Re: French Tangos

["LIGER Michel, CETE Méditerr./DIT" <michel.liger @EQUIPEMENT.GOUV.FR>]

Tim et al

Timothy Pogros wrote
>I now have a CD of French tangos
>"Les plus beaux Tangos par leurs Createurs"
>Does any one know of any other CDs of French tangos

I am not sure that French tangos are so fascinating. As in the rest of
Europe AT has been standardised into a ballroom dance, with steady tempo and
melody, danced in a rythmic way (slow-quick-quick-slow). There are a lot of
them, of various quality.

But I can indicate to you a very good and interesting record entitled "Tango
à Paris 1907-1941"; The editor is Frémeaux et Associés, tel +33 1 43 74 90
24; The disk reference is FA012.

It is a double CD, issued in 97 or 98, with a very useful leaflet. 
At the beginning of the last century the first Argentinian dancers and
musicians arrived in Paris and AT soon became highly fashionable. To the
extent that not enough Argentinians were available to play this music: in
this record some Argentinian tangos are played by ballroom or music-hall
orchestras or even by the "Garde Républicaine", a military orchestra !
Basically the tango is a march, right ?
Besides those funny things, there are good classic AT, recorded in Paris by
French and Argentinian musicians.

You may have troubles in finding this CD, tell me if I can help.
Happy French tangos !

Michel Liger
Aix-en-Provence  France