Mi noche triste

"Mi noche triste" ('My sad night') was the first tango the singer Carlos Gardel recorded. Lyrics were written by Pascual Contursi and the music by Samuel Castriota. In 1951 it was the basis of a film; Mi noche triste.

History

The score´s title page of Mi noche triste

Composed in 1915 by Samuel Castriota (1885–1932) as an instrumental tango in Buenos Aires, Argentina. But soon after, Pascual Contursi (1888–1932) in Montevideo, Uruguay wrote the lyrics without composer permission. Carlos Gardel heard that song and performed it in Buenos Aires on January 3, 1917 at the Esmeralda Theater. It was the first time a tango had lyrics to be sung with it. Gardel first recorded this song with Jose Ricardo on guitar, on the Odeon label in (1917). Gardel re-recorded it with Odeon in April 1930. Gardel helped to reach an agreement between Contursi and Castriota about a copyright controversy.

With Mi Noche Triste, the birth of sentimental tango took place. Nostalgic, melodramatic, sad, the new lyrics and the music that was created for them, embodied Buenos Aires and its people. Contursi wrote a melodramatic story that rejected lovers could identify with.

External links

• Todo Tango Library