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In 2003, I first published this compilation of recordings by Juan D'Arienzo. A long time ago, Youtube didn't even exist, remember... ?.
I am not a discographer myself: I heard Golden Age tango recordings for the first time about 20 years after the death of D'Arienzo and I live 10000 km away from the action scene. I wasn't part of the history and live too far away to have access to original documents. Therefore my role was no other than harvesting data that had been collected by others. Nevertheless, bringing together all those data in a systematic and accessible format seemed useful to some of you.
After all those years, the time had come for a major update. This is what changed:
 I hope that, generally, navigation is more comfortable. There are now direct links between the alphabetical index and the chronologically ordered recordings (not just, roughly, by 5-year periods - as it was before)
Footnote-style notes have been moved next to the recordings (at the cost of some repetitions). Many notes which were no longer considered relevant have been removed. Others were added.
Where available, record numbers have been added so that you can see which recordings were edited together (especially for 78 rpm records). In the beginning (at least for the Víctor years) this is straight-forward: 2 themes recorded together on the same day were also edited together. Later, from the 40s on, records may combine titles from different sessions.
From the 50s on, many reeditions appear and it becomes increasingly difficult to determine which one may be original. From the 60s on - the long play record era - this is virtually impossible (at least for me) as recordings where edited in different formats: LP, EP, simples, 45 rpm etc... From the 60s on, I have focused on what appeared to me as the original LP edition - very often a mix of recent recordings with older ones (which may have been edited earlier in another format). In the transition period (50s to 60s) the absence of a record number may indicate that it remained unedited (often this will be obvious from an accompanying note) but it does not exclude that it was included on some compilation LP.
 In spite of minor updates, some inaccuracies and typing errors still remained which have been fixed. Also more cross-references have been added to the alphabetical table. A "difference" list between the previous an the updated version, based on the alphabetical table, has been provided here.

Some inaccuracies (for which I had already warned in the first edition) have been fixed, I can't guarantee that none remain (hopefully not too many).
Often you will find that the authors on the original 78 rpm record label, LP reeditions, the score, the modern CD edition and SADAIC deviate from each other, not always plain errors but attributable to spelling differences, the use of pseudonyms, the inclusion of text writers for instrumental pieces and so on.
As a rule of thumb I used the following preferences
- first 78 rpm record label where available
- then long play record labels where available
- as a last resort: scores, modern CD editions, SADAIC
The rule is used for content, not for form. I saw little use in citing an unusual spelling (e.g. Buccino instead of Bucino) and then explain it away in a note. Another good example is author Héctor A. Bello Schmitt: some sources shorten it to Bello and those who don't use about every imaginably - or unimaginably - way to spell Schmitt. It seemed more convenient to replace them all with one designation, rather than have a repeated series of (less than interesting) notes.
Even if I have ignored some of the nitty-picky details, be assured: if I feel there is a story behind them I will not withhold it.

In relation to pseudonyms, I will provide a list (in preparation) that you may wish to consult before reporting an error (which you are still encouraged to do).
 To spice up the dull tables, I have added some graphics (here and there collected over the years from different places on the web). Some links to relevant Youtube videos have also been added - thanks to the uploaders - without the ambition of indexing everything that is available there, we have fairly good search engines for that.

Johan, 06-01-2011

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Updates
2012-11-01: note added about the difference between the 1951 and 1970 editions of Paciencia - note on the orchestra in Japan updated
2012-12-12: list of Long Play Records and their content added
2013-12-26: update on the Raquel Notar recordings

Summary - The obligatory statistics...

In the first version I totalled 1007 recordings. I have seen that same number appear elsewhere - I assume I am to blame for that.
But every number has its uncertainty... more work may reduce it, but it will never completely disappear.

The numbers stated here are the number of recordings listed on these pages. Some may still be missing, others may proove to not exist - in spite of being documented somewhere - so almost every number of some size should be read as "...give or take a few".

Things that may be mentioned but that are not included in the stats: radio recordings (tomas radiales) and movie sound tracks (bandas sonoras). We focus on studio recordings.

The stats table has now been split into 2 sections.

