Tanda of the Week

Welcome to "TOTW"

2014-01-01T12:55:00.000+02:00

Welcome to "Tanda of the Week"! A tanda of traditional tango will be uploaded on the blog once a week for your listening and dancing pleasure. This blog was created to educate dancers about tango music and the orchestras of the golden era as well as to share tandas and create discussion between dancers and dj's about good tango to dance to. This is a non-profit tango blog but if you wish you can support the blog by donations on Paypal.

Most of the tandas on the blog are by Dj Antti Suniala but tandas from guest dj's are welcome too! Below you will find a list of the most important orchestras featured on TOTW and a link to the tandas to listen to from each orchestra. For more information about the orchestras you can study the articles on the Todo Tango website. On www.tango.info you can find very useful listings of recordings from all the orchestras. Welcome and I hope you enjoy the blog!

Biagi, Rodolfo - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store
Calo, Miguel - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store
Canaro, Francisco - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store
Carabelli, Adolfo - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store
D'Agostino, Ángel - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store
D'Arienzo, Juan - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store
De Angelis, Alfredo - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store
Demare, Lucio - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store
Di Sarli, Carlos - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store
Donato, Edgardo - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store
Firpo, Roberto - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store
Fresedo, Osvaldo - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store
Laurenz, Pedro - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store
Lomuto, Francisco - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store
Orquesta Tipica Victor - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store
Pugliese, Osvaldo - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store
Rodriguez, Enrique - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store
Tanturi, Ricardo - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store
Troilo, Anibal - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store

Tandas by category:

Favorite tandas - Dj Antti Suniala
Tandas by guest DJ's

Tango - Vals - Milonga tandas

1920's - 1930's - 1940's - 1950's tango music

Tandas with vocals
Instrumental tandas
Tandas with both instrumentals and vocal songs

Tanda of the Week playlist on Spotify.
Individual tandas available on Spotify are marked with the Spotify logo.

Tanda of the Week 09 / 2013 - Orquesta Típica Víctor (vals)

2013-04-26T12:44:00.000+03:00

1. Orquesta Típica Víctor / Mario Pomar - "Temo" 1940 - iTunes
2. Orquesta Típica Víctor / Carlos Lafuente - "Intima" 1940- iTunes
3. Orquesta Típica Víctor / Ángel Vargas - "Sin rumbo fijo" 1938 - iTunes

My favorite valses from Orquesta Típica Victor. A few interesting things to notice here are the singers Mario Pomar, who would later sing with Di Sarli in the 50's, and Ángel Vargas, who of course became legendary with the D'Agostino orchestra. You can listen to this tanda on Spotify.

Orquesta Típica Víctor - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store

Tanda of the Week 08 / 2013 - Edgardo Donato

2013-04-14T15:53:00.002+03:00

1. Edgardo Donato / H. Lagos, L. Morales, R. Gavioli - "Sinfonía de arrabal" 1940 - iTunes
2. Edgardo Donato / Horacio Lagos, Lita Morales - "Sombra gaucha " 1939 - iTunes
3. Edgardo Donato / Horacio Lagos, Lita Morales - "Chapaleando barro" 1939 - iTunes
4. Edgardo Donato / Horacio Lagos, Lita Morales - "Carnaval de mi barrio" 1939 - iTunes

Here's a tanda I've been playing for a long time. I concider these as some of the best uptempo vocal tangos from Donato and I usually leave "Sin sabor" for other tandas although it's definitely some of the best from Lagos and Morales together. Depending on the situation I might start with "Sombra gaucha" and let the intro pass before dancers fully recognize what's ahead. But especially after breaks and speeches, when I need a strong start to get people back on the floor fast, I start with "Sinfonia de arrabal". There is also a versions of "Sombra gaucha" without the intro part but I prefer having the intro. There are also versions of "Chapaleando barro" in different speeds so be careful which one you purchase and play. I believe this is the right speed version. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Donato, Edgardo - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store

