Latin American Music Analysis - Essay Example

Latin America Music The song that has been chosen for review and analysis is the En Esta Tarde Gris (In this gray afternoon) by Julio Sosa. This song falls under the genre of music known as Tango which is popularly associated with the Latin America. History of Tango Tango refers to a Latin American song genre that became very popular in the world in the 1930’s. The origin of the tango music and tango dance is something that has been widely debated and an agreement is yet to be made. Some historians say that Tango music came from the Europeans immigrants from Argentina and Uruguay (Zimmerman, Oriana and Oudman 67). These two groups of immigrants were collectively referred to as the Rioplatenses. Other sources claim that the tango genre of music has an African origin and that tango means African dance. Other sources have indicated that the word tango was generally used by black slaves to refer to percussion instruments like the drums (Zimmerman, Oriana and Oudman 70). In the ancient times in Argentina and Uruguay, tango music could be played on solo guitar, duo or in a group or assembly that was popularly called Orquesta tipica. It was often accompanied by two violins, piano and a flute. Tango music and dance can be associated with a vocalist or may even be pure instrumentals. The first popular tango recording or music that got wide attention was in the 19th century in Argentina. In the same period the Angel Villoid which was played by the French National Guard also got global attention and listening. Even though there is no agreement on the origin of tango, this genre travelled from Spain all the way to Uruguay and Argentina becoming a favorite genre in Buenos Aires. This genre was hugely associated with the underclass and those that lived in the neighborhoods that were considered to be for the poor. In the 20th century, tango was the favorite genre of music for thugs and hardcore criminals and gangsters who frequented brothels in Buenos Aires (Zimmerman, Oriana and Oudman 70). The music was known to radiate very strong sensuality feelings as well as passion and romance. Some tango songs were also associated with elements of tragedy. Most of the Tango songs are centered on broken love, grief, desire and zeal for life, and the sadness of moving to a new country. The genre quickly spread to other countries in Europe where it became an instant hit. Life History of Julio Sosa Julio Maria Sosa Venturi was a Uruguayan vocalist and songwriter who was born on 2 February 1926 in Las Pedrais, Uruguay. Las Pedrais is a Conelone Department Suburb in the Uruguayan city of Montevideo (Elmo 4). Julio Sosa later relocated to Buenos Aires, Argentine in the year 1949 where he rose to become one of the tango music greats of that time. In Buenos Aires, Julio Sosa worked with the Orquesta Francini group that had been created by Enrique Mario. Julio married his first wife in 1958 and they had one daughter but the marriage later ended in separation after which he married Susan Merighi (Elmo 5). His second wife was popularly referred to as El Veron del Tango meaning the man’s man of tango. Julio Sosa worked with several recording labels, but most of his music was done under the Colombia and RCA labels. The numerous songs that he released from these labels propelled him into a renowned tango singer. Apart from singing, Julio Sosa was also involved in poetry work and he published several poetry books like the “DOS Horasantes Del Alba” (Elmo 26). Unfortunately, Julio Sosa died while at the peak of his career following a fatal car crash in the early morning of 25 November 1960 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He died aged 38. Message Of The Song The song “En esta tarde Gris” which mean in this grey afternoon is a song that revolves round broken love. In this song, one partner is expressing how it feels to be alone. The persona in the song is due to the fact that they are no longer together with the other partner. He speaks of how he regrets the fact that he was the one who betrayed their relationship and love and led to their separation by “walking into another love” (Elmo 23). He adds that whenever he closes his eyes, he still believes that the relationship is as it was before the separation took place. He nostalgically remembers how it used to be when they were together and how the other partner used to call his name. The persona indicates that he is tired of being alone and that the suffering that he is going through due to the separation is becoming like a curse that he cannot bear anymore. The character, moreover indicates that the loneliness that he is experiencing as a result of the breakup is making him “drown in tears” and that he expects the partner to hear him out and come back immediately because the suffering is getting too much (Elmo 30). Analysis Of The Song As indicated earlier, the song En esta tarde Gris by Julio Sosa belongs to the genre of music referred to as tango. The theme of this song is that of broken love where two lovers have separated due to a mistake made by one party and the party who made the mistake is now regretting what happened and wishing that things can get back as they were before. The rhythm of this song by Julio Sosa is that which depicts music of the dance. This tango song has the Habanera feature that can be seen in the use of use of two quaver rhythms accompanied by emphasis on the fourth quiver. The song also uses a modified form of the3: 3:2 beat grouping to attaining the rhythm for a song of dance (BBC 3). The melody of this song by Julio Sosa is full of romantic expressions. The singer uses short lyrical melodic lines that expression love to pass the message of the song across to the audience or the listener. These melodic lines are accompanied by piano chords over which melodic lines are played from the violin. In addition to that, the song uses treble pitch that sweeps up and down to express the yearning for the lost partner to come back. The harmony in this song is a straightforward one that has four cords and tends to use the aelian mode. This is accompanied by instrumentals that are in harmony with the short melodic lines that have been used by Julio Sosa in the song. All these are harmonized to create music of dance (BBC 5) Personal Evaluation Of The Song Before this assignment, I did not know about Julio Sosa. Moreover, I had not listened to any of his songs and did not have any idea what kind of music he did. However, after listening to this song called En esta tarde Gris, I have come to appreciate the work by this Uruguayan vocalist. There are several aspects of the song that make it appealing. One of the aspects of this song by Julio Sosa that I like very much is the melody. This song is full of short melodic lines that are effectively passed to the instrumentals creating a masterpiece that is danceable. The second aspect that I find amazing and interesting is the Cuban dance rhythm that is in the song. Julio Sosa uses the Habanera feature in this song and this makes the song very unique. The harmony in the song is also appealing with the pitch used sweeping up and down to help in expressing the message of broken love in the song. The lyrics are also straight forward and easy to understand making the message in the song to be easily comprehended. The lyrics, the rhythm and the melody in this song make it appealing. Works Cited BBC. The Tango, 23rd March 2008. Web.16th July 2014. Elmo, Timoteus. Julio Sosa. Montevideo: Loc Publishing, 2011. Print Sosa. Julio. En esta tarde Gris. 2nd Feb 2013. Web.16th July 2014. Zimmerman, Jim, Oriana, Elicable and Oudman, Paula. Tango: The Rhythm and Movement of Buenos Aires. Hamburg: Edel Classic, 2005.Print Read More