20S, the Period of Renovation Headed by Julio De Caro, the Veterans of the Old School Felt
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EL FIRULETE MARCH/APRIL 1999 PAGE 9 Halfway through the decade of the ‘20s, the period of renovation headed by Julio De Caro, the veterans of the old school felt the shakedown provoked by what they perceived as the transformation of the Tango into church music. Meanwhile, the youngsters were treasuring the copies of the new arrangements, the solos, the counter melodies that emanated from the creative talents of Pedro Maffia, Julio De Caro and Francisco De Caro. rancisco Canaro and Roberto legal age, the tango was originally Firpo, who were the major registered under his father’s name, Osvaldo Pugliese Fexponents of the traditional style Adolfo Pugliese, who had been a flute 2x4 hot Tango of the Old Guard player at the turn of the century. attempted to counteract the popularity When Osvaldo reached the age of of the new generation of trained musi- twenty-one, Recuerdo was published public and the Tango musicians who cians by opening up their orchestras to once more with his signature. night after night dropped by to listen to the excellent interpretations of the young talent like Cayetano Puglisi, The tango was bold and advanced Ciriaco Ortiz and Osvaldo Pugliese. Pollet sextet. The public repeatedly for its time. With a rare melody, demanded the execution of Recuerdo, However, around 1924, an entre- extremely beautiful in its harmony and almost in every set played by the preneur with long range vision, began counterpoints, Recuerdo has a orchestra. to hire six piece Tango ensembles, the variation for bandoneon that it is very typical orchestras modeled after Julio difficult to play as it is written. It Pedro Laurenz was among the De Caro's Sexteto Tipico, to provide requires gifted digitation, sound selected audience and it was he who musical background for silent movies. technique and a sense of virtuosity one night requested a handwritten For the next six years, the movie capable of extracting the best out of copy of Recuerdo to bring to Julio De houses became the cathedrals where the possibilities of the muisc. Caro, who received it with great the Tango ruled. Lacking other sources enthusiasm. It is widely accepted that The sounds of Recuerdo were first De Caro’s recording on November 9, of affordable entertainment, the work- heard in a cafe in the neighborhood of ing class families of Buenos Aires 1926, is the definitive version of Villa Crespo, played by a modest Recuerdo, never surpassed, only made these movie houses their favorite quartet that was not equipped with the places to spend their free time. Thus, a equaled by Osvaldo Pugliese himself, acceptable suitability of execution to who in 1944 incorporated Recuerdo large number of the population became extol its musical values. Its premiere exposed to the Tango music of Pedro into the repertoire of his legendary went totally unnoticed and it was even orchestra with exactly the same Maffia, Julio De Caro, Francisco retired from the repertoire for lack of Lomuto, Cayetano Puglisi, Osvaldo instrumentation that De Caro had interest by the public that frequented used eighteen years earlier. Not a Pugliese, Elviro Vardaro and many the establishment. others. single note was changed, and Pugliese By the winter of 1925, the quartet even kept the temperamental tempo In one of those movie houses, a of the bandoneonist Enrique Pollet that De Caro had immortalized in chubby fifteen year old kid, heard for with Emilio Marchiano and Bernardo 1926. the first time the mastery of the bando- Perrone on violins, and Osvaldo Sixty years later, on the stage of neon of Pedro Maffia, not imagining Pugliese on the piano, occupied the then that many years later, he himself, the Teatro Colon towards the end of orchestra pit of cafe A.B.C. With the his glorious career, Osvaldo Pugliese Anibal Troilo, would be called the version by that quartet, Recuerdo major bandoneon of Buenos Aires. used a new arrangement of Recuerdo would finally reach its true artistic when his fabulous orchestra was Troilo would later say, before Pedro relevance as the archetype of the Maffia, there was nobody. joined by many musicians that had instrumental Tango. played for him over a span of forty With a solid reputation as a pianist By 1926, the quartet of Pollet years. The arrangement and the and a composer, Osvaldo Pugliese was changed venues and format, becoming interpretation recorded in 1986 are a only eighteen when he wrote Recuerdo, a typical sextet of two bandoneons, musical tribute to the genius and the tango that many experts consider two violins, Pugliese on piano and a inspiration of the late Maestro who the birth certificate of the instrumental counterbass. Recuerdo was high in pushed the envelope of modernization Tango of greater importance in style the repertoire of the new orchestra and of the Argentine Tango without ever and renovation that has ever been it was wildly acclaimed by both the severing its roots. written. Because he was not yet of a.