Editorial Reviews

Harlequin Records, one of the world's most accomplished purveyors of historic international recordings, presents a collection of 27 examples drawn from the often overlooked Argentine folk tradition. The time frame represented here (1905-1936) is typical of Harlequin retrospectives, which sometimes dip back into the 1890s. As the title implies, this anthology celebrates Argentine music other than the famous tango. Even while the cities and towns of Argentina and the landscape of Patagonia, the Pampas, the Cuyo, and the Gran Chaco are all mysteriously present in these marvelously obscure old records, this compilation is thick with links to other nations and distant lands. The Zamba, for example, is a cyclic dance with distinctive European roots; it is a distant cousin of the Waltz, that quintessentially Viennese step which is said to have originated in France and Italy. The Cueca (short for Zamacueca) is the national dance of Chile, but has Afro-Spanish-Peruvian roots. The Ranchera is associated with Mexico, and the Tonada -- traditionally designated as music not to be danced to -- is believed to have its centuries-old origins in Arab Andalusia. The prevailing instrumentation on this collection consists of one or two guitars sounding accompaniments for the sincere and unpretentious if rather plaintive singers. The Trio Los Nativos, however, included some sort of squeezebox -- presumably a bandoneon -- in their ensemble (see tracks 13 and 22), and the great Domingo Aguirre may be heard on tracks two and 14, playing what sounds like a Paraguayan harp. ~ arwulf arwulf, All Music Guide All Music Guide

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