the opinions of the public in a degree Schumann would not have suspected. Their comments were printed on the envelopes of records that reached millions of people. All famous conductors and singers had innumerable fans, each generating groups that reflected different aesthetic orientations. Masterpieces of opera, symphonic and chamber music, became accessible to all ears and budgets, and broad audiences developed mature criteria of music-appreciation. Buenos Aires was ready for a new genre to make appearance. 

          We said before that Gardel applied different notions of Italian bel canto to his interpretations of tango. Without this contribution, perhaps this dance would have passed into history as a light means of entertainment that does not deserve major consideration from historians and musicologists. The addition of words to tango music was already a common procedure much before Gardel. Estribillistas (refrain-singers) used to intervene briefly in instrumental tangos. Nevertheless, instrumental tango with vocal refrain or estribillo incorporates human voice only to one segment. As from Mi noche triste, however, tango acquired full “operatic” level not only because the whole piece was conceived as to be sung but also because the nature of the text, being fully theatrical, brought to life a story full of human interest[26]. 

          In the 19^th century, the appearance of a consumer market of culture, as a consequence of the industrial revolution, provoked a geometrical growth in the making of pianos and the printing of musical scores. The gramophone not having been yet invented, piano was the ideal means of bringing high quality music to bourgeois homes through transcriptions (for two and four hands) of great symphonies and operas. Already in the 18^thcentury, musical material “à l'usage des dames”[27], apt for beginners and amateurs of music, was increasingly available. Music-loving ladies were great consumers of such products, and social gatherings organised by them were important centres of musical diffusion. 19^th and 20^th century Argentina followed the general trend. Conspicuous ladies of the Argentine society used to learn and play classical music devotedly but also paid attention to the new popular genres that were brewing in lower ambiences, especially because of their picaresque connotations. Some very interesting works remain that document the cultural synthesis that was taking place in musical Argentina at the beginning of the 20^th century. They were composed in 2/4, as tango prescribed, but their morphological structure was not yet altogether defined. Their length was variable and their melodic and harmonic handling was inspired indistinctly in unknown Viennese military marches, polkas or walzer, as well as in traditional pieces by Schumann, Grieg, Mendelssohn or Chopin. What was heard, danced and sung in the streets became gradually integrated with formal conservatoire studies.  

          In those times, Argentine well-to-do classes imitated European cafés and salons, and socially rising immigrants tried to emulate the habits of the former. With the improvement of transportation and communication, the process of exchange that opportunely linked Asian noodles with American tomatoes, acquired new dimensions. From Europe came the last modes and fashions and European dictates were followed in the capital city from where they passed  onto the rest of the country. The great landowners established a permanent link between rural areas and big cities and also travelled very often to Paris, cultural and wordily Mecca of those times. Wealthy families distributed these diffusion “tasks” between children who enjoyed rough work in the estancia[28] and children who rather preferred the sweet life of the ocean liners. From the Ville Lumière, Argentine Tango was brought back to Argentina by those elegant bon vivants, presently covered with a patina of prestige. Paris also initiated a long process of international projection that took tango music and dancing to cities like Berlin or Tokyo. A noteworthy tango piece relates the adventures of Baron Tsunayoshi (Tsunami) Megata, Japanese playboy, who returned to Tokyo after acquiring tango skills in Paris, where he founded a dance academy for the Japanese aristocracy[29]. To this tradition Argentine Tango owes the honour that His Majesty the Emperor of Japan and Empress Michiko are most excellent tango dancers. 

          It is said that Tango is like a three-minute opera because, in such a brief space of time, the most varied situations, characters and scenarios come to life and develop a complete dramatic action. One of the main causes for this conciseness was the length provided by 78 r.p.m. records which obliged Carlos Gardel and other singer-composers to restrict the duration of their songs. When microgroove records appeared, Argentine Tango had already acquired its definitive form and long playing records limited themselves to include six different pieces of the original duration. Only in recent times, more extended compositions of popular music where composed and recorded, like Piazzolla's or Pink Floyd's.

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