Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Selección Nacional de Tango at the Teatro Colón
Monday, October 2nd, 2006
The term “selección” is used in Argentina to name the teams that represent the nation as a whole at international sporting events such as the World Cup or the Copa Libertadores. Those players who make the selección are the best of the best, and as with soccer or basketball, so with tango.
The selección nacional de tango is a super-group made up of some of the greatest living tango musicians. The selección takes the form of an “orquesta típica,” a kind of tango big band that is made up, in this case, of fifteen musicians: six violins, five bandoneónes (a button squeeze box instrument typical of tango), viola, ‘cello, bass, and piano. The group features some of the most well known tango players alive today, including “grandes” such as Leopoldo Federico, Ernesto Baffa, Julio Pane, and Horacio Cabarcos, as well as some relatively young stars such as bandoneonist Pablo Mainetti and violinist Damián Bolotín. Aside from being superb players, many members of the selección are or have been important composers and bandleaders, and the group draws upon the collective talent and experience of its members in a way that I was told is historically unique in tango. It has a rotating leadership, in which many of the players write or arrange music for the group and serve as its leader when playing those works, but serve as sidemen when playing work produced by others. This kind of arrangment makes not only for a good exercise in musical humility, but also for a very stylistically diverse listening experience.
At least eight different composers or arrangers produced the nearly twenty pieces that the selección played, each with their own approach to the diverse sonic possibilities of the orquesta típica format. Pablo Mainetti’s arrangement of his composition “Tango azul” shifted between impressionistic rubato sections and more dense rhythmic jolts. Julio Pane, who many musicians I have spoken with consider the greatest bandoneón player alive today, flexed his muscles as a soloist during his “A las orquestas,” making it all look and sound effortless. The first real eruption from the audience followed Ernesto Baffa’s arrangement of Astor Piazzolla’s classic “Adiós Nonino,” about half way through the concert. After the loud cheers and applause died down following this piece, someone in the crowd called out “thank you Astor!” Leopoldo Federico joined the band late in their set, and his very presence clearly made the evening a special event for many in the audience. Federico seems to be getting up in the years, and needed some assistance reaching his seat at the front of the orquesta. Once there, though, he proved that he very much still has the fire in him, executing a series of virtuosic and highly energetic solo and tutti bandoneón passages. Indeed, what impressed me most about the selección as a whole was the intricacy of their arrangements and the poised intensity with which they performed them, especially as they approached the thundering conclusions of pieces that often ended with a surprising gentleness through use of the typical hesitation cadence. That said, I personally think the MVP of the evening was Damián Bolotín, who had a series of superbly executed violin solos throughout the concert, though he did not contribute arrangements.
The band was joined for two songs by the dancers Mora Godoy and Junior Cervilla, who danced in the highly athletic “escenario” style of tango dance (including a complete flip by Ms. Godoy that landed her in the final pose exactly on the downbeat). Ms. Godoy and Mr. Cervilla are fabulous dancers, though I must admit that I have yet to discover the real appeal of this kind of tango dance. Singer Adriana Varela, who is among the most well-known and successful tango singers active today, also joined the selección for two songs. I had never heard Varela perform live before, having missed her solo concert a few weeks back, so I was very much looking forward to hearing her here. Unfortunately, however, the sound system was arranged in such a way that from where I was sitting—close to the stage but high up near the top of the room—her voice sounded like little more than a faint grumble. Nevertheless, Varela clearly has a commanding stage presence, and following her two short features many in the audience called out her name asking for more, which did not come.
The selección, on the other hand, had no problem filling up the hall with sound, though it seemed that it took them some time to fill up the large and highly formal space with energy. By the end of the concert, however, the audience was on their feet and demanding more. The group apparently did not have encores prepared, and obliged the audience by repeating two of the pieces they had performed earlier in the concert, which did not seem to disappoint anyone, including me. It should also be noted that the Hugo Rivas cuarteto—three guitars and a bass—opened the evening with the quietly virtuosic performance of four classics from the tango repertoire. I do not know much about Rivas, but will keep an ear out for him, as I very much liked what I heard here.
This performance was one in a series of tango concerts that are being given in the Teatro Colón this season. The Colón is by far the most spectacular and significant performance venue for “serious music” in Argentina, its overall opulence making Carnegie hall in New York look like no big deal. I have been told that the fact that the Colón is hosting tango concerts is quite significant for many in the tango community here, representing both a recognition and validation of the value and quality of their current work by the musical establishment and the city government (which owns and operates the theater). Though this is by no means the first time tango has ever been played in the Colón, judging by this concert alone, it is welcome and very much belongs there today.
Related Recordings
Selección Nacional de Tango. En Vivo (Típica Records) 2006.
