Horacio Ferrer (June 2, 1933 – December 21, 2014) was a

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

an-

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, ...

poet, broadcaster, reciter and

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...

lyricist. He is particularly well known for having composed the lyrics for tangos by

Astor Piazzolla Astor Pantaleón Piazzolla (, ; March 11, 1921 – July 4, 1992) was an Argentine tango composer, bandoneon player, and arranger. His works revolutionized the traditional tango into a new style termed '' nuevo tango'', incorporating elements fro ...

, such as ''Balada para un loco'' and ''Chiquilín de Bachín''.

Biography

Ferrer was born in

Montevideo Montevideo () is the capital and largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . Montevideo is situated on the southern co ...

into an educated family, son of Horacio Ferrer Perez, a professor of history, and Alicia Escurra Francini, who was 11 years older than his father and spoke four languages. He had a close relationship with his brother, Eduardo, to whom he dedicated several of his lyrics. The family paid frequent visits to his mother's brother in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

, where Ferrer learnt to play tangos on the guitar by ear. Later his uncle would introduce him to the bohemian nightlife of the city. He studied architecture and engineering for eight years but never graduated. In the 1950s, when he was in his early 20s, he helped to produce the weekly radio programme ''Seleccion de Tangos in Montevideo'', which aimed to promote new developments in tango. Out of the programme grew ''El Club de la Guardia Nueva'' which he founded in Buenos Aires in 1954 to organise concerts in Montevideo for those musicians who were helping to revolutionise tango, such as

Aníbal Troilo Aníbal Carmelo Troilo (11 July 1914 – 18 May 1975), also known as Pichuco, was an Argentine tango musician. Troilo was a bandoneon player, composer, arranger, and bandleader in Argentina. His orquesta típica was among the most popular with ...

Horacio Salgán Horacio Adolfo Salgán (June 15, 1916 – August 19, 2016) was an Argentine tango musician. He was born in Buenos Aires to an established Afro-Argentine family. Some of Salgán's most well-known compositions include ''Del 1 al 5 (Días de pago)'' ...

and particularly

and his famous

Octeto Buenos Aires The Octeto Buenos Aires was a legendary tango group formed in 1955 by the Argentine bandoneon player Astor Piazzolla. In 1958 the Octeto was disbanded and Piazzolla returned to New York City with his family where he struggled to make a living as a ...

. Ferrer's first meeting with Piazzolla in 1955, after Piazzolla returned from France, would prove an important turning point in Ferrer's life. For a period of seven years he edited, illustrated and directed the magazine ''Tangueando'', while the tangos and poems he was writing at that time remained unpublished. Between 1956 and 1959 he studied the bandoneon and joined a small tango orchestra as a bandoneonist. He published his first book in 1959 entitled ''El Tango: su historia y evolución'' and until 1967 broadcast programmes about the history of tango for ''Sodre'', one of the radio stations of the official Uruguayan network. After quitting his studies on architecture he worked as an editor for supplements of the Montevidean morning newspaper ''El Dia''. His career as a tango lyricist began with a request from the renowned Argentine bandoneonist

to write lyrics for Piazzolla's tango ''La última grela''. In 1967 he wrote an anthology of poems, ''Romancero canyengue''. Upon hearing a recording of Ferrer reciting these poems, accompanied by the guitarist Agustín Carlevaro, Piazzolla invited him to collaborate on the writing of the opereta ''

María de Buenos Aires ''María de Buenos Aires'' is a tango opera (''tango operita'') with music by Ástor PiazzollaSCP 2005. and libretto by Horacio Ferrer that premiered at the Sala Planeta in Buenos Aires on 8 May 1968. The first part of the surreal plot center ...

''. The work was premiered in 1968 in the ''Sala Planeta'' in

with Piazzolla and a ten-piece orchestra, the singers Héctor de Rosas and

Amelita Baltar Amelita Baltar (September 24, 1940) is an Argentine singer, one of the leading voices of tango, that appeared in the 60's to be considered, along with Susana Rinaldi, as a modern counterpart of older divas such as Libertad Lamarque and Tita Merel ...

and with Ferrer as reciter in the role of ''El Duende''. Piazzolla and Ferrer now started to compose a series of tangos, with a clear social commitment, such as the well-known ''Chiquilín de Bachín'' and ''Juanito Laguna ayuda a su madre''. In 1969 they composed a series of tangos in the form of

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

s, among which stands out ''Balada para un loco'', performed for the first time with the singer

in the Buenos Aires Tango Festival . Although the performance caused a dispute to break out between supporters and opponents of ''

nuevo tango Nuevo tango is both a form of music in which new elements are incorporated into traditional tango music, and an evolution of tango dance that began to develop in the 1980s. Dance Origins Prior to the 1990s, Argentine tango was taught with a didact ...

