Symphonic Tango
MARIANO MORES (1918 - 2016)
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Tango, fascinating folk music that is dance and song, whose world capital is the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina, had in Mariano Mores an extraordinary creator. Mores belonged to the so-called "40s generation", considered the golden decade of tango in Argentina, because of the abundance of composers, poets, works, orchestras and other performers. In that period, fertile as competitive for those who cultivated tango, Mariano Mores stood out as a creator of true musical beauty, whose works were sometimes the subject of disputes between the orchestra leaders of that time, because many of them wanted the exclusivity of the premiere. During said decade, to mention just a few of Mores’ most famous tangos, "Uno", "Gricel", "Cristal", "Cafetín de Buenos Aires" and the world famous "Adiós pampa mía" among others saw the light.
In those years Mores was a pianist of the popular typical orchestra of Francisco Canaro, and as a creator he composed his always-awaited tangos. In addition, the young composer kept to himself a project that would only see the light towards the end of the 40s: playing tango with orchestras of symphonic structure. Indeed, Mores always maintained that tango could be performed by this type of instrumental combination, since it was -and it is- the sonic musical medium of greater richness and colorful timbre to do it.
Mores considered the so-called tango "typical orchestra" (strings, bandoneons, piano) as restricted in tone. Moreover, the vast majority of his musical themes were conceived by Mores with the symphonic sound in mind.
Photo: Piero Introcaso
Mariano Mores conducted his two ensembles "Popular Lyric Orchestra" and his "Modern rhythmic Sextet" with greater sustained success over time (60 years). During such a long period, Mores also conducted in Argentina and abroad both ad hoc groups and permanent ensembles (for example, the Buenos Aires Symphony Orchestra - today the Buenos Aires Philharmonic, the National Symphony, the Mar del Plata and Rosario Symphonies - all of Argentina - and abroad the SODRE Symphony of Uruguay, the Radio Televisión Española orchestra -RTVE-, among others).
As a conductor, Mores knew perfectly well how his music should sound like, so it was critically important that the orchestrations and musical arrangements were written according to the aesthetic criteria of the artist and, not least, by someone who knew the genre very well. To carry out this task, Mariano Mores chose one of the best arrangers in Argentina: Martín Darré (musician with a background in tango and jazz), who knew how to capture and brilliantly translate the musical requirements of the conductor in the orchestral scores.
Photo: Ricardo López
Photo: Piero Introcaso
The music of Mariano Mores is directly outgoing, it is music that touches the most sensitive fibers of the listener, it is music that inspires. When brought to the symphonic medium, the blend between the beauty of the original works with the instrumental colors of the strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion plus piano, bandoneon and Spanish guitar, results in an unforgettable musical experience.
Martin Massini Ezcurra