Horacio Ferrer facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Horacio Arturo Ferrer
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Horacio Ferrer in 2013
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| Background information | |
| Born | June 2, 1933 Montevideo, Uruguay |
| Died | December 21, 2014 (aged 81) Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Genres | Nuevo tango |
| Occupation(s) | Poet, lyricist, broadcaster and reciter |
Horacio Ferrer (born June 2, 1933 – died December 21, 2014) was a talented poet, radio host, and writer of tango songs. He was from Uruguay and later became an Argentine citizen. He is especially famous for writing the words (lyrics) for many tangos by the well-known composer Astor Piazzolla. Some of their most famous songs include Balada para un loco and Chiquilín de Bachín.
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About Horacio Ferrer
Horacio Ferrer was born in Montevideo, Uruguay. His family was very educated. His father, Horacio Ferrer Perez, was a history professor. His mother, Alicia Escurra Francini, spoke four languages! Horacio was very close to his brother, Eduardo, and even wrote some songs for him.
His family often visited his uncle in Buenos Aires, Argentina. There, Horacio learned to play tango songs on the guitar by listening carefully. His uncle also showed him the exciting nightlife of the city.
Horacio studied architecture and engineering for eight years, but he never finished his degree.
His Start in Tango
In the 1950s, when Horacio was in his early twenties, he helped with a weekly radio show in Montevideo. This show, called Seleccion de Tangos, helped share new tango music. From this show, he started El Club de la Guardia Nueva in Buenos Aires in 1954. This club organized concerts for musicians who were changing tango music. These musicians included Aníbal Troilo, Horacio Salgán, and especially Astor Piazzolla with his famous Octeto Buenos Aires band.
Horacio first met Astor Piazzolla in 1955. This meeting was a very important moment in Horacio's life.
For seven years, Horacio edited and directed a magazine called Tangueando. During this time, he was also writing tangos and poems, but they were not published yet. Between 1956 and 1959, he learned to play the bandoneon, which is a type of accordion often used in tango music. He even joined a small tango orchestra as a bandoneon player.
In 1959, he published his first book, El Tango: su historia y evolución (The Tango: Its History and Evolution). Until 1967, he hosted radio shows about the history of tango for a Uruguayan radio station called Sodre.
After leaving his architecture studies, he worked as an editor for a newspaper in Montevideo. His career as a tango lyricist began when the famous Argentine bandoneon player Aníbal Troilo asked him to write words for Piazzolla's tango La última grela.
Working with Astor Piazzolla
In 1967, Horacio wrote a collection of poems called Romancero canyengue. Astor Piazzolla heard a recording of Horacio reading these poems with a guitarist. Piazzolla was so impressed that he asked Horacio to work with him on an operetta (a short opera) called María de Buenos Aires.
María de Buenos Aires was first performed in 1968 in Buenos Aires. Piazzolla led a ten-piece orchestra, and singers Héctor de Rosas and Amelita Baltar performed. Horacio Ferrer himself was a reciter in the show, playing the role of El Duende (The Goblin).
Piazzolla and Ferrer then started writing many tangos together. These songs often had strong social messages. Two well-known examples are Chiquilín de Bachín and Juanito Laguna ayuda a su madre.
In 1969, they created a series of tangos that were like ballads. One of the most famous is Balada para un loco (Ballad for a Madman). This song was first performed by singer Amelita Baltar at the Buenos Aires Tango Festival. Even though the performance caused some debate between fans of traditional tango and those who liked the new nuevo tango style, the song quickly became a huge hit. It is still one of the most famous songs about Buenos Aires. Other songs they wrote together include Canción de las venusinas, La bicicleta blanca, and Fábula para Gardel. These were all part of their album Astor Piazzolla y Horacio Ferrer en persona.
Later Works and Legacy
In 1970, Horacio Ferrer wrote El Libro del Tango. Arte Popular de Buenos Aires (The Book of Tango. Popular Art of Buenos Aires). In 1980, he expanded it into a huge three-volume edition with over two thousand pages! This book is one of the most detailed studies of tango and is a very important reference for anyone studying the music.
He also worked with many other famous tango musicians, such as Roberto Grela, Leopoldo Federico, and Paul Garello. With Horacio Salgán, he composed the Oratorio Carlos Gardel in 1975. The next year, he wrote lyrics for songs with other legends like Julio De Caro, Pedro Laurenz, Armando Pontier, Osvaldo Pugliese, and Aníbal Troilo. Horacio Ferrer also wrote the lyrics for other tangos like Balada para mi muerte, El gordo triste (which Piazzolla wrote as a tribute to Aníbal Troilo), and El hombrecito blanco.
In 1983, Horacio became an Argentine citizen. From 1990, he was the president of the National Tango Academy in Argentina, which he helped to found.
Death
Horacio Ferrer passed away on December 21, 2014, in Buenos Aires. His funeral was held in the city legislature building. He was then cremated, and his ashes were scattered on the Rio de la Plata.
Lyrics to Music by Piazzolla
Horacio Ferrer wrote the words for many songs composed by Astor Piazzolla. Here are some of them:
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♯ from the operetta María de Buenos Aires
Lyrics to Music by Others
Horacio Ferrer also wrote lyrics for songs by many other composers:
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See also
In Spanish: Horacio Ferrer para niños
Discography
- Astor Piazzolla y Horacio Ferrer en persona (album recorded with Astor Piazzolla, 1970)
Books and Poetry
- El Tango: su historia y evolución, 1959.
- Romancero canyengue (a collection of poems, 1967)
- El Libro del Tango. Arte Popular de Buenos Aires (a huge collection of essays about tango in 3 volumes, 1970 and 1980)
- Presagio (a sonnet, a short poem, with watercolours by Josefina Robirosa, 1990)
