Piazzolla, A :: Histoire du Tango

Histoire du Tango

Piazzolla, A

Editions Henry Lemoine presents Astor Piazzolla's 'Histoire du Tango' arranged for flute and harp by Kari Vehmanen.

Presented in four movements, each movement tells a different story about the history of the tango.

'Bordello, 1990': The tango originated in Buenos Aires in 1882. It was first played on the guitar and the flute. Arrangements then came to include the piano, and later, the concertina. This music is full of grace and liveliness. It paints a picture of the good natured chatter of the French, Italian, and Spanish women who peopled these bordellos as they teased the policeman, thieves, sailors, and riffraff who came to see them. This is a gay tango.

'Continental Cafe, 1930': This is another age of the tango. People stopped dancing it as they did in 1900, preferring instead simply to listen to it. It became more musical, and more romantic. This tango has undergone total transformation: the movements are slower, with new and often melancholy harmonies. Tango orchestras come to consist of two violins, two concertinas, a piano, and a bass. The tango is sometimes sung as well.

'Night Club, 1960': This is a time of rapidly expanding international exchange, and the tango evolves again as Brazil and Argentina come together in Buenos Aires. The bossa nova and the new tango are moving to the same beat. Audiences rush to night clubs to listen earnestly to the new tango. This marks a revolution and a profound alteration in some of the original tango forms.

'Modern Day Concert': Certain concepts in tango music become intertwined with modern music. Bartok, Stravinsky, and other composers reminisce to the tune of tango music. This is today's tango, and the tango of the future as well.