Notes: Carlos Di Sarli

Era

1. 1928-31. Sexteto. Roberto Guisado joined on Oct.20, 1929.

2. 1939-48. Guisado on violin. Félix Verdi (40-47), Federico Scorticati (43-48) on bando. Consistent personnel with occasional changes. 4/5 violin + 4/5 bando

   2a: The 1939 recordings (Corazón, El Retirao) featured only 3 violin + 3 bando.

3. 1951-55. Old members with some new faces (Simón Bajor, etc.) 6 violin + 5 bando

4. 1956-58. Brand-new orquesta. Simón Bajor, Elvino Vardaro on violin. José Libertella, Julián Plaza, Alfredo Marcucci, etc. on bando. 5 violin + 4 bando

5. 1958. Guisado, Verdi, and some old members rejoined the orquesta. A gigantic size of 8 violin + 5 bando

Date

• The recording dates of Music Hall (51-53) can only be traced down to months.

  • Nido Gaucho (1951) has a confirmed recording date of Nov.15, according to Abel Palermo’s article on Mario Pomar on Todotango.

• No La Maldigas Por Diós (1958-07-16) was a track that never surfaced to the public but exists in the RCA record book. Michael’s book and Claudio Torelli’s article both mentioned this track.

• The recording dates of the Philips era were uncertain. Gabriel Valiente’s Encyclopedia of Tango mentioned specific dates (as cited here), and they seem in line with the matrix numbers. (However, Claudio Torelli’s article mentioned Nov.4 as one session date that corresponds with no tracks)

• Edmundo Rivero’s vocal was dubbed (probably 1960) to the four instrumental playbacks (recorded in 1958), after the maestro’s demise, and released in 1961 in a 45rpm EP. They are the same instrumental tracks used in Durán’s takes.

Genre

• There are two types of Vals in Di Sarli’s repertoire. One is the typical 6/8 upbeat, fast-paced vals criollo (usually 190rpm+), which was popularized by Juan D’Arienzo in the 1930s; another is the 3/4 slower traditional, Viennese-style “waltz” (usually 120-180rpm). The latter was rarely played in nowadays milongas.

Singer

• Mercedes Carné recordings (1932, accompaniment) not included.

• Di Sarli only used lyric singers in his Orquesta Típica era: Lyric Tenor (Rufino, Serpa, Pomar, Florio) + Lyric Baritone (Podestá, Durán, Ledesma).

Masters

• Music Hall was the first record company that introduced reel-to-reel tape masters to Argentina, thus Di Sarli unintentionally skipped the microgroove master era.

• Di Sarli died before the advent of stereo recordings in Argentina.

Pitch

• The two transitions (435hz-440hz, 440hz-442hz) went smoothly in Di Sarli’s recordings.

Speed

• While 1940-41 was an abnormally fast period, most of Di Sarli’s (tango) performance tempi fall at 121-25bpm (1930s, 40s) and 110-20bpm (1920s, 50s) categories, which belongs to the slowest tier.