Search - Orquesta Tipica Victor :: 1926-1931

Irresistable music from the dawn of Tango's Golden Era

A techno geek | Kihei, Maui, HI USA | 01/19/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD is among the earliest Tango music ever recorded --- 1926 marks the beginning of recordings made electrically. I love this album. I wish I could see the Tango dancing that people did to this music--although this was strictly a studio band created to make records. First, the sound on this transcription is very strong and pleasant. I would have been happier with less filtering, because even in 78 recordings from this time there is tremendous vitality to the captured sound (listen to the Sony reissue of Louis Armstrong's Complete Hot 5 and Hot 7s). But the engineers have done a decent job here. What is striking about this album is the sheer charisma of the compositions, and the pathos of the performances. Orquesta Tipica Victor preserves the romantic glissando style of the strings that became popular in orchestras in the late 19th century Romantic era. The conductor Anselmo Carabelli's impeccable musical taste puts the romantic style to very effective use, showing why the era was so in love with the technique. Another notable aspect of the performances is the pulsing, driving rhythm, which reveals unmistakably the "mantra" of Tango that master Tanguera Susana Miller speaks of in her dance lessons. The orchestra rises to overwhelming power at many moments in the album. What is inexplicable about this album is that so many of the pieces are so utterly irresistible. The melodies are scrumptious. I wondered what composer is writing such catchy pieces, only to discover that almost every track is by a different composer. This album represents 21 of the 225 sides recorded by the band during 1926-1931. So I don't know whether it was the director of the orchestra or the producer of the album who chose these compositions, but they have concentrated some of the most infectious pieces I've heard from the tango repertoire. After hearing the recordings of Pugliese, De Angelis, D'Arienzo, Di Sarli, Biagi, Troilo, etc. for the umpteenth time, this album will be a breath of fresh air."