It was at the end of the 20s that the tango made its lap of honour outside of South America. For almost 20 years the tango was the favoured music on the dance floors of the world. It conquered the whole of Europe, as well as the Middle East and even the Orient.
Interestingly, exponents of the tango were never satisfied with just copying the Argentinean tango, or merely translating it into the language of the host nation. For many musicians, in places such as Istanbul, Beirut, Cairo and Algiers, the tango was the very first encounter with "Western" style music. However the response to this encounter was always very free. Not only in Western and Central Europe, but also in the metropolises of the Balkans and the Eastern Mediterranean, tango scenes flourished with followers emancipating themselves from Argentinean imports with their own independent styles.
To trace back this exciting phenomenon is the concern of our OLD WORLD TANGOS series.
In addition to the exotic interest of these recordings, the collection reveals how a musical form that originated in the urban culture of Argentina inspired and influenced musicians from around the world - an example of World Music at a time when this expression hadn't even been thought of.
Vol.1: Echoes from afar (2001), RIENCD20
The first CD brings together the most beautiful of almost forgotten tangos. They were recorded between 1928 and 1952 in London, Paris, Bucharest, Athens, Istanbul or Beirut, and sung by the Russian Pjotr Leschenko, the Rumanians Jean Moscopol and Titi Botez, the Greek Sofia Vembo, the Turks Seyyan Hanim and Ibrahim Özgür, the Syrian Egyptian (brother and sister duo) Farid and Asmahan and the Algerian Lili Boniche. In each case the artist sings in her or his mother tongue.
Vol.2: Tango alla Romanesque (2001), RIENCD40
ORIENTE's second nostalgic journey to European Tangos from the Golden Era of the 30s and 40s. Listen to musical jewels found in Romania, Italy, France and Greece. A selection of sheer joy, no matter if the titles are sung by celebrities like Maria Tanase or Tino Rossi or by completely forgotten artists like Gion, Cristian Vasile, Dimitris Philippopoulos or controverse discussed Carlo Buti.
Vol.3: Polskie Tango 1929 - 1939 (2005), RIENCD55
To dedicate the third CD of the series to a single country was an easy decision after Jerzy Placzkiewicz introduced us to the world of Polish Tango.
All musical tracks, photos and illustrations used for this CD are from his collection. Since decades he collects shellacs, concert posters, music sheets, articles and artefacts from Poland's between-wars-period - a treasure giving evidence of a society familiar with romanticism, refinement, style and its perfect expression - the Tango.
Listening to this CD, one joins an important part of Poland's cultural history that was almost completely deleted from public knowledge by World War II and its conclusions - after all the great majority of the artists involved was of Jewish descent.
Vol.4: Istanbul Tango 1927 - 1953 (2012), RIENCD80
The fourth CD of the series is dedicated to the era of Turkish tango. Aided by the Turkish experts Gökhan Akçura and Cemal Üňlü we compiled a set of tracks that take you directly to Old Istanbul. From the first decades of the Turkish Republic we hear imported and translated as well as "originally Turkish" tangos, mixed with traditional Turkish music.