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Juan D'Arienzo y su Orquesta Típica

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Juan D'Arienzo y su Orquesta Típica · Juan D'Arienzo was an Argentine tango violinist and orchestra leader, born in Buenos Aires in 1900 and died in 1976. His orchestra was an orquesta típica, the traditional tango ensemble with violins, piano, double bass and at least two bandoneons. The tango itself arose at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century in Argentina and Uruguay among European immigrants. For a long time it was the music of the port districts, of men in a city with far more men than women.

Music and breakthrough

D'Arienzo caused a furore in the 1930s with a sharp, rhythmic sound. His orchestra played with a clear, stamping pulse and short, staccato notes, which urged the dancers on. It earned him the nickname El Rey del Compás, the king of the beat. With the pianist Rodolfo Biagi that sound became even sharper. He brought the tango back to the dance floor, at a time when the music was also being played as music for listening.

Influence

La Cumparsita, a tango by the Uruguayan Gerardo Matos Rodríguez, is the most famous tango in the world and D'Arienzo recorded it in 1937. The performance is full of drive and tension. In this way he is among the voices that brought the tango to a large audience during the golden 1940s. The recordings are still popular with dancers in milongas all over the world. His importance is above all that he made the rhythmic core of the tango visible.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to La Cumparsita and notice the rhythm: can you hear the short, sharp strokes of the strings and the bandoneons, and how the melody rises above that fixed pulse?

Discography

Studio albums

Categories: ArtistsTango