Related Links
www.teatrocolon.org.ar
The term “selección” is used in Argentina to name the teams that represent the nation as a whole at international sporting events such as the World Cup or the Copa Libertadores. Those players who make the selección are the best of the best, and as with soccer or basketball, so with tango.
The selección nacional de tango is a super-group made up of some of the greatest living tango musicians. The selección takes the form of an “orquesta típica,” a kind of tango big band that is made up, in this case, of fifteen musicians: six violins, five bandoneónes (a button squeeze box instrument typical of tango), viola, ‘cello, bass, and piano. The group features some of the most well known tango players alive today, including “grandes” such as Leopoldo Federico, Ernesto Baffa, Julio Pane, and Horacio Cabarcos, as well as some relatively young stars such as bandoneonist Pablo Mainetti and violinist Damián Bolotín. Aside from being superb players, many members of the selección are or have been important composers and bandleaders, and the group draws upon the collective talent and experience of its members in a way that I was told is historically unique in tango. It has a rotating leadership, in which many of the players write or arrange music for the group and serve as its leader when playing those works, but serve as sidemen when playing work produced by others. This kind of arrangment makes not only for a good exercise in musical humility, but also for a very stylistically diverse listening experience.
At least eight different composers or arrangers produced the nearly twenty pieces that the selección played, each with their own approach to the diverse sonic possibilities of the orquesta típica format. Pablo Mainetti’s arrangement of his composition “Tango azul” shifted between impressionistic rubato sections and more dense rhythmic jolts. Julio Pane, who many musicians I have spoken with consider the greatest bandoneón player alive today, flexed his muscles as a soloist during his “A las orquestas,” making it all look and sound effortless. The first real eruption from the audience followed Ernesto Baffa’s arrangement of Astor Piazzolla’s classic “Adiós Nonino,” about half way through the concert. After the loud cheers and applause died down following this piece, someone in the crowd called out “thank you Astor!” Leopoldo Federico joined the band late in their set, and his very presence clearly made the evening a special event for many in the audience. Federico seems to be getting up in the years, and needed some assistance reaching his seat at the front of the orquesta. Once there, though, he proved that he very much still has the fire in him, executing a series of virtuosic and highly energetic solo and tutti bandoneón passages. Indeed, what impressed me most about the selección as a whole was the intricacy of their arrangements and the poised intensity with which they performed them, especially as they approached the thundering conclusions of pieces that often ended with a surprising gentleness through use of the typical hesitation cadence. That said, I personally think the MVP of the evening was Damián Bolotín, who had a series of superbly executed violin solos throughout the concert, though he did not contribute arrangements.
The band was joined for two songs by the dancers Mora Godoy and Junior Cervilla, who danced in the highly athletic “escenario” style of tango dance (including a complete flip by Ms. Godoy that landed her in the final pose exactly on the downbeat). Ms. Godoy and Mr. Cervilla are fabulous dancers, though I must admit that I have yet to discover the real appeal of this kind of tango dance. Singer Adriana Varela, who is among the most well-known and successful tango singers active today, also joined the selección for two songs. I had never heard Varela perform live before, having missed her solo concert a few weeks back, so I was very much looking forward to hearing her here. Unfortunately, however, the sound system was arranged in such a way that from where I was sitting—close to the stage but high up near the top of the room—her voice sounded like little more than a faint grumble. Nevertheless, Varela clearly has a commanding stage presence, and following her two short features many in the audience called out her name asking for more, which did not come.
The selección, on the other hand, had no problem filling up the hall with sound, though it seemed that it took them some time to fill up the large and highly formal space with energy. By the end of the concert, however, the audience was on their feet and demanding more. The group apparently did not have encores prepared, and obliged the audience by repeating two of the pieces they had performed earlier in the concert, which did not seem to disappoint anyone, including me. It should also be noted that the Hugo Rivas cuarteto—three guitars and a bass—opened the evening with the quietly virtuosic performance of four classics from the tango repertoire. I do not know much about Rivas, but will keep an ear out for him, as I very much liked what I heard here.
This performance was one in a series of tango concerts that are being given in the Teatro Colón this season. The Colón is by far the most spectacular and significant performance venue for “serious music” in Argentina, its overall opulence making Carnegie hall in New York look like no big deal. I have been told that the fact that the Colón is hosting tango concerts is quite significant for many in the tango community here, representing both a recognition and validation of the value and quality of their current work by the musical establishment and the city government (which owns and operates the theater). Though this is by no means the first time tango has ever been played in the Colón, judging by this concert alone, it is welcome and very much belongs there today.
Related Recordings
Selección Nacional de Tango. En Vivo (Típica Records) 2006.
Related Links
www.teatrocolon.org.ar
