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Tango like a Tanguero Five little tips to help a classical flute player perform tango music By Jessica Quiñones M Photograph: Chris Sands any classical players first discover the beauty and allure of tango music through Astor Piazzolla’s repertoire written specifically for flute. My first experience with tango music was L’Histoire du Tango scored for flute and guitar. A chance encounter with it performed by a classical flute and guitarist had me enchanted by the way that Piazzolla uses colourful melodies, instrumental drumming, and unusual rhythmic accentuation which form part of his personal Tango Nuevo style. Living in the vibrant city of Buenos Aires while doing field work for a Ph.D. in tango music has led me to expand the way that I approach playing this genre. I am hoping that this miniature guide will serve to inspire you to learn more about tangueros, tango music and its unique performance style to help enhance any future flute performances. Tip 1: Let’s contextualise the flute in tango as part of a bigger picture… As examples of tango’s spread on an international platform, the genre, including its music, lyrics and dance, was added to the UNESCO Representative List as an ‘Intangible Cultural to the Heritage of Humanity’, and in the twenty years since Astor Piazzolla’s death, his flute compositions have been recorded and released on albums by musicians worldwide. Both his 1986 Histoire Du Tango and his 1987 Six Tango-Études pour flûte seule have quickly entered the flute repertoire and have become accepted as ‘art music’ despite the associations with tango as the core of their musical style. The role of the flute in tango is curious and unique in that it has not found a similar course in tango history that can be compared to other instruments of the tango sound, such as the violin or the bandoneon. The transverse flute only made initial appearances in tango roughly between the years 1905 to 1920. The original tango ensemble was the orquesta típica criolla, a small trio (terceto) that was formed of a violin, flute (or clarinet) and a guitar (or bandoneon). Using habanera rhythms, the groups played lively tangos, milongas and valses in bordellos. Fain suggests that the flute and the violin in the original tercetos were used because three in an ensemble were inexpensive to hire. It was easy for these musicians to move quickly if the establishments in which they were playing were raided by the police. It seems these musicians were not paid very well for each gig, so they played at many venues in one night’s work. A portable instrument such as the flute was easy to transport from establishment to establishment. After the tango made an appearance in Paris in 1911, it gained popularity and acceptance from the middle and upper classes who started to claim it as ‘Argentinean’. www.bfs.org.uk DRAFT American flautist Jessica Quiñones holds flute performance degrees from The Royal Scottish Academy of Music in Glasgow and The University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music in the USA. Embracing her Latin roots, Ms. Quiñones is currently undertaking a Ph.D. in flute performance at the University of Huddersfield, where she has received full funding to explore Astor Piazzolla’s tango flute music. Her hobbies include dancing the tango, studying Expressionist art, Ashtanga yoga and finding the perfect chocolate brownie recipe. Author’s picture flute • 1 Astor Piazzola mural, Buenos Aires. Tip 2: Symbolic associations are not all about fedoras, fishnets and roses Scholars disagree about the exact origins of tango, but there has always been the sentiment that the genre is a symbolic representation of many things. For westerners, it has been a symbol for passion, sexual tension and has an erotic quality,. As a westerner approaching the tango, I think that it would be useful to understand a bit about the symbolism that can be associated with the genre. My experience of doing field work in Buenos Aires has led me to ponder its affiliations with class, gender roles, Mufarse, sexual struggle, and Argentine national identity. Tip 3: Understand how the tango style is disseminated for greater freedom of your performance Since the mid 1980s various music schools and academies in Buenos Aires have emerged with a department specifically devoted to teaching and preserving tango, such as the Academia Nacional del Tango. Before this, orquesta típicas were the places in 2 flute • DRAFT June 2011 Photographs: Francisco Gualtieri Tango dancers in La Boca, one of the birthplaces of tango. The