Canaro's music is like a glue you use in programming to stick all the parts together because it recalls the old Tango feel while capturing the sound of the Golden Era. It ranges from sophisticated large orchestras to simple quintet (Quinteto Pirincho - his formation for radio work).
Canaro arguably plays the best Candombe (at least the sound that has come to us is the cleanest).
Canaro had a prolific period composing between 1908-1920. Some classics of his from that time: La Tablada, Pinta Brava, Nueve Puntos (!), El Pollito, El Chumayo, Nobleza de Arrabal, Milonga Brava.
He also made the most recordings of any tango orchestra leader (3,000). Across his catalogue you find quaint old-style tango, candombe and cayengue, and recordings with a drive as exciting as any.
His waltzes, such as Corazon De Oro and Vibraciones De Alma are intoxicating; as are his slow milongas such as Milonga De Mis Amores.
But give me the faster milongas: Milonga Brava; La Milonga De Buenos Aires; Reliquias Porteñas, San Benito De Palermo. These are the real deal. Can't live without them.
A leader in many important ways, Francisco was the first person to work in the area of tango fantasia starting in 1928 (Piazzolla before Piazzolla - Astor was 7 years old at the time), elevating tango to a theatrical level it had never aspired to before him. From this period came Halcón Negro among others. To truly understand, from our era, his importance, you have to immerse yourself in the sound of the music before he came along. What a difference! He had the biggest orchestral sound, travelled the most (ambassador for Tango in Europe and North America), had the most rich and eclectic arrangements (muted trumpet, clarinet, organ). Hence my calling his music sophisticated.
The lp's I have collected of Canaro's music really sound fantastic when cleaned. The cuts Todo Te Nombre (one of my great favs and one that he composed) and Mala Suerte rock (as my friend Dan Boccia says).
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The Maestro at work. The singer is actually better known for his work with Tanturi: Alberto Castillo.
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Obviously, a large orchestra creates a different effect from a quartet or sextet. It's something akin to what happened to pop music when the Beatles shook things up with new sounds. New sounds create new perceptions, sensibilities, ideas.
Francisco was the founding president of SADAIC, the Argentine composers and authors society. He had power in many aspects of his life, and all through it. Pirincho's life as an orchestra leader spanned 1916-1964.
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Double Clicks
A Restoration Moment
Carlos Gardel had been dead 24 years when, in 1959, Fransisco Canaro took the inventive step of recording band tracks to surround old Gardel recordings. (They had recorded live together in 1930).
Now, in 2003, to clean them up, we have two sets of record clicks (and noise) to eliminate - Canaro's record (I took them from lp) and the Gardel recordings within it. ("Sampling" was thus invented in the 50's, but they didn't have the ability to clean the old 78's at that time).
This perhaps would have driven me crazy but for the fact that I'm used to it. LP's (and CD's) of the great hits were reproduced from 78's. A click is just a click (a sigh is just a sigh ...).
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Listening now to Canaro's work restored, it sounds quite remarkable. He orchestrated a subtle caress of orquesta around the bare voice and guitars of the original late-20's Gardel recordings ... letting us imagine a Carlitos of a later era.
Here is how Mi Noche Triste sounds after taking out the double set of clicks.
There are 6 ToTANGO CD's of Francisco Canaro Restorations.
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Recording in the Odeon studios (May, 1930). Notice the trumpet - and that all, including singer Charlo, are gathered around one mic.
