Alfredo De Angelis
The style of Alfredo De Angelis's orchestra is musically very simple.
At its best, in the vocal duos of Carlos Dante and Julio Martel, it is an unalloyed delight.
At its worst, in many of his later recordings, it is thin and mechanical.
De Angelis formed his orchestra in 1941 and began recording on the Odeón label in 1943. He remained with them right through to the end of his recording career in 1977, recording 486 numbers, far too many of which are available on DBN's Reliquias label.
De Angelis generally focussed on the melody with a very simple rhythmic conception. This being the case, his best numbers were those prominently featuring the harmony of his vocal duos, especially the famous duo of Dante and Martel, perhaps the best duo of the tango era. These are the recordings that many people begin with. Around 1949 the orchestra went through a brief "rhythmic" period but the departure of Julio Martel at the end of 1951 marks the end of their best recordings, with the exception of some instrumentals from 1957-58 of which the most famous is the unique if overplayed Pavadita.
A basic De Angelis collection
We've decided, with minor reservations, to recommend the De Angelis cd in the series From Argentina to the World for your first De Angelis CD because it covers his entire oeuvre and includes
Pavadita.
After this, though, you really should study the early stuff, starting with the duos of Dante and Martel.
We recommend the Reliquias cd
although there is also a good one on El Bandoneón.
Don't be misled by the cover which promises "vol.2": this is the only volume, for they only recorded 17 duos together
I want more
Why not listen to these strong recordings with his
first vocalists, most notably Floreál Ruíz who has the first 8 tracks on this cd.
Marioneta and
Dejame así
are recordings of the very highest quality.
I'm a DJ or collector - I want everything
Are you sure? Reliquias have reissued over half of De Angelis's 486 recordings, which some may consider rather too many. Get their discs of Dante, Martel and Oscar Larroca (I used to love his Prohibido) but avoid the later cds with Lalo Martel and Juan Carlos Godoy unless you're sure it's to your taste. We recommend you start with Fumando Espero, a cd of recordings with Carlos Dante - worth it just for the fabulous rendition of the title track, one of the most sensual tango recordings ever.
Consider the cd of 50s duets with Carlos Dante y Oscar Larroca; there are a dozen more on Cantan Oscar Larroca y Carlos Dante.
Here's the full list on Reliquias: 16 cds so far (320 tracks)
- EMI 837416 Fumando Espero (canta: Carlos Dante)
- EMI 837417 Arrabalero (canta: Oscar Larroca)
- EMI 495363 Tangos sentimentales (canta: Oscar Larroca)
- EMI 495364 Sus éxitos con Julio Martel
- EMI 499977 Sus éxitos con Godoy, Florio y Martel
- EMI 499986 Instrumentales inolvidables - the late instrumentals: Pavadita, Tango Club and others
- EMI 499993 Los duos de Dante y Martel - superb album
- EMI 529103 Sus éxitos con Julio Martel vol.2
- EMI 529106 Ruíz - Martel - Dante: sus primeros vocalistas
- EMI 529109 Sus éxitos con Carlos Dante
- EMI 541695 Cantan Oscar Larroca y Carlos Dante
- EMI 541696 Cantan Lalo Martel y Juan Carlos Godoy
- EMI 473889 20 Éxitos Vol. 1 (canta: Carlos Dante)
- EMI 473890 20 Éxitos Vol. 2 (canta: Carlos Dante)
- EMI 477595 Alfredo De Angelis - Con Sabor A Tango (canta: Juan Carlos Godoy)
- EMI 477601 Los Dúos con Carlos Dante y Oscar Larroca
Where next...
- Back to building a library
- Milonga home page