venues in which tango music was played became more reputable. The flautist (who was often employed to play melodic lines) was replaced by multiple bandoneonistas, because these musicians could play both the rhythm and melodic musical sections at one time. A string section was added because the musicians were playing in larger spaces and the flute was simply not loud enough for larger venues hosting tango dances. The flute would not enter the traditional ensembles with the same popularity of the early tercetos until Piazzolla incorporated it into the tango orchestra of his only opera Maria de Buenos Aires (1968). He added flute to Conjunto 9 (or Conjunto Electronico) for a brief period in the 1970s, but it was not until the 1980s that his flute compositions, the Six Tango-Études por Flûte Seule and Histoire du Tango were composed. As the flute was not often included in traditional orquesta típicas after its earlier appearances, what inspired Piazzolla to compose flute pieces in the 1980s? The music he performed with his New Tango Sextet consisted of cello, double bass, piano, guitar, and two bandoneons, so why write these flute compositions? Despite recent interviews with tango musicians, and trips to Buenos Aires and to Piazzola’s birthplace, Mar de Plata, to visit archives, it is still a matter of speculation why he composed these pieces. In an interview in 2010, arranger and scholar Marcelo Costas in Buenos Aires suggested that the flute pieces were written because Piazzolla wanted to carry on his legacy of tango to other instruments. He suggested that Piazzolla knew his health was failing, so he chose flute as one of the instruments to feature his music, as it is a popular instrument worldwide. Despite the mystery surrounding these pieces, these are among the most popular tango flute compositions of the twentieth century because they have become established in the western flute repertoire. Photographs: Francisco Gualtieri Photograph: Nadim Abraham which aspiring tango musicians trained. If one wanted to play, they would need to be employed by one of the orquestas and learn by ear from the other instrumentalists in the ensemble. Every orchestra had a different style of performing rhythm, harmony and melody that would become a trademark of their unique sound. Many tango singers in the past, such as Carlos Gardel, did not read music and instead sang what felt ‘right’. In a similar tradition, when playing tangos that are ‘standards of the repertoire’, that is, the great tango classics, many instrumentalists perform from memory and improvise within the standard melody. A common term associated with this style of performance is a la parilla, which literally means ‘to the grill’, literally referring to the action of having to enter the fire of playing from memory! Tip 4: The great score debate The first problem I encountered in my early days of performing tango was ‘where do I find scores?’ Unlike in classical music, where the text is the ‘music’ to be followed, tango scores are flexible. They should be arranged to suit your instrumentation because in tango performance practice, arrangers are the ultimate ‘editors’. One example of this philosophy in the tango world was apparent when I ventured to the Piazzolla archive in Mar De Plata. I asked head archivist, ‘So who comes to visit the archive? Do you have many Argentine musicians sourcing scores here?’ His response: ‘Jessica, it is only westerners who come looking for scores. Tango players arrange their own.’ I mention this story because it exemplifies the notion that as westerners we are often attached to a score as the ‘authentic’ way to play. In published scores for ‘export’, editors are employed by publishing houses to make, in my opinion, something ‘authentic’ for a western player to read. If you watch live performances of tangueros, very few players in tango ensembles use music scores, which lead the music to come across as more improvisatory. Outside Argentina it is harder to find arrangements. If you do, they are very expensive and not written for flute specifically. However, you still can find arrangers who are selling their scores for western players if you are more comfortable reading a pre-arranged score. www.bfs.org.uk DRAFT Academia Nacional de Tango, Buenos Aires Tango musicians busking in the streets. flute • 3 Tip 5: Tango musical techniques are very different than classical techniques Once you have a tango arrangement or score or melody that you would like to play, it might help to find a recording of that tango played by different orquesta típicas. Listening to