Reinventing the Tango: A Comparative Analysis of Matos Rodríguez’s La Cumparsita and Piazzolla’s Otoño Porteño

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to provide a comparative analysis of La Cumparsita by Gerardo Matos Rodríguez and Otoño Porteño by Astor Piazzolla to demonstrate how the latter composer varies traditional tango rhythmic units, while including elements from jazz and Western art music in the framework of a traditional tango dance. This results in the creation of a new hybrid genre, Nuevo Tango, ultimately allowing Piazzolla to leave a personal imprint on the rich history of the tango. The comparison focuses on instrumentation, form, harmonic structures, and rhythmic structures. In order to analyse rhythmic structures, I borrow Harald Krebs’s analytical model, which outlines criteria for the interaction of metrical layers, and combine these metrical layers with rhythmic units rooted in the tango tradition.