“Wild, sexy and fun”

So my friend once described another friend of ours as “wild, sexy and fun.” And ever since then, I can’t hear this piece of music without thinking of her, because that’s exactly what it is! Last week was the centenary of composer Astor Piazolla’s birth (11 March 1921), so it is timely that his Libertango is the next song on the playlist. There are many versions of this piece, with it having been arranged for a variety of different solo instruments over the years, but I like it best with a sumptuous trumpet and have included links to a recording and performance by the beautiful and brilliant Alison Balsom.

How do they do that?

So what is it about this piece that makes it “wild, sexy and fun”?

Well the origin of a traditional tango is thought to be around the 1880s, in the slums and bars of Buenos Aires, where dancers (often prostitutes) would perform to the music. Like a lot of South American dance music, there is a distinctive rhythm that is repeated throughout. It is syncopated, meaning the strong accented beats land away from where we expect the strongest beats to be. If music is entirely on the strong beat, it tends to feel march-like, precise, regimented. A syncopated rhythm has more flow, sway and sashaying of hips about it. It is immediately less like walking and more like dancing, which is why it features in a lot of music that we like to dance to across all genres. The tango is also music of stark contrasts, for example spiky, staccato phrases (staccato means very short notes) as well as long, lingering, sensuous melodic passages. Also, sudden changes of dynamics (loud and soft sections), which add drama and passion.

Piazolla takes these traditional elements and does something more, though. He calls the piece ‘Libertango’ which is a portmanteau combining the words Libertad (meaning liberty) and tango and introduces jazz influences into it. We hear this in the freedom the soloist has to improvise and embellish with increasing virtuosity as the piece progresses.

In the recordings/performance I’ve chosen, the orchestra begins with cheeky, flirtatious pizzicato (plucked) strings and ornaments at the end of phrases - like a flick of the eyebrows or flutter of eyelashes. But that is overlaid with dissonant (clashing) trumpet calls hinting at something darker. You hardly notice the solo trumpet at first, but then it emerges from the jerky, staccato energy of the orchestra with the slow, legato (smooth) main melodic theme. The tango rhythm continues underneath in the strings with them using their bows this time, yet maintaining a contrasting shortness of stroke to the long lines of the trumpet soloist. This interplay between orchestra and soloist is a playing out of a seduction. There is flirtation but also mutual sexual intent with the rhythms and instrumental lines wrapping around one another. I always thought the word ‘tango’ came from ‘tangle’ as a description of the dance move and the intertwining of the instruments. In fact the etymology is far more likely to be from African or Spanish words, but I rather like the imagery of my unofficial version. :-)

The Latin vibe, jazzy improvisations and combination of sultry and flirty instrumental layers sum up for me “wild, sexy and fun.”

Hope you enjoy it or feel inspired to listen to something new today.

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