Abandono, singer Hector Farrel (1937)
Vieja amiga, singer Juan Carlos Casas (1938)
De puro guapo, singer Juan Carlos Casas (1940)
Amurado, singer Juan Carlos Casas (1940)
Contrasting the music D’Arienzo was making at the same time with Laurenz‘s late 1930s and early 1940s music is very illuminating. I hesitate to call Laurenz more “sophisticated,” a) because some people might mistake that for a value judgement and b) I’m not a trained musician…
Before Alberto Podestá sang with the orchestra, Juan Carlos Casas was Laurenz’s primary vocalist. This tanda opens with Hector Farrel singing the powerful tango “Abandono,” with lyrics by Homero Manzi and music by Laurenz’s bandoneón buddy, Pedro Maffia, and closes with “Amurado,” where Laurenz displays his bandoneón skills with two variaciones (long bando solos).
Todo (1943)
Garúa (1943)
24 de agosto (1943)
Nunca tuvo novio (1943)
Pedro Laurenz was a virtuoso bandoneón player (listen especially to his variación near the end of “24 de agosto“). He played in Julio De Caro‘s sextet, which brought a smoother more polished sound to tango. Laurenz’s own orchestra followed in this lineage, producing lyrical tangos of beautiful musical sophistication.
Alberto Podestá is still alive and singing in Buenos Aires today, but he was only nineteen years old when he recorded these songs with Laurenz. He brought a surprising gravitas and depth to these melancholy tangos, despite his youth.
