This week's tanda features valses sung by Jorge Valdez (who was made famous by Juan D'Arienzo) accompanied by the orchestra of Osvaldo Requena.
The first two tracks come from the album released in 1967. The last one, a duet with Mario Bustos, another great D'Arienzo singer, came out in 1969.
The music is symphonic and the singer dominates without sacrificing the vals drive. The beats are regular and clear. I would love to dance to it!
Structure
1) El vals de los 15 años, G major / minor, 64 BPM, 1967
2) Luna de arrabal, F major/minor, 65 BPM, 1967
3) Soñar y nada más, D minor, 66 BPM - with Mario Bustos, 1969
This one was a tough cookie. The online tango databases speak very little about the work of Osvaldo Requena, which is a pity. He was a great arranger and lived through the entire tango period (1931-2010). I don't own any music featured here, which I will try to rectify.
I chose this composition of the tanda with not a lot to choose from but thankfully it came out OK. El vals de los 15 años is a fine, upbeat opener, Luna de arrabal adds a handful of drama, and then Soñar y nada más acts as a powerful closer. Jorge Valdez actually recorded it with Requena but sans Bustos again in the 1970 but I like this version better.
Usage
I would play this at a bigger event - this music needs a lot of space! With regards to timing, I would prefer a later slot in the evening. There's a lot going on here.
photo credit goes to Quan Nguyen