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Pianist, bandleader and composer
14 March 1906 - 24 September 1969
Nickname: Manos Brujas (witch hands) |
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Acknowledgements: I would like to express my thanks to Simon Cartledge for sharing with me his Biagi’s collections, and Oscar Moreno for providing information on the musician’s recordings.
Biagi’s music in 1940s
1940s was the golden age of Biagi Over half of his records were made in the 40s, and the music from this period is the most popular among dancers and DJs. That is the reason why I focused my discussion of his musical style on this period. Many singers worked with him during this period - Jorge Ortiz, Alberto Lago, Carlos Acuña, Alberto Amor and Carlos Saavedra - and among them the most famous was Jorge Ortiz.
Despite the fact that the bandleader himself was the pianist in the orchestra, the piano seldom played the main melody which was usually played by the strings and the bandoneon. In terms of time duration, you can probably hear the strings and the bandoneon much more than the sound of the piano. However, that did not mean that the piano was not important in the orchestra. The piano WAS the heart of the orchestra, and that which shaped and established the style of the band. Of course the instrument was played by Biagi himself.
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:: Piano decorates the melodic line |
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:: A piano solo section before the end of a song |
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The piano usually appears in between musical phrases playing few ornamental notes decorating the melody. Such decorating notes also indicate the end or the start of the melodic line or phrase, their function is similar to the punctuation mark in our written languages.
If you dance to Biagi’s music, you will find that such decorating notes from the piano can help you a lot in understanding the melodic structure of his songs which in turn makes the interpetation of his music much easier.
The orchestra of Juan D’Arienzo also shares the same characteristic. It is because before Biagi formed his orchestra, he was the pianist in D’Arienzo’s band and it was he who established such a style of playing the piano in the orchestra - so much so that his successors in D’Arienzo’s band followed the same way of playing the piano.
Listen to the beginning of “Guapo y Varon” (Brave and Man), composed by Enrique Delfino, lyrics by Manuel Romero, the musical phrases are clearly marked by the piano.
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A significant number of pieces (especially vocal pieces) played by Biagi’s orchestra have similar pattern, that is, having a section for piano solo before the end of a song.
The solo section normally lasts from 10 to 20 seconds, but sometimes it goes as long as 30 seconds. Such a solo section usually repeats the main theme of the song in a very simple manner; but sometimes it is also a playful section dedicated to appreciate the piano in the band.
Listening to these piano solo sections played by the band leader himself, you will understand why he was named “Manos Brujas” (witch hands). For dancers, such a solo section of the piano is almost like a reminder “hey, the song is going to finish!”
Listen to the simple piano solo around the ending of “Guapo y Varon” (Brave and Man), composed by Enrique Delfino, lyrics by Manuel Romero.
To know why Biagi was named “Manos Brujas”, listen to the ending of “Lagrimas y Sonrisas” (Tears and smiles), the musician’s biggest hit of his time, a vals composed by Pascual De Gullo.
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Biagi’s strong rhythmic interpretation of tango has always been tango lovers’ attention, and such a characteristic became the label of the musician. He was definitely not the only tango musician who paid significant attention to rhythm, yet he was probably the only one who gave such an important and crucial status to his music. When Rainer Klement wrote his musical review on Biagi’s music for a CD, he stated, “His strictly rhythmical interpretation of the tango sometimes appears almost aggressive”. His aggressive approach on rhythm can be felt in the following two aspects.
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:: Heavy syncopation |
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:: Rhythm takes over the melody |
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Syncopation means altering the expected stress of the beats. Usually this is achieved by placing an accent on a weak beat, or/and placing a rest on a strong beat.
The use of syncopation is very common in tango, but Biagi put a strong emphasis on it, so that the effect of syncopation is particular strong and obvious in his music, and you can hardly forget the surprise accents of the beats he gives you.
These strong syncopations, again like the ornamental notes of the piano, appeared usually in between musical phrases, dividing the melodic line and marking the musical sections in a song. If you know a bit more about musical theory, then you will find the syncopation usually appears at the cadences. |
Sometimes within a phrase, the rhythm stands out so much that it becomes the subject, while the melodic line is suppressed to such an extent that we can hardly hear it (though we can still feel the melody is going on because of the chords provided by the rhythm).
The rhythm takes over the melody - is another element that can make you feel that Biagi’s rhythmic interpretation is aggressive, it is because he placed extraordinary strong focus on the rhythm.
Listen to part of “Belgica”, composed by Enrique Delfino, the heavy syncopation effect is very clear, and you will hear how the melody is suppressed under the rhythm.
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Biagi formed his orchestra in 1938. Within the first two years, with singers Teófilo Ibáñez and Andrés Falgás, the characteristics mentioned above were not yet fully established. His way of playing the piano was already established during the time when he stayed with D’Arienzo, and he brought it with him to his own orchestra. However, the pattern of having a solo section for the piano at the end of the song was not yet frequently used, and the use of syncopation at that time was still not as strong and as heavy as his music in the 1940s. His musical style was formed, tought not very standout when compare to the music in his later period.
Since the 1950s, it seems that Biagi gradually changed his musical style. The piano solo section around the end of the song was retained somehow, but he used comparatively less ornamental notes from the piano. Also, instead of having heavy syncopation in his music, his focus of rhythm has a tendency to switch from the weak beat to the strong beat, that the main beat sounded very strong. Because of that, the effect of syncopation became less obvious. Due to the difficulty in locating the recording year of many of his pieces, and the limited number of his 1950s and 1960s pieces I have on hand, I need more information and recordings to support my theory on his change of musical style.
Reference:
The songs Guapo y Varon and Lagrimas y Sonrisas are from the CD Rodolfo Biagi, Sus Exitos con Jorge Ortiz (Reliquias)
Belgica is from the CD Rodolfo Biagi, Sus Exitos con Jorge Ortiz Vol.2 (Reliquias)
© 2003 Royce Chau. All rights reserved.
More resources on the internet:
Information about the life of the artist: www.todotango.com/english/creadores/rbiagi.asp
Information about purchasing the artist’s CDs: www.milonga.co.uk/tango/biagi.html |
