2113  "Is Isla de Capri" a foxtrot?

Date: Sun, 21 Dec 2003 20:54:41 +0000
From: Oleh Kovalchuke <oleh_k@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: "Is Isla de Capri" a foxtrot?

Someone wrote to me that "Isla de Capri" by Fresedo, which I list on my
website as a tango, is a foxtrot.

It is played by tango orchestra. It was listed as tango on CD (so alleged
misnomer could be widespread). I dance tango to it. I am sure people in BA
used to dance tango to it (and probably still do). None of the above is
defining feature of tango however they seem to indicate that the song might
be tango.

The questions I am curious about are these:
Is "Isla de Capri" a tango or a foxtrot? Please elaborate.
If it is a foxtrot what is significance of this revelation to dancing tango
to "Isla de Capri"?
How often have tango orchestras performed foxtrots?


Cheers, Oleh K.

https://TangoSpring.com

Working moms: Find helpful tips here on managing kids, home, work and

Date: Mon, 22 Dec 2003 00:09:47 +0100
From: fernando.lagrana@ITU.INT
Subject: Re: "Is Isla de Capri" a foxtrot?

Hello Oleh,

for me "Isla de Capri" is definitvely a tango. It has a tango rythm (e.g.
4/4) and not a fox-trot rythm (2/4). If a DJ was to play a fox-trot during a
milonga (which is a perfectly valid choice once in a while in my view),
dancers would dance it as a milonga, not a tango.

Enrique Rodriguez is famous for having performed fox-trot (Noches de
Hungría, Se va el tren, Amor en Budapest). And he also played paso-doble or
corrido! Other orchestras include Francisco Canaro (Besos de miel),
Francisco Lomuto (Hay que aprender a bailar), Armando Moreno (Cantar gitano,
Suavemente, etc.)

You can therefore continue dancing ttango on the beautiful island of Capri.

DJ Fernando
www.almatango.com

Date: Mon, 22 Dec 2003 09:55:57 EST
From: Crrtango@AOL.COM
Subject: foxtrot

Oleh asked:

"How often have tango orchestras performed foxtrots?"


Actually, maybe always. It wasn't unusual for tango orchestras to play and
record other non-tango music from time to time and some did it; some more than
others. Many tango musicians also played other venues both classical and
popular, including music from other cultures like rock and jazz. Juan D'Arienzo
(classically trained, as were many tango musicians) played in a small jazz
ensemble before dedicating himself to tango.

In the early days, when musicians could make an income playing at a silent
cinema, they had to know other familiar songs but cinemas would also allow them
to play tangos because they were free to improvise. On the other hand, some
functions like private society parties might prohibit them from playing any
tangos at all. So it was not uncommon for tango musicians to be versatile. Modern
tango CDs are a little misleading in that they are compilations of selected
tangos and can span many years, where in reality an orchestra might have had
other types of songs on their albums. Not to say that some weren't exclusively
tango but it wasn't unusual to hear other music.

cheers,
Charles

Date: Mon, 22 Dec 2003 23:49:31 +0100
From: Andy <andy.ungureanu@T-ONLINE.DE>
Subject: Re: "Is Isla de Capri" a foxtrot?

Oleh Kovalchuke wrote:

>
> The questions I am curious about are these:
> Is "Isla de Capri" a tango or a foxtrot? Please elaborate.

on Todo Tango ( https://www.todotango.com/ ) it is declared as:
Isla de Capri
Tango-Foxtrot
Mzsica: Will Grosz
Letra: Angel del Valle

> If it is a foxtrot what is significance of this revelation to dancing
> tango
> to "Isla de Capri"?

If you listen to the rythm it'simpler to dance slow foxtrot steps, but
slow tango is also OK. If you cannot dance foxtrot, you can't hear it,
and there it's no revelation. But if you can, you can doublestep at the
right moment.

Andy

Date: Wed, 24 Dec 2003 06:29:00 -0800
From: Larry Gmucs <gmucs@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Re: foxtrot

> Modern
> tango CDs are a little misleading in that they are
> compilations of selected
> tangos and can span many years, where in reality an
> orchestra might have had
> other types of songs on their albums. Not to say
> that some weren't exclusively
> tango but it wasn't unusual to hear other music.
>
> cheers,
> Charles

I don't suspect that albums were that common for small
orchestras in the early days....

Date: Wed, 24 Dec 2003 10:23:11 EST
From: Crrtango@AOL.COM
Subject: foxtrot

gmucs wrote:

"I don't suspect that albums were that common for small
orchestras in the early days...."

Actually I should have distinguished, Yes earlier tangos were almost
exclusively single recordings. Even so they would make single records of other types
of music. Not sure when albums of more than one song appeared in Buenos Aires,
probably late forties? I would venture that they appeared not long after here
since RCA Victor had a studio there for many years. (Anyone know this?) But
the fact remains that the orchestras would play other types of music, both in
the recording studio and at some dances.

Cheers,
Charles