Tanda of the Week 07 / 2013 - Juan D'Arienzo y Jorge Valdez

2013-04-14T15:01:00.000+03:00

1. Juan D'Arienzo / Jorge Valdez - "Destino de flor" 1957 - iTunes

2. Juan D'Arienzo / Jorge Valdez - "Adiós, Chantecler" 1958 - iTunes

3. Juan D'Arienzo / Jorge Valdez - "Diez años" 1958 - iTunes

4. Juan D'Arienzo / Jorge Valdez - "Andate, por dios" 1957 - iTunes

I don't play much of 50's vocal D'Arienzo, if any. Sometimes the exception has been songs with Jorge Valdez, rather than Alberto Echagüe, Armando Laborde or Mario Bustos. There's something about his softer but versatile use of his voice that appeals to me a lot more. However I'm always a bit torn about which songs to choose. Often when Valdez gets played, the dj's choose the renditions of classics like "Adiós, corazón" (Spotify), "Hasta siempre, amor" (Spotify), or even "Nada más" (Spotify). For me, however, these fall into the category of "others did these better" and therefore the more unfamiliar songs put the D'Arienzo/Valdez combination in a much better light. I hope it's not just me trying to be different.

"Destino de flor" however is quite suprisingly a better version (for me) than the version by Carlos Di Sarli with Roberto Florio (Spotify) . And also suprisingly "Diez años" is a rendition of one of the few Francisco Canaro/Ernesto Fama songs (from 1934) that I still like to play.

A shout-out for the inspiration to DJ Sebastian Alzogaray (BsAs/Berlin) who played a similar tanda last friday. He started also with "Destino de flor" and immediately got me giving random hand signs of great approval and appreciation while making my way to the dance floor.

Enjoy!

D'Arienzo, Juan - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store

Tanda of the Week 06 / 2013 - Carlos Di Sarli (instrumentals)

2013-04-05T00:33:00.002+03:00

1. Carlos Di Sarli - "El recodo" 1951 - iTunes Store
2. Carlos Di Sarli - "Germaine" 1951 - iTunes Store
3. Carlos Di Sarli - "La viruta" 1952 - iTunes Store
4. Carlos Di Sarli - "Los treinta y tres orientales" 1952 - iTunes Store

I believe I might be quilty for playing more Di Sarli than most of the other tango dj's and I love everything from "Corazon" (1939) with Roberto Rufino (check out the Rufino discography on Spotify) all the way to the early and late 50's recordings, both vocal and instrumental. While not completely forgetting the early 30's recordings like the very enjoyable to dance to "Chau pinela", I have lately enjoyed playing the early 50's instrumentals Di Sarli recorded for the Music Hall label between November 1951 and April 1953. The recordings for Music Hall were altogether 84 releases where the vocalists Oscar Serpa and Mario Pomar can also be heard. These releases can be more difficult to obtain than other Di Sarli recordings but you can find at least most of them on Spotify and iTunes. Here is a tanda of Di Sarli classics better known as versions from the 1940's or from the later 50's recordings to the Victor record label. Like many of the succesful orchestras, Di Sarli recorded the big hits multiple times and for example there are versions of "Los treinta y tres orientales" from 1948, 1952 and 1955.

In order for you to purchase the right versions of the songs, I have linked iTunes Store links to the albums which contain the songs in the tanda. Enjoy!

Di Sarli, Carlos - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store

Tanda of the Week 05 / 2013 - Osvaldo Fresedo (instrumentals)

2013-04-03T11:20:00.000+03:00

1. Osvaldo Fresedo - "Tigre viejo" 1934 - iTunes Store
2. Osvaldo Fresedo - "Arrabalero" 1939 - iTunes Store
3. Osvaldo Fresedo - "Poliya" 1939 - iTunes Store
4. Osvaldo Fresedo - "Derecho viejo" 1941 - iTunes Store

Even though it seems that the vocal songs from Osvaldo Fresedo are more common in milongas in Europe, it is the instrumentals that get more play in Buenos Aires. The instrumental songs from Fresedo have suprisingly different dynamics in comparison to the super smooth vocal songs and often when I play these songs I get asked what was the orchestra..... Enjoy!

Fresedo, Osvaldo - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store

Tanda of the Week 04 / 2013 - Juan D'Arienzo (valses)

2013-03-04T11:33:00.001+02:00

1. Juan D'Arienzo / Alberto Echagüe - "Ay, aurora" 1939 - iTunes Store
2. Juan D'Arienzo / Alberto Echagüe - "Cabeza de novia" 1938 - iTunes Store
3. Juan D'Arienzo / Alberto Echagüe - "Recuerdos de la pampa" 1939 - iTunes Store

It's good to have some upbeat D'Arienzo vals tandas in your arsenal. Enjoy!