'', the work immediately became a popular success and has remained one of the most representative songs of Buenos Aires. Other songs written by the Piazzolla-Ferrer duo at this time were ''Canción de las venusinas'', ''La bicicleta blanca'' and ''Fábula para Gardel'', included in the album ''Astor Piazzolla y Horacio Ferrer en persona''. In 1970 Ferrer wrote ''El Libro del Tango. Arte Popular de Buenos Aires'', and followed it in 1980 with an enlarged three volume edition of more than two thousand pages which is one of the most detailed studies of tango and became a standard reference work on the subject. He worked with a series of renowned tango musicians such as

Roberto Grela The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

Leopoldo Federico Leopoldo Federico (12 January 1927 – 28 December 2014) was an Argentine bandoneon player, arranger, director and composer. Life Born in the district of Once in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Federico was one of the most outstanding bando ...

and Paul Garello and with

he composed the ''Oratorio Carlos Gardel'' in 1975. The following year he wrote lyrics to ''Loquito Mio'' with Julio De Caro, ''Esquinero'' with Pedro Laurenz, ''El Hombre que fue ciudad'' with

Armando Pontier Armando may refer to: * Armando (given name) * Armando (artist) (1929–2018), the name used by Dutch artist Herman Dirk van Dodeweerd * Armando (producer) Armando Gallop (sometimes written as Armando Gallup) (February 12, 1970 – December 17, ...

, ''Yo payador me confieso'' with

Osvaldo Pugliese Osvaldo Pedro Pugliese (Buenos Aires, December 2, 1905 – July 25, 1995, Buenos Aires) was an Argentine tango musician. He developed dramatic arrangements that retained strong elements of the walking beat of salon tango but also heralded the d ...

and ''Tu penultimo tango'' with Anibal Troilo. Ferrer is responsible for the lyrics of other tangos, including ''Balada para mi muerte'', ''El gordo triste'' (written by Piazzolla as a tribute to

) and ''El hombrecito blanco''. In 1983 he acquired Argentine citizenship, and was president of the Academia Nacional de Tango in Argentina from its foundation in 1990.

Death

Ferrer died on 21 December 2014 in Buenos Aires. His funeral was in the city legislature, and then he was cremated in the

Cementerio de la Chacarita Cementerio de la Chacarita in Buenos Aires, Argentina, is known as the National Cemetery and is the largest in Argentina. Location The cemetery is in the barrio or district of Chacarita, in the western part of Buenos Aires. Its main entrance i ...

. His ashes were scattered on the

Rio de la Plata Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

Lyrics to music by Piazzolla

*Alevare (1968)♯ *Allegro tangábile *Aria de los analistas (1968)♯ *Balada para el (tango) *Balada para mi muerte (song, 1968) *Balada para un organico loco (1968)♯ *Balada para un loco (tango, 1969) *Bocha (tango, 1981) *Cancion de los Venusinas (milonga) *Cancion de los jovenes amantes (song) *Carta a los árboles y las chimeneas (1968)♯ *Che, Tango, che (tango) *Chiquilín de Bachín (tango, 1968) *Contramilonga a la funerala (1968)♯ *El diablo *El gordo triste (tango) *El hombrecito blanco. *Existir *Fabula para Gardel (evocative poem) *Final de funcion (tango, 1985) *Fuga y misterio (1968)♯ *Juanito Laguna ayuda a su madre (tango) *La bicicleta blanca (polka/tango) *La nave de fuego (song) *La primera palabra (walz) *La última grela (tango, 1967) *Las ciudades (tango) *Las paraguas de Buenos Aires (milonga) *Los pescadores del misterio (milonga) *Libertango (tango, 1990) *Los hijos del rio *María de Buenos Aires (1968) *María y las aves (milonga, 1981) *Mi loca bandoneon (tango, 1981) *Milonga carrieguera (1968)♯ *Milonga de la anunciación (1968)♯ *Milonga del trovador (milonga, 1981) *Milonga en Ay menor (milonga) *Misere canyengue (1968)♯ *No quiero otro (milonga) *Oblivio (1968) *Poema en si mayor (tango) *Poema valseado (1968)♯ *Por millones de ninos *Preludio para el año 3001 (tango) *Preludio para la Cruz del Sur (milonga) *Preludio para una canillita (tango, 1972) *Que buena nueva *Romanza del duende (1968)♯ *Sera que estoy llorando (tango, 1981) *Tangata del alba (1968)♯ *Tangus Dei (1968)♯ *Te quiero, che (milonga) *Tema de Maria (1968)♯ *Tocata rea (1968)♯ *Vals del 18 (waltz, 1981) *Vamos, Nina (tango) *Yo soy Maria *Yo soy el bandoneon (tango, 1981) *Yo soy vos ♯ from the operetta

