The Cambridge Companion to Tango

An innovative resource which transcends tango stereotypes to account for the genre's impact on arts, culture, and society around the world.

Kristin Wendland (Edited by), Kacey Link (Edited by)

9781108971423, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 28 March 2024

414 pages
24.4 x 16.8 x 2.2 cm, 0.72 kg

'The literature on tango is abundant, international, and growing. The Companion is a welcome addition, bringing together 20 contributions from a diverse set of writers with local and global focus. Each chapter includes helpful suggestions for further reading on the topic. … It will appeal most to performers, composers, choreographers, and musicologists …' Deborah Jakubs, Hispanic American Historical Review

Tango music rapidly became a global phenomenon as early as the beginning of the twentieth century, with about 30% of gramophone records made between 1903 and 1910 devoted to it. Its popularity declined between the 1950s and the 1980s but has since risen to new heights. This Companion offers twenty chapters from varying perspectives around music, dance, poetry, and interdisciplinary studies, including numerous visual and audio illustrations in print and on the accompanying webpages. Its multidisciplinary approach demonstrates how different disciplines intersect through performative, historical, ethnographic, sociological, political, and anthropological perspectives. These thematic continuities illuminate diverse international perspectives and highlight how the art form flourished in Argentina, Uruguay and abroad, while tracing its international and cultural impact over the last century. This book is an innovative resource for scholars and students of tango music, particularly those seeking a diverse international perspective on the subject.

Introduction: Tango Studies Across Disciplinary and Geographic Boundaries Kristin Wendland and Kacey Link
1. A Brief History of Tango Omar García Brunelli
Tango Music: 2. The Bandoneón: The Magical Sound and Soul of Tango Ortaç Aydınoğlu
3. Ángel Villoldo and Early Sound Recordings Morgan James Luker
4. Orchestral Rhythmic Designs and Performance Practices: Juan D'Arienzo and Aníbal Troilo Ignacio Varchausky
5. Guitar Heroes: Roberto Grela and Aníbal Arias Eric Johns
6. Post-Golden Age Pillars: Horacio Salgán and Astor Piazzolla Kristin Wendland and Kacey Link
7. Tango and Jazz: Cross-Genre Relations in History and Practice Julián Graciano
Tango Song: 8. Audacious Women: Profiles of Early Cancionistas Romina Dezillio
9. The Poetics of Golden-Age Tango Pablo Palomino
Tango Dance: 10. Tango's Journey from a Río de la Plata Dance to a Globalized Milonga Christophe Apprill
11. Tango Lessons: What Research on Tango Dancing Can Teach Us Kathy Davis
12. Encuentros Milongueros: Europe's Twenty-First Century Tango Dance Practice Kendra Stepputat
13. Re-Imagining the Future of Tango Dance Carolyn Merritt
Interdisciplinary Tango Studies: 14. Nineteenth-Century Afro-Argentine Origins of Tango Paulina L. Alberto
15. Synthesizing Analyses: A Choreomusical Study of 'La cumparsita' Rebecca Simpson-Litke
16. Mixed Messages: Tango and Argentine Politics Matthew B. Karush
17. (Trans)national Visions: Tango Onscreen Rielle Navitski
18. Tango, Emotion, and Transculturality in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries Yuiko Asaba
19. Tango Studies Abroad: Gustavo Beytelmann and Codarts University Bárbara Varassi Pega
20. Tango and Healing: A Clinical Research Perspective Madeleine E. Hackney and J. Lucas McKay
Epilogue: Carrying Tango Studies into the Future Kristin Wendland and Kacey Link
Appendix: Tango Chronology
Index.

Subject Areas: Dance [ASD]