TS 2.04 - Juan D’Arienzo 1972
Tags: Juan D'Arienzo, Singer, InstrumentalCategory: AlbumSamples
In 1972, D’Arienzo lost his wife. Her death was a devastating blow, and he substantially reduced the orchestra’s live appearances thereafter. He also allowed Carlos Lazzari to lead its musicians in performances under the name Los Solistas de D’Arienzo, continuing a practice begun during their two tours of Japan.
Recording activity also declined sharply. Perhaps as a way to lift the spirits of the ageing, grieving D’Arienzo, the idea for a concept album emerged. The entire album was recorded on December 14, his 72nd birthday. Entitled El Bar de Rosendo, it evokes a well-known bar at the corner of Maipú and Corrientes in the 1920s, telling the stories of its famous patrons.
The programme comprises six instrumentals, five songs featuring Osvaldo Ramos, and one milonga sung as a duet by Echagüe and Laborde. Highlights include Mi dolor, Señor del compás and Adiós Coco, alongside the only tango medley—a Selección de Tangos—D’Arienzo recorded in his entire career.
TS 2.04 presents this album in a meticulously restored edition. We hope tango lovers everywhere will take the opportunity to discover it.
The vast majority of tango records play sharp at their nominal speed. This particular record, however, plays flat. To match the orchestra’s piano tuning of A = 442 Hz during this period, playback needs to be accelerated by approximately 1%.
It is difficult to know why the recording engineer made this choice—or whether it was a choice at all. If it was a deliberate aesthetic decision, one possible explanation is that the pitch was lowered towards the A = 435 Hz reference associated with the era, in keeping with the album’s 1920s setting. Yet that would require a difference of around 1.6%, which does not tally with the observed 1%.
Even taking A = 440 Hz as the reference does not fully account for the discrepancy. We have therefore safely chosen A = 442 Hz for this restoration of TS 2.04, avoiding further speculation and aiming to reproduce the orchestra’s most likely pitch at the original session.
Frank Jin
| Date | Track | Genre | Singer | Label | Matrix No. | Pitch | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972-12-14 | Re Fa Si | Tango | Instrumental | Víctor | 13686 | 442 | 2:57 |
| 1972-12-14 | Adiós Coco | Tango | Instrumental | Víctor | 13687 | 442 | 2:57 |
| 1972-12-14 | Selección De Tangos | Tango | Instrumental | Víctor | 13688 | 442 | 2:35 |
| 1972-12-14 | Merecés Un Monumento | Milonga | Echagüe / Laborde | Víctor | 13689 | 442 | 2:53 |
| 1972-12-14 | Mi Dolor | Tango | Osvaldo Ramos | Víctor | 13690 | 442 | 2:59 |
| 1972-12-14 | El Bar De Rosendo | Tango | Osvaldo Ramos | Víctor | 13691 | 442 | 2:34 |
| 1972-12-14 | Entre Sueños | Tango | Instrumental | Víctor | 13692 | 442 | 2:35 |
| 1972-12-14 | Naciste Para El Tango | Tango | Instrumental | Víctor | 13693 | 442 | 2:99 |
| 1972-12-14 | Señor Del Compás | Tango | Osvaldo Ramos | Víctor | 13694 | 442 | 2:53 |
| 1972-12-14 | Mi Vida Yo La Reviento | Tango | Osvaldo Ramos | Víctor | 13695 | 442 | 2:36 |
| 1972-12-14 | Llámame Amor Mío | Tango | Osvaldo Ramos | Víctor | 13696 | 442 | 2:35 |
| 1972-12-14 | Y Porque No | Tango | Instrumental | Víctor | 13697 | 442 | 2:56 |