1) Recordings of the D'Arienzo orchestra
Singer
Label
First rec.
Last rec.
Number of
recordings
  
Carlos Dante
Electra
1928
1928
31
  
Francisco Fiorentino
Electra
1929
1929
10
 For two of them, the contribution of Fiorentino is disputed
Walter Cabral
Víctor
14-01-36
09-06-36
4
   
Enrique Carbel
Víctor
 29-10-37 29-10-37 1
  
Alberto Echagüe
Víctor
 04-01-38 30-01-75 133 + 10 duos  
AE1
04-01-38 22-11-39 27
  
AE2
07-07-44 13-03-57 91 + 9 duos  
AE3
27-08-68 30-01-75 15 + 1 duo  
Alberto Reynal Víctor 12-04-40 29-04-42 16    
Carlos Casares Víctor 08-08-40 09-10-40 3  
Héctor Mauré Víctor 12-12-40 21-07-44 50  
Juan Carlos Lamas Víctor 24-09-42 27-12-43 11  
Armando Laborde Víctor 26-12-44 11-12-74 124 + 21 duos  
AL1
26-12-44 15-05-50 34 + 9 duos
  
AL2
13-08-52 13-03-57 43  
AL3
30-06-64 11-12-74 47 + 12 duos  
Roberto Lemos
Víctor
28-09-50
27-12-51
7
   
Libertad Lamarque Víctor 10-12-56 10-12-56 2
  
Jorge Valdez Víctor 08-05-57 18-11-64 103 + 13 duos  
Mario Bustos Víctor 08-05-57 26-11-59 36 + 1 duo  
Horacio Palma Víctor 27-06-60 15-08-63 32 + 8 duos  
Antonio Prieto Víctor 25-07-61 25-07-61 2  
Héctor Millán Víctor 27-09-62 16-09-63 7 + 2 duos  
Osvaldo Ramos Víctor 11-08-65 30-01-75 58 + 9 duos  
Mercedes Serrano Víctor 20-12-71 20-12-71 2
  
(Instrumental) Electra 1928 1928 2
  
(Instrumental) Víctor 02-07-35 30-01-75 342  
 
 
 
 
 
 
Total  
 
 
1008  

-1
 One Raquel Notar recording moved to the next table
-1
 An uncorfirmed second recording of "El Africano" in 1969 - which was already marked as very doubtful for a long time - now permanently removed
+1
 Possibly a new recording with Jorge Valdez (confirmation pending): Adios Mi Vida, Adios 
+2
 Two new instrumental versions: Viento Sur , Con Alma De Tango 

About the 2 new instrumentals: one may argue that they should not be counted as they are nearly indistinguishable versions of the ones eventually published, which - circumstantially (according to the recording habits of the fifties) - were recorded on a different day. We don't count multiple recordings on the same day from the thirties or forties (which had their own recording habits) - a choice imposed by the lack of sufficient data.

On the other hand, the two versions of Don Esteban are still counted as 1 as all details have not yet been elucidated. If you feel uncomfortable with that, feel free to adjust the count accordingly.

2) The D'Arienzo orchestra accompanying solistas...
Singer
Label
First rec.
Last rec.
Number of
recordings
Carlos Dante
Electra
1928
1928
4
  
Raquel Notar
Electra
1928
1929
2?

+4
 In the previous version the 4 Dante-solista recordings were mentioned, but not counted, as there was only one reference for them. Now that the existence of at least 1 recording has been demonstrated, it becomes more acceptable to include them.
+1
 Raquel Notar recordings (yes, I have changed my mind)  - see also a recent update

Should these be included ? Again, this is a matter of choice... For the Orquesta Típica Víctor the convention seems to be to not include similar recordings. There are many recordings where "a casa Víctor" orchestra accompanies the solistas Alberto Gomez, Mercedes Simone and others... In the discographies of R.G. Miglio, the accompaniment is invariably described as the Orquesta Típica Víctor although on the record labels the designation is simply con orquesta. Traditionally, these recordings - as opposed to the versions with estribillistas - are not included in the Orquesta Típica Víctor discography.

In the case of D'Arienzo, similar recordings are far less numerous and one may choose to include them anyway. In that case, the grand total is now 1015 1014 - remember - give or take a few...

In the liner notes of one of the "70 Años" CD's  we can read:

"... discografia, compuesto por 963 temas editados y 32 ineditos, segun registros oficiales..."

The number 995 (963+32) seems low, so we may have to add the Electra recordings ? (the "70 Años" series is a Sony BMG production, based on the RCA Víctor catalog).
If we do, we get a total of possibly 1045 !!!
I guess that the registros oficiales refer to the Víctor studio logs. We will have to wait for someone with access to them to get the  picture complete.

A few candidates as missing recordings ? The recordings are mentioned on music sheet covers, but - to the best of my knowledge - their existence has never been demonstrated (from ¿Discos Perdidos o Fantasmas ?):



Borrá... y Apunta de Nuevo

Corazón Que Me Maltratas

Es Verdad Que Quiero a Otra


1928-1929    1935-1939    1940-1944    1945-1949    1950-1954    1955-1959    1960-1964    1965-1969    1970-1975

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