D'Arienzo, Juan - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store
Echagüe, Alberto - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store

Tanda of the Week 03 / 2013 - Pedro Laurenz (instrumentals)

2013-03-03T13:54:00.005+02:00

1. Pedro Laurenz - "Arrabal" 1937
2. Pedro Laurenz - "Orgullo criollo" 1941
3. Pedro Laurenz - "Amurado" 1952
4. Pedro Laurenz - "La cumparsita" 1953

Pedro Laurenz

Here's a tanda celebrating the genius of the bandeonist, composer and director Pedro Laurenz (1902-1972).

"After [...] prominent times with De Caro, [...] Laurenz formed his own orchestra in 1934, as though envisaging that the instrumental tango needed a new style. He [...] entrusted the piano to another De Caro follower -the today revered Osvaldo Pugliese, an artist of a renewing spirit. In 1937 he started recording for the Víctor company, and his version of "Arrabal" by the pianist José Pascual, is considered by some scholars, as the hinge of the newly born "golden epoch" of the tango which would reach the top in the 40s." - Julio Nudler, TodoTango

Indeed, if you compare "Arrabal" to any other recording from any orchestra from 1937 or before, you can hear how groundbreaking it truly was and I have to say it is one of my all time favorites. Unfortunately the small discography of Pedro Laurenz had only a few instrumentals, and in this tanda I'm trying to get past the fact of just that, by playing this tanda as the last one of the night and adding the less known Laurenz version of "La cumparsita" as the fourth song. Instrumentals like "De antaño", "La beba" and "Boedo" all from 1946 don't really have the same energy, dynamics and classic status as the first three songs of this tanda. There is a 1947 version of "Amurado" (and of course the 1940 vocal version with Juan Carlos Casas) but for the maximum effect I went with the stronger 1952 version.

So we have a tanda ranging from 1937 all the way to 1953 but I believe we have two good reasons for bending the rules (of creating tandas) a bit. First, the exceptional skill and style of the Laurenz orquesta is amazing from the first track to the last one and the 16 year time travel within 4 songs is not that obvious to most of us. Second, if you want to hear a Laurenz instrumental tanda then honestly you don't have many options!

For an alternative version of a Laurenz instrumental tanda I would play something like Arrabal (1937) - Orguillo criollo (1941) - Boedo (1946) - Amurado (1947). Sometimes I play two instrumentals and two vocal songs and that might work well also.

Enjoy!

Laurenz, Pedro - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store

Tanda of the Week 02 / 2013 - Osvaldo Pugliese (instrumentals)

2013-03-03T12:49:00.002+02:00

1. Osvaldo Pugliese - "Emancipación" 1955
2. Osvaldo Pugliese - "Bien milonga" 1951
3. Osvaldo Pugliese - "Seguime si podés" 1953
4. Osvaldo Pugliese - "La rayuela" 1953

I'm sorry for the long break in posting and updating Tanda of the Week. Here's a beautiful, somewhat challenging but very rewarding Pugliese instrumental tanda for all you Pugliese addicts out there. The tanda is available on Spotify and YouTube.

This is a tanda that I've made quite recently, and I've played it only once, and have had to hold it back a few times when the moment wasn't right and I played something more familiar from Pugliese instead. I would be interested to hear your comments on this one.

Check out more of my Spotify playlists at www.tangovalsmilonga.com.

Pugliese, Osvaldo - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store

Tanda of the Week 01 / 2013 - Osvaldo Pugliese y Alberto Morán - "Pasional"

2013-01-10T11:51:00.000+02:00

1. Osvaldo Pugliese / Alberto Morán - "Pasional" 1951
2. Osvaldo Pugliese / Alberto Morán - "Y volvemos a querernos" 1949
3. Osvaldo Pugliese / Alberto Morán - "Hacelo por la vieja" 1950
4. Osvaldo Pugliese / Alberto Morán - "La mentirosa" 1954

What better way to start the tandas of a new year than with Osvaldo Pugliese and Alberto Morán. This tanda is brand new and it will premiere tonight at our accordingly named milonga: "La Pasión" in Berlin.

According to Todo Tango, Morán recorded 54 songs with maestro Pugliese in 1945 to 1954, and I have created this Spotify playlist of recordings of Alberto Morán/Osvaldo Pugliese, which, at the moment, includes 46 songs in chronological order. Check out more of my Spotify playlists at www.tangovalsmilonga.com.

