History of Tango – Part

5: The appearance of
the bandoneon in tango
Written by Marcelo Solis on March 5, 2016. Posted in History of Tango. 5
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During the 1870s arrives to Buenos Aires a very particular immigrant:

the bandoneon.
Tango was in its infancy, as well as this new instrument, which was
recently invented in 1846 in Germany by Heinrich Band, according to
some versions, or Carl F. Zimmerman, according to others. None had
patented it.
The bandoneon is a musical instrument that resulted from the
evolution on the concertina, invented in 1830, inspired in the
accordion, and conceived as a portable version of the harmonium.
It is of the hand-held bellows-driven free-reed category, sometimes
called squeezeboxes. The sound is produced as air flows past the
vibrating reeds mounted in a frame.
The oldest known musical instrument that uses this method is the
Cheng, a “mouth organ”, already used in China on 700 AC, made of
several bamboo canes (13 to 36) which had inside the vibrating
membranes and a gourd as response box. The air flow was produced
by blowing on it, like a flute.
During the 1800s this principle of production of sound was known in
Europe, from which derived many diverse instruments, some in use
still today, like the harmonica, the harmonium, the accordions and the
concertinas, which is considered the immediate ancestor of the
bandoneon.
Carl Friedrich Uhlig (1789-1874) created the concertina in 1839,
inspired in the accordion of the Viennese Cyrill Demian (1772-1847),
and as an improvement of it.
The first concertina of Uhlig had 5 buttons on each side, for higher
pitch notes destined to the melody on the right, and for lower pitch or
basses on the left. This concertina produced 2 different notes per
button, one opening and a different one closing the instrument,
obtaining in this way 20 different tones. This instrument already had
the seeds of what would become one day the bandoneon of tango.

The goal of Uhlig was to attain an instrument that, eliminating the

difficulties of transportation of the harmonium, had a similar sonority
that perfectly amalgamates with the string instruments, allowing its
integration into the chamber music ensembles and not constraining it
to the interpretation of popular music. That is why he continues
improving it.
In 1854 Uhlig presented his creation at the Industrial Exposition of
Munich, receiving a medal of Honor.
These instruments were highly popular, although they did not have the
destiny desired

