In the rich history of tango, the arrangers played—and still play—a fundamental role. It is true that the composition is primary, nevertheless a good arranger is capable of transforming a mediocre composition into an interesting piece with valuable musical content. An arranger can adorn a composition with his own ideas, modifying the original harmony, choosing the instrumentation and even adding new melodies. Clearly in some cases nothing needs to be added; there are some compositions of such musical wealth and personality that in some way they are born definitive.

Among the many important arrangers in the history of the genre, Argentino Galván and Héctor María Artola are recognized as the two great pioneers and deans in this field as they helped to formalize a model which then was universally adopted.  As the historian Luis A. Sierra wrote, “Héctor María Artola and Galván put tango on the music stands.” Of course, we cannot forget those that took the first and fundamental steps even before these arrangers; musicians like Roberto Firpo, Juan Carlos Cobián, and Francisco and Julio de Caro are central protagonists in tango’s first musical revolution in the first decades of the 20th century.

During what is called “the golden age,” there were arrangers who offered ground-breaking ideas, therefore enriching the musical language of the genre to the point of transforming it into an infinite, elaborate universe full of “good music.” Among many others, especially distinguished as arrangers are Horacio Salgán, Astor Piazzolla, Emilio Balcarce, Ismael Spitalnik, Armando Pontier, Héctor Stamponi, Julián Plaza, Oscar de la Fuente, Mario Demarco, Osmar Maderna and Eduardo Rovira.  All of them—each one in his own style and with his own personality—added original elements that little by little were incorporated in the language of the genre. All this information—written in big scores also called “masters”—is in a way the real memory of this elaborate art. If we consider books to be a large part of the memory of a people, then these scores with original arrangements are without a doubt a fundamental part of the memory of tango.



Unfortunately, little has survived of this valuable patrimony. The short sightedness of many of the arrangers themselves and the generalized disinterest and total carelessness of many of the government entities mean that today we must mourn so much lost material and history. Nevertheless, there is a light of hope in this dark panorama of careless disregard for our cultural heritage. Numerous collectors –true national heroes- have been protecting this legacy for more than sixty years.

Since 2000, the team at TangoVia Buenos Aires—first via individual efforts and later organized as a fully committed team project—has been working to discover, obtain, digitize and catalogue personal archives of sheet music. We are basically talking about scores that remain hidden in boxes, suitcases, closets and attics of old musicians, their families, friends and collectors, or have been forgotten in second hand stores or flea markets.  In other words: this is a true archeological hunt.

Through an extensive recuperation project already ten years underway, our archive of scores—unique in the world—today numbers more than 700 original arrangements for tango orchestra and more than 600 for bandoneon solos.  An achievement as extraordinary as it is stimulating. At the same time, we have been able to recover and transcribe numerous arrangements for piano solos, guitar solos, quartet, quintet and octet among many other characteristic formations in tango. The archive has managed to compile in one place material as dissimilar as it is interesting:  from original arrangements of the septet of the bandoneon player Adolfo Pérez “Pocholo” to the original version of “La Bordona” which Emilio Balcarce wrote for Aníbal Troilo’s orchestra.

Arrangements for Tango Orchestra:  In addition to more than 200 original arrangements written by arrangers like Héctor Stamponi, Argentino Galván, Astor Piazzolla and Tití Rossi published by old publishing houses, we also have an important collection of originals scores from orchestras including those of Alfredo Gobbi, Osvaldo Pugliese, Aníbal Troilo, Horacio Salgán and Juan D’Arienzo.  In addition we have hundreds of arrangements by today’s great musicians from Néstor Marconi, Raúl Garello and Julio Pane to Mauricio Marcelli, Víctor Lavallén, José Colángelo, Andrés Linetzly and Ramiro Gallo.

At the same time, thanks to the generosity and support of their families, in the last year we have been able to digitize the personal archives of Armando Pontier, Julián Plaza, Ismael Spitalnik and Emilio Balcarce.  We are deeply grateful to their families for their collaboration in this important project of preservation and diffusion.

Archives for bandoneon:  After years of searching for the arrangers of bandoneon solos and their families, and thanks to the enormously valuable support of the collectors Carlos De Arriba, Tito Valarino and Eduardo XXXX, we have been able to collect more than 600 original arrangements for bandoneon solos, covering a wide range of styles and different levels of technical ability. In this archive, one can consult arrangements done by famous bandoneon players including José Libertella, Néstor Marconi, Leopoldo Federico and Julio Pane, but also works written by less known musicians like Daniel Lomuto, Eladio Blanco, Marcos Madrigal, Calixto Sayago and even rare pieces like the arrangement of the tango “El ciruja” written by its composer Ernesto de la Cruz or an arrangement of “Volver” written by Horacio Salgán. And for the first time collected in their entirety, here are all the arrangements written by Máximo Mori, the true master in the art of writing for this instrument.
The potential of this monumental project is virtually infinite. Musicians of all levels and genres can find in the archive unlimited valuable material that was never before available. Just the possibility of consulting these “masters” unlocks a marvelous universe to discover. At the same time, the varied and extensive content of the archive offers a new perspective to musicologists, historians, journalists, and researchers from all over the world.