Pugliese, Osvaldo - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store
Morán, Alberto - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store

Tanda of the Week 52 / 2012 - José Garcia - DJ Patricia Petronio

2013-01-10T11:45:00.002+02:00

1. José García / Alfredo Rojas - "A lo mejor, quién te dice?" 1942
2. José García / Alfredo Rojas - "Cuna de tango" 1944
3. José García / Alfredo Rojas - "Qué no sepan las estrellas" 1945
4. José García / Alfredo Rojas - "Adiós, adiós, corazón" 1942

This tanda comes from DJ Patricia Petronio from Australia. She runs the Tango Salón Adelaide and they have a monthly milonga "Comme il Faut" which celebrated it's 5th anniversary recently. Thank you Patricia!

I would recommend looking for CD's of José Garcia from the Buenos Aires Tango Club. Many releases of these quite rare recordings are in poor quality and often the pitch is incorrect like in some of the songs from the "Motivo sentimental" collection featured in the picture.

Garcia, José / Rojas, Alfredo - www.tango.info

Tanda of the Week 2012 / 51 - Ricardo Tanturi y Alberto Castillo "Así se baila el tango"

2013-01-09T12:42:00.001+02:00

1. Ricardo Tanturi / Alberto Castillo - "Cuatro compases" 1942
2. Ricardo Tanturi / Alberto Castillo - "Al compás de un tango" 1942
3. Ricardo Tanturi / Alberto Castillo - "El tango es el tango" 1942
4. Ricardo Tanturi / Alberto Castillo - "Así se baila el tango" 1942

Here's a very classic tango tanda from Ricardo Tanturi with Alberto Castillo as the singer. Tanturi performed and recorded a selection of songs targeted directly for the milongueros and here are four tangos about tango. You can read more about "Así se baila el tango" at the Tanquito.co.uk website.

I've recently started another blog called "Tango, vals & milonga", in which I recommend tango playlists, music and albums on Spotify, as well as try to find the best quality versions available online or elsewhere. There are a lot of Tanturi releases out there with bad quality versions of these songs. Making this tanda for TOTW made me buy new versions of all the songs. Some songs had too much reverb and there are two versions of "El tango es el tango" with different pitch. I recommend DJ's to try to tune their ear to the tone of the vocals, which usually tells you if the song is in the wrong pitch. Another indicator is ofcourse the actual lenght of the song.

About the tanda itself: You could (and some say should) put "Asi se baila el tango" as the first song (and "Cuatro compases" as the last one), but this time I chose to do it this way due to "Cuatro compases" having a different beginning of the song compared to the other three songs. All the others have a very direct start getting right down to business with the strong rhythm and bandoneons, where "Cuatro compases" makes you wait a bit and then treats you with the beautiful violin solo. So having the different beginning in the very beginning of the tanda will have the rest of the tanda flowing smoothly.

Tanturi, Ricardo - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store
Castillo, Alberto - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store

Tanda of the Week 50 / 2012 - Enrique Rodriguez (instrumentals)

2013-01-06T16:26:00.000+02:00

1. Enrique Rodríguez - "Zorro gris" 1946
2. Enrique Rodríguez - "La torcacita" 1940
3. Enrique Rodríguez - "Florida" 1941
4. Enrique Rodríguez - "El morochito" 1941

Enrique Rodriguez

This tanda is from one of the TOTW regular guest dj's Chris from UK.

"Tanda of The Week doesn't yet have a Rodríguez instrumental tango tanda, so I thought you might like to have this contribution from me. Beginner DJs, this is well worth a listen, next time you hear someone repeat the misguided rule that says a good tanda cannot include tracks recorded more than four years apart...

I played this last weekend on the closing night of Etonathon, at which milongueros and milongueras from all over the country gathered for a four-day festival of pure dancing - no classes or shows. The full list of the music I played can be seen here. Happy New Year!"

- DJ Chris

Below you have the tanda as a Spotify playlist as well as more versions of these same songs by other orchestras.

