A Monument to the "Unknown Arranger"

(German Version)

Much has been written about tango composers and performers, but very little is known about the arrangers, i.e., the musicians who devised the actual orchestration of the pieces as we know them from the recordings.

It is largely taken for granted that an orchestra played its own version, but it is overlooked that a tango is not a Beethoven symphony where the orchestration is part of the compositional process. Tango music was sold primarily as piano sheet music, which is far from providing exact indications about performance. For any of the large orchestras, it was necessary to have parts written out for all the instruments. More importantly, it was essential for orchestras to play a version in their own style. This version had to be prepared by an arranger.

Unlike composers and performers, arrangers are usually not credited for their work. Though of crucial importance, the arrangers' contribution appears to have fallen under the category of “work for hire” and did not have the status of creative work. This is indeed surprising, as the boundaries between composers and performers, on the one hand, and arrangers, on the other, were fluent: the former were also arrangers. In musicians' interviews and memoirs their work as arrangers, if mentioned at all, is presented as secondary to their main calling. It is probably for this reason that it may have been glossed over.

Lucio Demare and Mariano Mores, for example, mentioned in interviews that they had worked at times as arrangers. Upon his return to Buenos Aires, after touring the world for a number of years, Demare was engaged by Francisco Canaro to write the orchestrations for the musical comedies that he was staging with Ivo Pelay. Almost all the songs that were performed in the plays were also recorded from 1935 to 1937 by Canaro's orchestra with the singer Roberto Maida--among them well-known pieces such as “Envidia”, “Casas viejas”, and “Qué le importa el mundo”. It is possible that the arrangements were prepared by Demare, but it is impossible to know for sure, unless some compelling evidence (like the original music parts) comes to light.

Likewise, Mariano Mores mentioned in an interview that he had prepared arrangements before he became the pianist in Canaro's orchestra in 1939. When Canaro recorded Mores' tangos “Uno” (1943) and “Cristal” (1944), Mores was probably playing the piano during the recordings. As the composer, he also would have been a likely candidate for an arranger as well; yet, we do not know.

The lack of appreciation of the arranger's work is unfortunate. Arranging is not simply a matter of putting notes on music staves. A good arrangement requires also creative thinking. Tangos are not highly sophisticated compositions; they are entertainment music, meant to be easily grasped by a wider audience. It is the arrangement that marks a performance as the work of one particular orchestra, making it stand out against the other arrangements.

Canaro's tangos are an interesting subject for a study of orchestra arrangements. After he gave up playing in cabarets and dances (except for the large carnival dances) in 1928, he could concentrate on recording music on record and playing on the radio. It was, therefore, easier for him to include a variety of instruments not normally found in tango orchestras. Among his many recordings one finds every now and then surprising arrangements in which the orchestration was used as an expressive means to enhance the text. Two examples will be discussed below: the recording of “Yo también soñé” with Roberto Maida (1936) and “Cristal” with Carlos Roldán (1944).

“Yo también soñé” is a tango canción composed by Canaro, dedicated to his “very old and good friend” Charlo. One year before Roberto Maida's recording, Charlo recorded the piece as a tango canción, that is, as a song performance to be listened to and not danced. The emphasis in such performances is on the text and the singer's interpretation; the orchestra plays a supporting role and remains in the background. The recording with Maida is, on the other hand, a piece of dance music in which the orchestra is the main protagonist. The singer does not sing the entire song text but only excerpts. He is, as it were, another instrument of the orchestra, and this rendition is an evocation rather than an interpretation of the text. It is, of course, in the dance version that the orchestral arrangement contributes significantly to the interest of the piece.

The phrase structure of “Yo también soñé” is typical for a tango canción. It consists of two parts (hereafter A and B, respectively) which in turn can be divided into an antecedent and consequent phrase. The divisions are not symmetrical due to some sequential phrase prolongations and connecting interpolations. In the recording with Maida, both parts are played twice in order: the first time by the orchestra alone, the second time with the singer.

The orchestral arrangement is designed in such a way that it elucidates the formal structure by means of contrasts. Part A is played by the entire orchestra with sharply attacked and interrupted marcato notes. This “hammered” style of steady pulsating notes, accentuating the beginning of each measure of the phrase, is a characteristic trait of dance music. The strong accents clearly convey the rhythm and tempo to the dancers.

 Example 1: “Yo también soñé”, Part A

With part B, the character of the music changes. The rhythm is no longer “hammered” but played with smoother, attached portato notes, thus, emphasizing the extended melodic line. Whereas in part A the melody was articulated mainly in the violins, it passes to the bandoneons in part B. This comes to the fore especially in the subsequent phrase, which exploits a contrast between the low and high registers of the bandoneon. In the antecedent phrase a muted trumpet makes its first appearance.