by its creator, as they were mostly adopted by farmers and workers

who began to execute it by ear or with a notation system using the
small numbers written on each button.
Later, other luthiers continued adding buttons, until it reached 62.
In 1829, scientist and luthier Charles Wheatstone (1802-1875),
patented the English concertina. This instrument has hexagonal
resonance boxes, while in the Uhlig invention, called also German
concertina, they are squared. The bandoneon derives from the
German concertina.
According to some versions, Carl F. Zimmerman modified Uhlig’s
concertina, adding buttons and rearranging its disposition, creating
what became known as “Carlsfelder concertina” (derived from the
German city Carlsfeld, where Zimmerman lived and created his
concertina), in opposition to “Chemnitzer concertina” (derived from the
German city Chemnitz, where Uhlig lived and created his concertina).
Zimmerman later emigrated to USA, selling his factory to Ernst Louis
Arnold, another instrument maker that will be connected to the origins
of bandoneon.
In 1840, Heinrich Band, a musician from Carlsfeld, gets to know
Uhlig’s concertina in a visit to Chemnitz. He really likes the instrument,
but fell compeled to improve it. In 1843 he opens a musical instrument
shop in Carlsfeld, and in 1846 starts selling his improved version of
Uhlig’s concertina with 28 buttons that play two different tones each,
and a different arrangement in the disposition of the buttons. This is
the instruments that began to be referred as bandoneon, although
Heinrich Band considered it a concertina, and never patented it.
He later yet improved it up to produce models of 65 buttons with two
different sounds each. He also contributed to the diffusion of the
instrument with several transcriptions of piano works into bandoneon,
and composed valses and polkas to be payed with bandoneon,
although this information contradicts another version, which states that
Heinrich Band conceived his instrument to play sacred music.
Heinrich Band dies 39. His widow, Johana Sieburg, partnered with
Jaques Dupon in 1860 to continue the production of bandoneons.
Heinrich Band did not make the bandoneon himself. He designed it
and ordered its production from Carl F. Zimmerman.
Alfred Band, the first son of Heinrich and Johana, wrote one of the first
books related to bandoneon, with all the mayor and minor scales.
Ernst Louis Arnold, who bought Zimmerman’s factory, will became the
most prominent bandoneon producer. His son, Alfred Arnold, who
worked in the factory from his childhood, will eventually devise a
bandoneon of 71 buttons of two notes each. His version, called “AA”,
will become the preferred one by the Argentine tango musicians.
There are many different versions of the concertina and the
bandoneon. There are different button’s arrangements, as we saw
with the Carlsfelder and Chemnitzer concertinas, and in some models
each buttons plays only one note.
These could become confusing, so in 1921, Emil Schimild of Leipzig,
proposed the unification of all the buttons’ arrangements of
concertinas and bandoneons in one instrument. This proposition did
not prosper, but in 1924, it was agreed the unification for the button’s
arrangement for the bandoneon, with a model of 72 buttons producing
2 notes each (144 tones), although the model adopted by Argentine
tango musicians is the one of 71 buttons (142 notes), and Alfred
Arnold continued its production exclusively for them.
Alfred Arnold would take orders from Argentine tango players that
asked for the inclusion of more tones, and customize them.
After the Second World War, Alfred Arnold’s factory, which was located
in what became Eastern Germany, was expropriated, and ended the
production of bandoneons to become a diesel engine’s parts factory.
Arno Arnold, Alfred’s nephew, was able to scape from Eastern
Germany and opened a bandoneon production factory in Western
Germany in 1950, with the aid of Alfred’s former technician, Mr. Muller.
This factory closed after Arno’s death, in 1971.
Klaus Gutjahr, a bandoneon player graduated at the Bandoneon
School of Berlin University, started to build handcraft bandoneons in
1970. At the end of the 1990s, he partnered with Paul Fischer in the
Paul Fischer KG Company, a musical instrument manufacturer, set
about reviving the manufacture of bandoneons in conjunction with the
Eibenstock municipal authorities.  The Paul Fischer KG Company,
together with the Institute for the Manufacture of Musical Instruments
of Zwota, developed a 142 tone bandoneon in 2001.
The Bandonion and Concertina Factory Klingenthal is continuing the
tradition of the legendary “AA”  instruments and thereby the
construction of bandoneons at Carlfeld.  The materials and
construction used correspond to the legendary “AA” instruments.
 Using historic instruments, experiments are being carried out to test
the acoustic, material and mechanical parameters in conjunction with
the Institute for the Manufacture of Musical Instruments of Zwota.  The
manufacturing process have been set up using these parameters and
this can be demonstrated by means of measurements. Because the
bandoneon was not patented, there are no information ever recorded
about the material used for its construction, like the precise alloys of
the metallic vibrating reeds, different for every note.
In Argentina, bandoneons were hand made by Humberto Bruñini,
resident of Bahía Blanca. After he passed away, his daughter Olga
continued with the tradition until herself passed away in 2005.
The first bandoneon player ever mentioned in Buenos Aires was
Tomas Moore, “el inglés” (the English man), although some said he
was Irish, who brought this instrument to Argentina in 1870.
A Brazilian man called Bartolo is also mentioned as the first to bring
this instrument to Buenos Aires.
Ruperto “el ciego” (the blind man) is mentioned as the first one to play
tangos with his bandoneon. He played in the proximity of the market
on Moreno street for alms.
Pedro Ávila and Domingo Santa Cruz (author of the famous tango
“Unión Cívica”) played the concertina until Tomas Moore presented
them his bandoneon.
José Santa Cruz, Domingo’s father, also switched from concertina to
bandoneon. He is regarded as playing military calls with a bandoneon
during the Paraguay’s war, but it is most probably that at that time he
played a concertina.
Pablo Romero, “el pardo” o “el negro” is regarded as one of the first to
play tangos with bandoneon, in the area of Palermo. Contradictory
versions mention him as either playing before or being a student of “el
pardo” Sebastián Ramos Mejía.
These bandoneons were a primitive version of 32 tones.
After 1880, when tango began to develop its definitive form, the most
recognized bandoneon players were:
Antonio Francisco Chiappe, born in Montevideo in 1867. His family
moved to Buenos Aires in 1870 to the neighborhood of Barracas,
where he later had a butcher shop. He also was a professional cart
driver, who became the president of the Association of Professional
Cart Drivers. He was a magnificent bandoneon player, who would
brag of his talent posting advertisings in the newspaper, challenging to
whoever wanted to bet money to who played better Waldteufel’s
waltzes, although he never made his living out of playing music.
He never played in other locations than family home parties.
He played with “El Pardo” Sebastián Ramos Mejía a primitive tango,
or “proto-tango”, “El Queco”, very popular in his time.
He also conducted several musical formations, from which it is
important to highlight one that foretells the “orquesta típica criolla” of
Vicente Greco. In this orchestra he counted with bandoneon, violin,
flute, clarinet, harmonium, two guitars and bass.
According to Enrique Cadícamo, in his poem “Poema al primer
bandoneonista”, the first bandoneon player of tango is “El Pardo”
Sebastián Ramos Mejía, but today is agreed the affirmation of the
historian of tango Roberto Selles that it was Antonio Chiappe.
“Vientos de principios de siglo
que hicieron girar las veletas
y silbaron en los pararrayos
de las residencias señoriales
de San Telmo, Flores y Belgrano.
Entonces el Pardo Sebastián Ramos Mejía
era primer bandoneón ciudadano
y cochero de tranvía
de la Compañía Buenos Aires y Belgrano.
El pardo Sebastián inauguró un siglo
con su bandoneón
cuando estaba en embrión
la ciudad feérica
y la calle Pueyrredón
era Centro América.
Primer fueye que encendió la luz
del tango, en las esquinas.
A su influjo
don Antonio Chiappe,
también bandoneonista,
se dió el lujo
de desafiar por medio de los diarios
al que mejor ejecutara
los valses de Waldteufeld,
extraordinarios…
El Pardo Sebastián
contagió su fervor
a los hermanos Santa Cruz
que actuaban en el cafe Atenas
de Canning y Santa Fe
donde se aplaudían
los tangos de Villoldo
-El choclo y Yunta brava-
que tanto apasionaban
a Aparicio, el caudillo, y al chino Andrés.
Sebastián Ramos Mejía,
decano de la facultad de bandoneón,
inauguraste un siglo
cuando estaba en embrión
la ciudad feérica
y la calle Pueyrredón
era Centro América.”
“Poema al primer bandoneonista”, Enrique Cadícamo.
“El Pardo” Sebastián Ramos Mejía was descendent of African slaves
and was “mayoral” (driver) of the tramways puled by horses, on the
line Buenos Aires-Belgrano.
He played in the Cafe Atenas of Ministro inglés (today Scalabrini Ortiz)
and Santa Fe. His bandoneon had 53 tones.
He is regarded as giving some bandoneon lessons to Vicente Greco.
The bandoneon was not immediately accepted by Argentine tango
musicians and dancers. The original formations of flute, violin and
guitar played a staccato, bright and fast rhythm. The bandoneon, with
its “legato”, with its low key notes, which were favorited by its players,
who would constantly insist to its German producers to add more low
key notes, seemed not belonging to tango. But in fact, it gave tango
what tango was missing until the integration of bandoneon, and the
bandoneon found the music it seemed to be created for.
The bandoneon, contrary to other instruments of tango, like the violin,
the flute, the guitar, the harp, or later, the piano, had no traditions to
refer to. It was a blank piece of paper in which anything could be
written yet. Neither it were maestros nor methods for it. Everything
had to be created from scratch.
Perhaps the similarities between its sound and the sound of the
organitos that disseminated tango all over, helped to its acceptance.