New blog - www.tangovalsmilonga.com

2012-12-31T11:37:00.002+02:00

I've started a second tango blog called Tango, Vals & Milonga. I will share Spotify playlists and recommendations to albums and music available online. For an example here is a Spotify playlist of Anibal Troilo instrumental tangos from 1938-1945. The playlist is in chronologial order based on the listings of www.tango.info of Troilo's recordings. Some of the tracks are in questionable quality but they were the best I found.

Be sure to follow the new tangoblog Tango, Vals & Milonga for more updates and playlists. Happy new year!

Tanda of the Week 49 / 2012 - Enrique Campos - valses

2012-12-18T13:25:00.003+02:00

Enrique Campos.
S. f. (Foto: Museo y Centro de documentación AGADU)

1. Ricardo Tanturi / Enrique Campos - "Al pasar" 1943
2. Ricardo Tanturi / Enrique Campos - "Me besó y se fué" 1945
3. Francisco Rotundo / Enrique Campos / Floreal Ruíz - "El viejo vals" 1951

This weeks tanda of valses with the singer Enrique Campos comes from Dan Lester from Orlando, Florida USA. Thank you Dan!

Enrique Campos is best known as the other great singer from the Tanturi orchestra (besides Alberto Castillo) and he also sang for the Francisco Rotundo orchestra and later for the Roberto Caló orchestra who was the brother of Miguel Caló. "El viejo vals" is one of the most known songs from Francisco Rotundo and is often played in a vals tanda of mixed orchestras. Often with songs from 1950s that are duets like Biagi's "Adoracion" (1951) which is sung by Carlos Heredia and Hugo Duval. There's a version of "Al Pasar" also by Lucio Demare's orchestra and Raúl Berón.

If you rather would like to have the complete tanda with Tanturi and Campos then the last song it could be replaced with for example Tanturi/Campos/Videla - "Tu vieja ventana" from 1945.

Tanturi, Ricardo - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store
Campos, Enrique - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store
Ruiz, Floreal - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store

Tanda of the Week 48 / 2012 - Alfredo De Angelis y Floreal Ruíz

2012-11-28T15:38:00.000+02:00

1. Alfredo De Angelis / Floreal Ruíz - "Bajo el cono azúl" 1944
2. Alfredo De Angelis / Floreal Ruíz - "Como se muere de amor" 1943
3. Alfredo De Angelis / Floreal Ruíz - "Marioneta" 1943
4. Alfredo De Angelis / Floreal Ruíz - "Dejame asi" 1943

Here is more from Floreal Ruíz, this time with the orchestra of Alfredo De Angelis. Check out the previous tanda of Ruíz with Troilo.

Both "Bajo el cono azúl" and "Como se muere de amor" have a spoken part in the beginning of the song. I use versions of these songs both with the spoken part and without. Here I have the first song with the spoken part but the second song without it to better keep the flow of the music from one song to the next.

De Angelis, Alfredo - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store
Ruiz, Floreal - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store

Tanda of the Week 47 / 2012 - Aníbal Troilo y Floreal Ruiz

2012-11-27T15:17:00.003+02:00

1. Aníbal Troilo / Floreal Ruíz - "La borrachera del tango" 1945
2. Aníbal Troilo / Floreal Ruíz - "La noche que te fuiste" 1945
3. Aníbal Troilo / Floreal Ruíz - "Naranjo en flor" 1944
4. Aníbal Troilo / Floreal Ruíz - "Yuyo verde" 1945

In this tanda I'd like to introduce the third great singer from the orchestra of Aníbal Troilo: Floreal Ruíz. Before replacing Francisco Fiorentino in the orchestra of Troilo he recorded a few sides with Alfredo De Angelis. After Troilo he joined the orchestra of Francisco Rotundo in 1948 and later Jose Basso.

The songs from Troilo/Ruíz don't get played much in milongas as the music of Troilo with Fiorentino, the instrumentals and also the songs with Marino are favored more and these songs are clearly more challenging but also very rewarding to dance to. From the first notes of "La borrachera del tango" it is clear the tanda will bring some of the best of the rich classic sound of Anibal Troilo.