different interpretations of one song will help you become familiar with the different range of techniques used to inspire your own playing. Various orquesta típicas to become inspired by include those of the bandleaders Di Sarli, Canaro, D’Arienzo, Pugliese, and of course, Piazzolla. Listening to tango singers throughout tango’s history is a fast way to pick up on tango improvisation and how the melody is carried in relation to the bass line. Listening will also help you understand different ways to treat the rhythmic and melodic sections in tango. Why? Because tango melodies are sung freely and each vocalist each have their own unique flavour of performance style. For example, the melodic changes you might encounter when comparing the notation on a score to the actual performance of a tanguero might include the addition of: • • • • • • • • • • Pauses within the bar lines Repeated notes Turns Trills and mordents Neighbour tones Glissandos Articulation changes Octave changes Highlighting of certain notes by changing rhythms Similarly, changes that are added by tangueros when playing rhythmic sections might include: • • • • • • • • Detailed accentuation patterns Shadow effects of accented notes Vibrato use limited to longer notes Semi-slurred articulations added Arrastres (‘dragging’) Pitch bends Glissandos Vocalists with varying styles are Carlos Gardel, Julio Sosa, Susan Rinaldi, Rosita Quiroga, and Robert Goyenoche. In conclusion, these tips are not to serve as an all inclusive approach to the tango genre. To limit interpretation would confine the creative process and the possibilities for the many influences of this rich music. Instead, I hope a new reading of this flute music is enhanced as the genre of tango continues to be reborn worldwide. Glossary • 4 flute • A la parilla. Literally ‘to the grill’, referring to the action of having to enter the fire of playing from memory. DRAFT June 2011 • • • • • • • Bandoneón. A relative to the accordion, was invented to replace the harmonium in churches as it was a less expensive instrument. It is speculated that it made its way from Germany to Buenos Aires in the late 1800s by sailors arriving in the port city. Bandoneonista. A player of the bandoneón. Flautista tanguero. A tango flute player Mufarse. Julie Taylor, an American anthropologist who lived in Argentina for many years, thinks that tango reflects the state of Mufarse, which is a national sentiment of ‘bitter introspection’. See her book listed below to learn more. Orquesta típica. This is the name for a traditional tango ensemble, usually comprising a string section (with violins, viola, and cello), a bandoneón section (with three or more bandoneons) and a rhythmic section (with piano, and double bass). Tango Nuevo. Tango infused with classical and jazz idioms, including the use of new instrumentation and harmonic structures, made famous by Astor Piazzolla. Tanguero. A name given to a tango aficionado, or anyone who practises the genre. Books and articles I have listed some texts published in English that you might find interesting, as many are widely available through your local library. These will serve as a platform for your understanding of tango music and the other things associated with it you might not have realised. After all, isn’t the performance of any genre greatly enhanced when the reasons behind the music become more familiar? • Azzi, Maria Susana and Collier, Simon. Le Grand Tango: The Life and Music of Astor Piazzolla: Oxford University Press, USA, 2000. • Collier, Simon. Tango! , edited by Simon Collier, et al. London: Thames and Hudson, 1995. • Ferris-Thompson, Robert. Tango: The Art History of Love. New York City: Pantheon, 2005. • Gorin, Natalio. Astor Piazzolla: A Memoir. Portland: Amadeus Press, 2001. • Kutnowski, Martin. ‘Instrumental Rubato and Phrase Structure in Astor Piazzolla’s Music’, Latin American Music Review, 23 (1), 106–13, 2002. • Savigliano, Marta E. Tango and the Political Economy of Passion. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1995. • Taylor, Julie. Paper Tangos. Durham and London: Duke University Press, 1998. Playing manuals If you can’t venture to Buenos Aires for tango music lessons, I would recommend the only two performance manuals published in English as a starting point: • Paulina Fain. Método de la Flauta en El Tango, Ricordi Publishing, 2010. • Salgan, Horacio. Tango Course, second edition. Translated by Will Genz and Marisa Hurtado. Buenos Aires, (privately published), 2001. Internet resources www.jqflute.com/flute-music-links.html www.bfs.org.uk DRAFT flute • 5