RELEASE NOTES TODOS DE LUCIO DEMARE 1938-1968
The present restoration project provides the complete 79 recordings of Lucio Demare and his orchestra made at the Odeon, Columbia, Pampa and Disco TK labels in Buenos Aires between 1938 and 1956. We also include two vinyl records: the Music-Hall record from 1959 containing four recordings with the singer Tania and the last solo record of Lucio Demare containing 14 titles issued in 1968 under the Disc Jockey label.
The Art-Fono picture record with two titles was still missing when we issued this album but we still hope to find it later for addition to the collection. The decorative aspect of the picture disc, certainly makes it quite rare today. With this in mind the complete shellac production of the Lucio Demare orchestra sums up to 79 sides. One might wonder why an odd total? 8065-A was issued twice, once in May 1943 and other time in September of the same year. The initial issue has the matrix number 12757 and the title Tal vez será mí alcohol, the reissued version has the same record number but the matrix number 13130. It’s the censored version with Manzi’s modified lyrics, stripped out Lunfardo, and the new title Tal vez será su voz. The old title is still mentioned on the record as a subtitle. We have included both recordings in our release.
The transfer work was mainly done in Brussels and is from our own collection. The Disco TK record with Barrio de tango and Sentimiento tanguero has been contributed by the collector and tango researcher Boris Puga and transferred in our mini studio in Montevideo.
ODEON, COLUMBIA, PAMPA – OTHERS
The Lucio Demare típica started to record under the Odeon label in 1938 where it produced two records. After these four initial sides, the production came to a stop and took up again only in the end of 1941. The major part of the recordings of the orchestra was made between October 1941 and June 1945. Sadly, in the second part of the 1940s there are no recordings. Recordings resume only in September 1950 under the Columbia label which was a subsidiary of Odeon. The output during this period was very low: one or two records per year. There are only six orchestral recordings with Columbia. The other four Columbia recordings are piano solos. The Pampa record from 1953 is also composed of two solo de piano recordings (note: Columbia, Pampa had a common matrix scheme).
In 1953 Lucio Demare definitively quit all Odeon subsidiaries and, after another creative pause, together with his orchestra and the singer Armando Garrido, produced a single 78-rpm picture disc with Art-Fono, a label we know very little about. The titles are the instrumental Milonguero viejo and Dónde? It’s the only record not included in the present release. The last 78-rpm shellac record by Lucio Demare and his orchestra came out on the Disco TK label. In 1959, a 7’’ EP vinyl was produced on which the Demare orchestra is accompanying the soloist Tania. It was released under the Music-Hall label. With this record the studio recordings of Lucio Demare’s orchestra come to an end. The last record of Lucio Demare was issued in 1968 and contains only piano solo recordings, one side only with his own compositions.
PITCH
We have analysed all recordings of the present album individually to determine the exact speed for our transfers that corresponds with the piano tuned to A=435Hz or later A=440Hz and A=442Hz. The pitch information is extremely important for us and also for you so you can enjoy these recordings in the intended tonality and tempo.
As you might remember from our Pedro Laurenz release (TTT5), we made the interesting finding that Odeon retuned all of their orchestras to the new A=440Hz concert pitch very late in the 1940s, between December 1943 and January 1944 to be precise. While transferring the complete recordings of Lucio Demare we can now confirm our first findings. Also the 1950s recordings remain in A=440Hz. On some shellac recordings one can hear in the end, that the recorder was stopped before the very last note completely vanished. When it happens it gives a wow effect and is indeed part of the recording. On the 1968 LP we had a deviation which consistently was a little bit under 442Hz on all tracks. These recordings are therefore transferred at the afinación brillante at A=442Hz.
Here is what we wrote in the Pedro Laurenz release notes: As an interesting fact we can see on the first Lucio Demare Odeon record La racha/Telón the mention «Grabado con piano Bechstein», this mention can also be found on recordings of other Odeon orchestras like the one of Francisco Canaro. We think these were grand pianos with a fuller sound and maybe marked the end of the upright piano era in tango recordings. If Odeon imported Bechstein grand pianos from Berlin in 1938, it might be understandable that they have not wanted to do an invasive retuning just shortly after this expensive acquisition. On Lucio Demare’s recordings we have found that the A=435 concert pitch lasted until the recording of En un rincón/Luna made on 21.12.1943. The first A=440 recording, El barco María, dates from 12.1.1944. This is around five and a half years after the arrival of the Bechstein pianos.
All Odeon records prior to December 1943 are in A=435Hz concert pitch! As opposed to RCA Victor where the retuning of orchestras happened over the course of several years and being finished by the end of 1939, the Odeon label has a clear general turning point situated in December 1943 from where all their orchestras appeared to be retuned to A=440Hz.
PHONO PREAMPLIFICATION
Most of the Demare shellac recordings during the Odeon/Columbia/Pampa period share mostly the same preamplification schemes. The last LP record with the solo de piano tends more towards RIAA which also is another indication that it is most likely from the late 1960s.
DISCOGRAPHY
As a starting point we used the discography contained on the Club de Tango (CdT) CD leaflets which can be consulted in Bernhard Gehberger’s very complete and immensely useful tango research database at tango-dj.at. In our improved discography we added fresh information directly contained on the original records like notes, matrix and take numbers. We corrected some incorrect recording dates on the Disco TK. TK records contain the recording year in the matrix number. There was also a wrong issue date for the last LP published by Disc Jockey which was most likely published in 1968 and not in 1957. The record is mentioned in the news section of the 1968 Catalogo Discos Long-Play.
FORMATS
This edition is available in the formats: 24bit-96kHz both ALAC and FLAC, 16bit-44.1kHz CD quality both AIFF and FLAC and as 320kbps CBR MP3. The files originate all from our high resolution digital master and therefore should all sound the same. The only difference is bit depth, sampling rate and codec.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Boris Puga, Montevideo
For giving us access to his record collection.
Ruben Castaldi, Montevideo
For contributing some very rare shellac records and his continuous and important feedback and support for the project.
Age Akkerman, Amsterdam
For the discussions, crosschecks and help during
our in-depth Odeon pitch analysis.
Omar Facelli, Montevideo
For his expertise in 78-rpm records and
operating our mini transfer studio in Montevideo.