"When I hear Floreal Ruiz I have the impression that the singer so naturally and spontaneously does it that he seems to be seated on a chair informally conversing, and the musical notes spring out of his throat with no effort. The timbre and the color of his voice are everyday sounds for me, there are neither stridences nor false resources, he does it in the most difficult way, easily.
He is, undoubtedly, a subtle singer, delicate, of an excellent diction which allows understanding not only the lyrics but also its dramatism.
He was one of the great voices of the 40s, and paradoxically, he achieved his definitive recognition after the passing of years, not at his time of splendor when he was member of Aníbal Troilo´s orchestra. This was due to two reasons. First, because in the 40s quite a lot of singers of an exceptional level sprang out; second, because he had to replace Francisco Fiorentino in "Pichuco"'s orchestra and perform by the side of the successful Alberto Marino, who was the singer in vogue. ...continue reading"

by Ricardo García Blaya, Todotango

Troilo, Anibal - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store
Ruiz, Floreal - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store

Tanda of the Week 46 / 2012 - Carlos Di Sarli y Roberto Rufino

2012-11-24T17:01:00.001+02:00

1. Carlos Di Sarli / Roberto Rufino - "Necesito olvidar" 1942
2. Carlos Di Sarli / Roberto Rufino - "Canta, pajarito" 1943
3. Carlos Di Sarli / Roberto Rufino - "Adiós, te vas....!" 1943
4. Carlos Di Sarli / Roberto Rufino - "Si tú quisieras" 1943

Roberto Rufino

I had the pleasure of DJ'ing in Nou Mitte in Berlin last night and I played this tanda there. It was close to the ending of the milonga with not that many dancers left. It followed a strong Varela/Ledesma tanda and partly due to the timing I got only a few couples on the floor but they praised the tanda afterwards. What do you think about this tanda?

Di Sarli, Carlos - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store
Rufino, Roberto - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store

Tanda of the Week 45 / 2012 - Francisco Canaro y Ernesto Famá

2012-11-22T14:53:00.000+02:00

1. Francisco Canaro / Ernesto Famá - "La muchachada del centro" 1932
2. Francisco Canaro / Ernesto Famá - "Bernabé, la fiera" 1932
3. Francisco Canaro / Ernesto Famá - "Pero aquel muchacho" 1932
4. Francisco Canaro / Ernesto Famá - "Si soy así" 1933

This guest dj tanda was suggested by DJ Riccardo DiCecio from St. Louis, USA. Thank you Riccardo!

Comments and feedback.

2012-11-16T16:17:00.000+02:00

As we've just reached over 2000 likes on Facebook (!!!) I'd like to remind you that Tanda of the Week is here not just to share music and educate dancers about the orchestras but also to create more discussion about music, tandas and DJ'ing in general. Ofcourse there have been a lot of the positive feedback (and it's greatly appreciated) and giving feedback that could be seen negative is a lot harder. Iwould still encourage you to give your comments when you think the songs in the tanda could be arranged differently or some other song would be better etc. Just bare in mind that besides everyone having their own opinions and favorites, the tandas posted here are also taken out their content. There is no milonga or the right atmosphere. So while we can analyze tandas in a more clinical universal way of this is good and this is not so good, we should remember that even if a tanda might not seem great at first "on paper" it might be amazing in a milonga when played at the right time.

So... more discussion is welcome and will not be frowned upon. Every opinion is appreciated as long as we can stay constructive. TOTW will continue to showcase a wide variety of tango music and I do not have an agenda of claiming things should be done in a certain way.

Thank you. :)

Tanda of the Week 44 / 2012 - Juan D'Arienzo 1947-1950 instrumentals

2012-11-16T14:35:00.000+02:00

1. Juan D'Arienzo - "La maleva" 1949
2. Juan D'Arienzo - "La catrera " 1949
3. Juan D'Arienzo - "Contra luz " 1947
4. Juan D'Arienzo - "El Marne" 1950

This tanda is another one from the great Juan D'Arienzo. Straight forward, strong and very danceable. I believe I made this tanda originally to play the song "Contra luz" and while searching for songs to go with it I found the excellent D'Arienzo version of the classic "La maleva" from 1949. "La maleva" is an interesting composition that somehow starts very strong but in the end it kind of wanders off and loses some of it's dynamics (especially in the Troilo version in my opinion) and I'm not sure if it's a bad thing or if it just adds something to the peculiar qualities of this song. "La catrera" and "El marne" are also both classics that have been recorded by many orchestras and by also by D'Arienzo multiple times. The 1938 version of "La catrera" is more famous but I like this version almost just as much.