Lyrics to music by others

*Bailando en Buenos Aires (tango, Rául Garello, 1988) *Balada de los recuerdos (tango, Roberto Grela, 1974) *Balada para un porteño viejo (waltz, Alberto Soifer) *Canción de mi adolescencia (tango, Osvaldo Tarantino, 1977) *Celedonio Bécquer (tango, Roberto Grela & Rául Garella, 1974) *El hombre que fue ciudad (Armando Pontier, 1976) *Chau, Flaco (tango, Rául Garello, 1990) *Che Gomina (tango, Rául Garello) *Cien de abril (tango, Alfredo Sadi & Horacio Ferrer, 1976) *Ciudadela (milonga, Jairo, 1976) *Copias del viejo almacén (milonga, Edmundo Rivero) *Don Quijote de Arrabal (milonga, Alfredo Sadi, 1976) *El amor cotidiano (song, Daniel Piazzolla, 1983) *El amor impossible (song, Daniel Piazzolla, 1983) *El amor secreto (song, Daniel Piazzolla, 1983) *El pisito de la calle Melo (tango, Raúl Garello) *El polaco (tango, Leopoldo Federico, 1990) *El vals del viudo (waltz, Jairo, 1976) *Esquinero (Pedro Laurenz, 1976) *La desatada (waltz, Jairo, 1976) *La loca de la plaza (milonga, Daniel Piazzolla) *Loquita mía (Julio De Caro, 1976) *Los afectos (song, Palito Ortega, 1983) *Los pistoleros románticos (milonga, Alfredo Sadi, 1976) * (samba, Antonio Rodríguez Villar, 1974) *Milonga para Borges (milonga, Jairo, 1996) *Navidad el el Abasto (huella, Ciro Pérez & Horacio Ferrer, 1975) *Oratorio Carlos Gardel (Horacio Salgán 1975) *Pájaros transparentes (tango, Federico Garcia Vigil, 1982) *Pequeño tango nocturno (tango, Osvaldo Tarantino, 1973) *Pipermint (tango, Raúl Garello) *Porteñesa a Cachorrin (tango, Daniel Piazzolla) *Porteñesa heroica (tango, Daniel Piazzolla, 1983) *Porteñesa rea (milonga, Daniel Piazzolla, 1973) *Porteñesa triste (tango, Daniel Piazzolla) *Presagio (tango, Hector Stamponi, 1987) *Qué flor para mi truco (tango, Raúl Garello, 1987) *Quijotada (song, Daniel Piazzolla, 1987) *Se rechifló el colectivo (tango, Osvaldo Tarantino, 1978) *Ser feliz (song, Palito Ortega, 1983) *Soy un circo (tango, Héctor Stampone) *Tango del ventanero (tango, Alberto Soifer) *Tango querido (tango, Daniel Binelli) *Tocá el bandoneon, Pedrito (tango, Raúl Garello, 1990) *Tu penúltimo tango (Aníbal Troilo, 1976) *Viva el Tango (tango, Raúl Garello) *Vos tenéme cariño (song, Daniel Piazzolla, 1973) *Woody Allen (tango, Raúl Garello) *Yo payador me confieso (Osvaldo Pugliese, 1976)

References

*''Piazzolla, Ástor. A Memoir'', Natalio Gorin, Amadaeus, 2001. *''Azzi and Collier, Le Grand Tango: The Life and Music of Ástor Piazzolla'', Oxford University Press, 2000.

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'' (anthology of poems, 1967) *''El Libro del Tango. Arte Popular de Buenos Aires'' (1970 and 1980, collection of essays in 3 volumes) *''Presagio'' (sonnet, Plaqueta with watercolours by Josefina Robirosa, 1990)

External links

Horacio Ferrer - Biografía Todo Tango
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferrer, Horacio 1933 births 2014 deaths People from Montevideo Uruguayan male poets Uruguayan tango musicians Uruguayan emigrants to Argentina Tango poets 20th-century Uruguayan poets Tango lyricists 20th-century Uruguayan male writers