About a month ago, I received two CDs featuring two masters, formerly collaborating, who eventually went their own way. Last week's tanda introduced Armando Pontier and his instrumentals. This week, I bring you the orchestra of Enrique Francini with his Majesty, Alberto Podestá.
Enrique Francini was a notable violinist and if his biography is to be believed, he died with a violin in his hands. He put together his own orchestra in 1955 and though it lasted for only about a year, they recorded a few remarkable pieces of music for dancing.
To me, the most appealing are those with Alberto Podestá. His voice had only just peaked, is resonant and captivating throughout. Rarely an evening goes by without me putting a Podestá tanda on the playlist.
Structure
- Un tango para el recuerdo (G minor)
- Alguien (F minor)
- Bailemos (G minor alternating with C major)
- Fueron tres años (E minor)
Four out of the six tango recordings of Francini/Podestá are in the G key, making a sensible harmonic progression very constrained. That said, I am happy with the flow of this tanda. It is predominantly lyrical, only getting some respite in the penultimate song.
The tempo is hovering around the normal walking beat of 60 BPM. This being from mid-1950s, there are occasional rubatos and you won't marching forward but rather swirling in a more expressive, melancholic way.
Usage
You know me: I am a sucker for a good 1950s melodrama. I would put 5 tandas like this in a normal weekday milonga. Anytime from Hour 2 onwards, I would say.
image credit goes to Sander Crombach