Installment of 7/21/2024
Cascabelito
Tango, 1924
Music: José Bohr
Lyrics: Juan Andrés Caruso
Key: C minor
Meter: 2/4
Canta Roberto Rufino / Orquesta Carlos Di Sarli
6-6-1941 Buenos Aires RCA-Victor 39320 59511
Total time: 2’30”
Lyrics
The song Cascabelito (Little Jingle Bell) is about a man who is enchanted by a mysterious and flirtatious young woman whom he meets at a masquerade ball; the song title, lyrics, and the sheet music cover page all reference the little jingle bells that young ladies sewed sometimes sewed in the hems of their skirts, which jingled as they moved. The lyrics (below) are from TodoTango.com; the translation is from TangoDecoder.Wordpress.com.
Musical Phrasing and Structure
The musical phrasing and timings given below follow Carlos DiSarli’s beloved recording of 1941. Please refer to the original sheet music (borrowed from TodoTango.com), which I have marked with sections and phrases that correspond to Di Sarli’s arrangement. At least seven other orchestras recorded this song between 1941 and 1985, each with its own version. The timings I provide in the analysis may differ ever so slightly, depending on which version of the recording to which you have access.
Di Sarli’s arrangement includes the first two of the song’s three verses. As is typical for tango songs of the period, it comprises two sections, A and B, both of which are made up of 2 eight-measure phrases (1a and 1b) and (2a and 2b), respectively. The two phrases are parallel, meaning that they both begin with the same music, but the second phrase has a more final sounding conclusion (cadence), after which the song precedes to the second (B) section. The B section is constructed similarly.
Di Sarli’s arrangement creates the form ABABB out of the original song’s simple AB structure. He omits the song’s original 4 measure introduction. The melody in the first A section is played by the strings. In the first B section, the bandoneons play the melody in the first half of each phrase (2a and 2b), and are answered by the strings in the second half. We hear sections A and B again, now with the singer performing verses 1 and 2. As you can see from the analyis, each verse takes up two full phrases. Section B is recapped as an instrumental as it was at the beginning, with the bandoneons passing the melody to the strings in each phrase.
Musical Phrasing in Di Sarli’s recording
Section A
00:00 Phrase 1a (4+4) – instrumental (strings have melody)
00:15 Phrase 2b (4+4) – instrumental (strings have melody)
Section B
00:29 Phrase 1a (4+4) – instrumental (bando melody over pizzicato strings / strings have melody)
00:44 Phrase 2b (4+4) – instrumental (bando melody over pizzicato strings / strings have melody)
Section A
00:59 Phrase 1a (4+4) – voice (Verse 1)
01:15 Phrase 2b (4+4) – voice
Section B
01:30 Phrase 1a (4+4) – voice (Verse 2)
01:45 Phrase 2b (4+4) – voice
Section B repeated
01:59 Phrase 1a (4+4) – instrumental (bandos / strings)
02:14 Phrase 2b (4+4) – instrumental (bandos / strings)
