This week's tanda is an elegant, lyrical set by Carlos di Sarli with Jorge Durán singing. I have been playing a lot of Di Sarli and Durán lately and Un Tango y Nada Más is one of my favorite tangos to dance to. These tangos have a solid rhythm and lots of drama. They are great for taking your time, dancing slowly and also for simple walking.

Listen to this Tanda

This week's tanda is an elegant set by the Carlos di Sarli with Alberto Podestá singing.

Listen to this Tanda

This week's traditional tanda is an elegant and dramatic set of tangos by Carlos di Sarli. The last few weeks, we have focused on more rhythmic tangos, so this week I wanted to slow things down. These are slightly after the Golden Age of Tango, but still very danceable. I love all of these songs, but Indio Manso and Hasta Siempre Amor are two of my all time favorite tangos. It is unusual to mix instrumental tangos with tangos with singing in the same tanda, but like any rule it is there to be broken in the right circumstances. Also, the other tangos sung by Horacio Casares are not so good for dancing, so it would be impossible to make a tanda of tangos with him singing.

Listen to this Tanda

• More Carlos di Sarli Tangos

This weeks traditional tanda is a collection of classic tangos by Carlos di Sarli with Roberto Rufino singing.

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• More Tandas by Carlos di Sarli

Tanda of the Week

This weeks tanda is a classic golden age tanda by Carlos di Sarli with Alberto Podestá singing. It demonstrates my belief that tandas should be homogeneous in style and flow. Each song should flow into the next without a strong shift in tempo, this helps dancers develop rhythm and a connection to the music which grows throughout tanda.

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More about Carlos di Sarli:

• Carlos di Sarli Biography
• Carlos di Sarli Instrumental Tandas
• Carlos di Sarli Tandas with Singers

This is a collection of Carlos di Sarli Tandas with singers. My favorite tandas are highlighted.

Learn more about Carlos di Sarli on our Tango Orchestra Biographies page.

This is a collection of Carlos di Sarli Tandas. My favorite tandas are highlighted.

Learn more about Carlos di Sarli on our Tango Orchestra Biographies page.

Creating great tandas is an art form. Below are some of my favorite tandas. Feel free to use them or just reference them for new ideas and inspiration. I am always interested in feedback and comments, so feel free to contact me at clint@tangology101.com.

Beautiful and elegant performance by Dante Sanchez y Angelica Avalos dancing at the Sunderland Milonga in Buenos Aires. They are dancing to "El Ingeniero" by Carlos di Sarli

Carlos di Sarli (January 7, 1903 – January 12, 1960) was an Argentine tango musician, orchestra leader, composer and pianist. He was born in the town of Bahía Blanca and later wrote one of the most famous tangos of all time of the same name. He composed his first tango in 1919, "Meditación" which was never recorded.

In 1923, he moved to Buenos Aires and started his career playing in Osvaldo Fresedo's orchestra. By 1927, di Sarli started his first sextet. He paid homage to Fresedo by composing the song, "Milonguero Viejo" and dedicating it to Fresedo.

He is known for his smooth, clean-sound and yet powerful arrangements. His songs are often played in Tango classes and at Milongas because of their easy, danceable rhythm while being complex enough for advanced dancers to enjoy. He respected both the melody and the rhythm of Tango. His music has also been described as lyrical and playful.

The rhythms of an orchestra tell dancers how to move. d'Arienzo inspires you to make flashy figures. [But] dancing to di Sarli, you'll walk and you'll stop, making elegant pauses, because the sound of di Sarli is "downtown." - Néstor Fernández

The peak of his career was in the 1940s, but he was always well respected and popular until his death in 1960 as demonstrated by his nickname, "El Señor del Tango" (The Lord of Tango). He worked with some of the greatest voices of Tango: Roberto Rufino, Alberto Podestá, Jorge Durán, Oscar Serpa and Carlos Acuña.

"Di Sarli always avoided the extremes of the evocative traditional tango and the avant-garde, preferring to forge his own style without concession to the fashions of the day."

Popular Recordings

Learn more about Carlos di Sarli:

• Clint's Favorite di Sarli Tandas
• TODO Tango
• Tango.Info