Tango music rapidly became a global phenomenon as early as the beginning of the twentieth century, with about 30% of gramophone records made between 1903 and 1910 devoted to it. Its popularity declined between the 1950s and the 1980s but has since risen to new heights. This Companion offers twenty chapters from varying perspectives around music, dance, poetry, and interdisciplinary studies, including numerous visual and audio illustrations in print and on the accompanying webpages. Its multidisciplinary approach demonstrates how different disciplines intersect through performative, historical, ethnographic, sociological, political, and anthropological perspectives. These thematic continuities illuminate diverse international perspectives and highlight how the art form flourished in Argentina, Uruguay and abroad, while tracing its international and cultural impact over the last century. This book is an innovative resource for scholars and students of tango music, particularly those seeking a diverse international perspective on the subject.
Introduction: Tango Studies Across Disciplinary and Geographic Boundaries Kristin Wendland and Kacey Link; 1. A Brief History of Tango Omar García Brunelli; Tango Music: 2. The Bandoneón: The Magical Sound and Soul of Tango Ortaç Aydınoğlu; 3. Ángel Villoldo and Early Sound Recordings Morgan James Luker; 4. Orchestral Rhythmic Designs and Performance Practices: Juan D'Arienzo and Aníbal Troilo Ignacio Varchausky; 5. Guitar Heroes: Roberto Grela and Aníbal Arias Eric Johns; 6. Post-Golden Age Pillars: Horacio Salgán and Astor Piazzolla Kristin Wendland and Kacey Link; 7. Tango and Jazz: Cross-Genre Relations in History and Practice Julián Graciano; Tango Song: 8. Audacious Women: Profiles of Early Cancionistas Romina Dezillio; 9. The Poetics of Golden-Age Tango Pablo Palomino; Tango Dance: 10. Tango's Journey from a Río de la Plata Dance to a Globalized Milonga Christophe Apprill; 11. Tango Lessons: What Research on Tango Dancing Can Teach Us Kathy Davis; 12. Encuentros Milongueros: Europe's Twenty-First Century Tango Dance Practice Kendra Stepputat; 13. Re-Imagining the Future of Tango Dance Carolyn Merritt; Interdisciplinary Tango Studies: 14. Nineteenth-Century Afro-Argentine Origins of Tango Paulina L. Alberto; 15. Synthesizing Analyses: A Choreomusical Study of 'La cumparsita' Rebecca Simpson-Litke; 16. Mixed Messages: Tango and Argentine Politics Matthew B. Karush; 17. (Trans)national Visions: Tango Onscreen Rielle Navitski; 18. Tango, Emotion, and Transculturality in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries Yuiko Asaba; 19. Tango Studies Abroad: Gustavo Beytelmann and Codarts University Bárbara Varassi Pega; 20. Tango and Healing: A Clinical Research Perspective Madeleine E. Hackney and J. Lucas McKay; Epilogue: Carrying Tango Studies into the Future Kristin Wendland and Kacey Link; Appendix: Tango Chronology; Index.
Kristin Wendland is Professor of Teaching in the Department of Music at Emory University. With her research partner Kacey Link, she has co-authored and published Tracing Tangueros: Argentine Tango Instrumental Music (2016), and articles for Chamber Music Magazine (2018), Naxos Musicology (2020), and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (2021). Kacey Link is an independent scholar and pianist residing in Los Angeles. With her research partner Kristin Wendland, she has co-authored and published Tracing Tangueros: Argentine Tango Instrumental Music (2016), and articles for Chamber Music Magazine (2018), Naxos Musicology (2020), and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (2021).