 Example 2: “Yo también soñé”, Part B

After being played once by the orchestra alone, parts A and B are repeated with the participation of the singer. The orchestra, in contrast to the first accentuated and forceful performance of part A, recedes into the background and accompanies the singer. The bandoneons continue the rhythmic accompaniment in a softer tone, and the violins play a counterpart to enrich the harmony.

 Example 3: “Yo también soñé”, Part A, Repetition

In the antecedent phrase of part B, the singer pauses surprisingly and his part is continued by the muted trumpet.

 Example 4: “Yo también soñé”, Part B, Repetition, Antecedent Phrase

This is a dramatic moment in the musical arrangement not only because the melody is taken over by the trumpet, but also because the text is interrupted. The first two text lines of the refrain are skipped:

Es más amargo el despertar cuanto más tierno fue el amor del sueño.

The tenderer the love we dreamt of, the bitterer the awakening.

It can be assumed that the audience would have known the text quite well: Charlo had recorded the tango-canción-version of “Yo también soñé” with Canaro a year earlier and also sung the tango in a movie (“Puerto nuevo”, 1936). The omission of these important lines of the text must have been noted.

The singer sets in again with the subsequent phrase of part B. The omission of the first two text lines of the refrain here become apparent: it emphasizes the text with which the singer continues.

Una mano de hierro nos llamó a la realidad y los sueños se cambian en miserias y maldad.

An iron hand called us back to reality, and dreams turn into misery and agony.

Here the arranger introduces a completely new instrument, the celesta. It is a keyboard instrument with a chimes-like sound that is to most people probably familiar from Tchaikovsky's “Nutcracker” ballet or Mozart's “Die Zauberflöte”. The peculiar sound of this instrument is produced by hammers striking a metal plate. It attests to a stroke of genius in the orchestration to represent the “iron hand” of destiny with the metallic sound of the celesta.

 Example 5: “Yo también soñé”, Part B, Repetition, Consequent Phrase

Example 6: Francisco Canaro, “Yo también soñé”

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The orchestration of “Yo también soñé” is not the only instance in Canaro's tangos where the celesta made an appearance. It is an example where it has been employed with exceptional effectiveness. There is another material that, when struck, makes a clear metal-like sound: glass. It comes as no surprise, then, to find the celesta again in Canaro's recording of “Cristal” (1944), sung by Carlos Roldán  Here, too, the use of the instrument has a direct relationship to the text. By evoking the fragility of crystal, the celesta raises the expressiveness of the music to a higher degree:

… Mas fragil que el cristal, fue mi amor junto a ti. Cristal—tu corazón, tu mirar, tu reir. ...

… More fragile than crystal was my love next to you. Crystal—your heart, your gaze, your laughter. ...

Example 7: Francisco Canaro, “Cristal”, excerpt

To illustrate the impact of an orchestral arrangement on the character of a rendition, we shall briefly examine another recording of “Cristal”. It was recorded one year earlier than Canaro's by the orchestra of Aníbal Troilo and sung by Alberto Marino. Troilo did not use “exotic” instruments like the trumpet or celesta in his orchestra. He relied on the instrumentation of the traditional orquesta típica (perhaps with an augmented string section).

Just as Canaro's version, Troilo's aims at conveying the text. But unlike Canaro, Troilo did not change the instrumental arrangement, he changed the tempo, slowing it down in order to let the singer emphasize the words and thus the meaning of the text. His rendition thus approaches the performance style of the tango canción.

Example 8: Aníbal Troilo, “Cristal”, excerpt

We hope to have demonstrated that the art of orchestral arrangement was an important component in the production of tango music. The character of the rendition depended on it. Tango music circulated as piano scores (just as the piano music displayed in the above examples). While these scores were simplified versions prepared for a general (non-professional) audience, a composer's autograph would have not have differed much. It is, however, not the kind of score an orchestra could have played from. The parts of an orchestra needed to be arranged.

The brief analysis of “Yo también soñé” has shown that a good arrangement is a more complex and creative effort than just distributing notes among the orchestra instruments. This arrangement was carefully laid out. The arranger took the musical form and the text into consideration. Contrasts in the orchestral arrangement echo the formal structure of the piece. Furthermore, the orchestration is used to elucidate and intensify the meaning of the text.

As opposed to Canaro's other, equally outstanding version of “Yo también soñé” (sung by Charlo as a tango canción), this version with Maida is meant for dancing. As a consequence, the orchestra plays the main role rather than simply accompanying the singer. It is an exquisite recording: beautifully sung and extraordinarily well played by the orchestra. It stands to reason that this accomplishment is largely due to the brilliant orchestration by the "Unknown Arranger".  

© 2018 Wolfgang Freis