Le tango à Tanguy
Le tango du sombre héros
Tango russe
“Pleasing dances aimed at intermediate guitarists”
If the number of sheet music and recordings I’ve received for review over the past several years are any indication, the tango fad is seemingly not going away. These three tangos by Belgian guitarist Yves Carlin appear to be aimed at the intermediate player, which gives the grade 4-5 student a chance at playing a style that is often composed/arranged for much highergrade players. The three tangos are arranged in order of difficulty, beginning with Le Tango a Tanguy, a moderate-tempo piece with a catchy and memorable melodic line. Next cornes Le Tango du Sombre Heros, which definitely sounds more like the prototypical tango due to the staccato accompaniment connecting the small fragments of melody together. Finally there is Tango Russe, which begins with a stop-start rhythmic motif that also immediately conjures up the traditional tango atmosphere. After a brief spell of 16th-note scales, there comes a change of mood à la Piazzolla, in which a slower, Iengthy lyrical section emerges and then moves into very high positions, before a finale reminiscent of the earlier opening section brings things to an end. lt’s a very nice presentation, and one that would most likely go down well with students.
-Steve Marsh (Classical Guitar Magazine)