Juan Maglio “Pacho” was essential to the acceptance of bandoneon

as a musical instrument of tango.
Born in 1881, he started to learn to play bandoneon by watching his
father play it every day after work. He would pay attention to the finger
positions and then practice them secretly on his home’s roof.
He went to school until the age of 12, when he start to work, first in a
mechanic workshop, then as laborer in different activities, and then in
a brickyard.
At the age of 18 he decided to fully head into his vocation: music.
During the years of hard work he kept practicing, in order to stay in
shape for when the opportunity knocks. But still he had technical
issues to resolve, like developing a greater independence between
right and left hands, and he went in search of instruction to the more
experienced Domingo Santa Cruz. He improved notoriously, and from
his bandoneon of 35 buttons, moved successively to instruments of
45, 52, 65, 71 and at last, a customized bandoneon of 75 buttons.
His father called him “pazzo” (Italian word for crazy) in his childhood,
due to his restless character. His friends could not pronounce this
word, and called him “Pacho”.
He loved to make jokes. If you were in the area of Maldonado creek in
1918 and saw a ghost, it was Pacho, who wondered around every
night with a white bed sheet to have fun scaring the people that
passed by.
He dressed with sobriety and distinction, and he insisted to his
musicians to do the same.
He started playing as a professional at the beginning of the 1900s,
first in brothels and then in Cafés, until, doe to his rising prestige, he
was convened to play at the very famous Café La Paloma, in Palermo,
in 1910. It is important to clarify that the Palermo of that time was not
the same upper class neighborhood we know today. In those years it
was an area of “compadritos”.
Lots of people came to listen to Pacho there. The special rhythm of
Pacho’s interpretations of tangos brought many of the best dancers of
the time, like El Cachafáz, to listen, because it was not place to dance.
One night, a group of the audience from the neighborhood of Once,
more upper class than Palermo, took him in litters and carry him to
Café Garibotto, in San Luis and Pueyrredón.
There he later presented a quartet of bandoneon, flute, violin and 7
stringed guitar.
Around those years Pacho started to present his compositions:
“Armenonville”, “Un copetín” and “Quasi nada”.
He attracted so much people to his concerts, that the police began to
suspect that it was not only music what the Café offered to its
clientele, and one night they entered abruptly and arrested everybody,
clients, waiters, musicians, the owner and the cat… But they found
nothing.
In response, Pacho wrote his tango”Qué papelón!”.
In 1912 he started to record for Columbia. His success was so great
that the word “Pacho” became a synonym of “recordings”.
Read also:
History of Tango – Part 1
History of Tango – Part 2
History of Tango – Part 3
History of Tango – Part 4

Bibliography:
“Crónica general del tango”, José Gobello, Editorial
Fraterna, 1980.
“El tango”, Horacio Salas, Editorial Aguilar, 1996.
“Historia del tango – La Guardia Vieja”, Rubén Pesce,
Oscar del Priore, Silvestre Byron, Editorial Corregidor
1977.
“El tango, el gaucho y Buenos Aires”, Carlos Troncaro,
Editorial Argenta, 2009.
“El tango, el bandoneón y sus intérpretes”, Oscar Zucchi,
Ediciones Corregidor, 1998.
http://www.todotango.com/english/