I think in the end the other three songs have more in common with each other than with "Contra luz" due to the classic melodies but the style of the songs stays similar through out the tanda and "Contra luz" spices it up with a heavier focus on the beat that D'Arienzo delivers like no one else. Enjoy!

D'Arienzo, Juan - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store

Tanda of the Week 43 / 2012 - Quinteto Pirincho - milonga

2012-11-15T17:59:00.000+02:00

1. Quinteto Pirincho, dir. Francisco Canaro - "La cara de la luna " 1959
2. Quinteto Pirincho, dir. Francisco Canaro - "El firulete" 1958
3. Quinteto Pirincho, dir. Francisco Canaro - "Se dice de mí" 1954

Here's a guest DJ tanda of milongas by Mladen Uzelac from Croatia. Thank you Mladen!

Mladen wrote: "In my opinion milonga should be perky that you have a big grin after dancing it. As a big fan of Quinteto Pirincho milongas and the album “Las Milongas mas milongas” I decided to create tanda for my first Tango DJ-ing. This tanda is built to suite the last song “Se dice de mi”. “La cara de la luna” is rather quite paced with cheerful sounds of flute combined with a guitar. “El firulete” slows a down but it adds more pauses. It is a bit more demanding yet still playful. “Se dice de mi” starts slowly but quite quickly builds up to its full speed. Perkiness still remains but with added piano and rhythmical playing it can be very expressive and yet it still remains very danceable. The main characteristics of this tanda is open and cheerful sound and slow progression of difficulty. If the last song is too slow you can play “El Torito” by Quinteto Pirincho."

Canaro, Francisco - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store

Tanda of the Week 42 / 2012 - OTV, OTLP and Edgardo Donato

2012-11-02T18:56:00.001+02:00

1. Orquesta Típica Víctor - "C.T.V." 1932
2. Los Provincianos - "El distinguido ciudadano" 1932
3. Los Provincianos - "Pico blanco" 1933
4. Edgardo Donato - "Tierrita" 1933

This weeks tanda is a mix of orchestras from the early 30's. Orquesta Típica Victor and Orquesta Típica Los Provincianos (sometimes addresses as just 'Los Provincianos') were both under the Victor record label and I've joined them with a track from Edgardo Donato. The intention was to showcase songs that have very interesting compositions and arrangements as well as great danceability and a good mood. "Pico blanco" can be a bit of a challenge to dance to but very enjoyable once you get more familiar with the song. Los Provincianos was conducted by Ciriaco Ortiz and to my knowledge at least "Pico blanco" features the great Elvin o Vardaro on violin.

Orquesta Tipica Victor - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store
Donato, Edgardo - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store
Orquesta Típica Los Provincianos - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store

Tango Digital Archive / Archivo Digital del Tango

2012-10-16T10:32:00.003+03:00

I will be moving to Berlin this week and I am organizing a farewell milonga at our new dance studio in Helsinki. The proceeds of the evening will be donated to support the work of the Tango Digital Archive (ARG) that I had the pleasure of working with in Buenos Aires earlier this year, donating my time and basic video editing skills to make this video. This unique initiative needs the help of tango lovers worldwide and organizing a special milonga and donating the proceeds could be one of the ways to get your community to help the work of the Tango Digital Archive..
http://www.tangovia.org/ingles/archivo_digital.htm

DJ Antti Suniala (www.tandaoftheweek.net)
18.10. time 19-24 @ El Atico.
Entry: 5€ (+ donations accepted)
Kumpulantie 1, 8th floor
Helsinki, Finland
info: +358408209050 / contact@anttisuniala.com

Tanda of the Week 41 / 2012 - Carlos Di Sarli y Roberto Rufino - milongas

2012-10-12T11:30:00.001+03:00

1. Carlos Di Sarli / Roberto Rufino - "La mulateada" 1941
2. Carlos Di Sarli / Roberto Rufino - "Pena mulata" 1941
3. Carlos Di Sarli / Roberto Rufino - "Cuando un viejo se enamora" 1942

Quality milongas from Carlos Di Sarli and Roberto Rufino. Enjoy! Who can recognize the cortina and which milonga/dj has it as their trademark cortina?

Check out more tandas from both from the [TOTW] links below as well as more information from Todo Tango and tango.info and you can purchase their music from the iTunes Store.

Di Sarli, Carlos - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store
Rufino, Roberto - TOTW - Todo Tango - tango.info - iTunes Store