ASTOR PIAZZOLLA’S “HISTORY OF TANGO”: AN ANTHOLOGY OF THE GENRE IN THE AUTHOR’S PROJECTIONS

Abstract

Astor Piazzolla’s chamber cycle “History of Tango” for flute and guitar is examined in terms of its transformation of Latin American, European, and African genre traditions of tango, milonga, samba, habanera, lundu, and maxixe. The aim of this article is to reveal the genre characteristics and dynamics of style changes in 20th-century tango in Astor Piazzolla’s author’s projections using the selected cycle as an example. The composer’s interpretations of the genre allowed the listener to discover the history of tango, enriching traditional elements with baroque idioms and techniques of passacaglia descending chromatic bass, polyphony of contrapuntal accompaniments, and a wealth of melodic ornamentation. Along with this, the composer imbued the fabric of his tangos with jazz improvisation techniques, block chord sequencing, and a language of polystrophic, polymodal structures based on symmetrical scale constructions that were radical for its time. Modifications to the language of the genre do not affect the key attributes of tango, which go back to the dance roots of African-American ritual practices, implying that tango is recognizable to the listener and requires a high level of skill from guitar performers.