Discos Qualiton was a record label, published by the recording studio Fonema S.A. A garage experiment in Rosario, Argentina in 1961, Qualiton would later become a major independent record label influencing a generation of artists, writers, musicians, poets, and filmmakers.
Early days The first attempts by Nelson Montes-Bradley (1935-2023) and Ivan Cosentino (1935-2017) to produce and publish vinyl records in Argentina was made under the umbrella of Fondo Cultural, a firm based in Rosario, and incorporated in Buenos Aires.Ivan Cosentino. Interview with the author of this note. Fondo Cultural later adopted the name Qualiton, which eventually led to a close relationship with the homonymous state-owned record company in Hungary during the Communist years.
Joaquín Rodrigo's "Cantares de los pajes de la nao" by Coro Estable de Rosario, conducted by Cristián Hernández Larguía, was Qualiton's first recording in 1961. Soon, the idea of producing other choruses became a perfect venue to establish the company in the local arena. Limited editions, of no more than 300 units, were quickly absorbed amongst the members of the chorus ensemble and their relatives.La Prensa, October 30, 1967. Article by Eduardo Lagos. Title: @Tango y Folklore By 1965, the early catalog of Discos Qualiton produced by Fondo Cultural, was beginning to develop into a greater ordeal. Fondo Cultural became extinct and Fonema incorporated thus allowing Nora Raffo and Carlos Melero, newest members of the Qualiton team, to join in the corporation.Lahiteau, Luciano. "Carlos Melero y su tesoro privado del jazz local" Diario Clarin, Revista Ñ / Escenarios. Buenos Aires 03/06/2019La Nación, Nov. 24, 1967
The following years were mostly dedicated to producing classical music with a particular emphasis in baroque and colonial periods in Latin America. Also worth mentioning are the recordings of ethnographic music harvested in the field and gathered under the label Serie del Conocimiento and the unique recordings of literary works known as Juglaría.
The 1970s By the late 1960s, the record label had already relocated from Rosario to Buenos Aires and expanded its catalog. New investors were seduced by the idea of creating a major independent label. Curt von Simpson and Gertrudis Moser joined Fonema executive leadership providing the needed contacts with local banks (namely Banco Oddone).Luis Oddone (CEO Oddone Group), interviewed by the author of this article. During this period of expansion Take One, a state-of-the-art 24-channel recording studio was built to specs.Oscar Bonello. "La Aventura del sonido" Librería Editorial Alsina. Buenos Aires, 2012. P. 202 The console was manufactured by Solidyne and the studio acoustics was designed by Oscar Bonello. Take one, which would eventually become a landmark of the record industry was located at Fonema's HQ on Perú 375 in Buenos Aires historical district known as MonserratLuis Maria Cosenza (producer) interviewed by the author of this article. The original concept of a small and family orientated garage experiment born in Rosario had grown out of proportion. However, by 1976, a military putsch, led by Jorge Rafael Videla, ousted Argentine president Isabel Perón making life quite difficult for the arts at large, and in particular for domestic labels linked to the previous years of social unrest. On October 22, 1976, an unsigned article denouncing "Marxist Penetration" was published in the newspaper La Razón. The clipping inspired a paramilitary group to target the studios of Discos Qualiton, then located in Calle Perú 365, Buenos Aires, and also members of the board of directors. The artists involved in the actual creation of the songs reproduced in the LP as denounced in the article published by La Razón were forced into exile. Author Vico Ciliberti fled to Rome.In an interview with Vico Ciliberti and Eduardo Montes-Bradley on January 23, 1986, The final days of Discos Qualiton came about in 1978.Luis María Cosenza (producer), interviewed by the author of this article.
Only a few complete collections of Discos Qualiton and other labels associated with Fonema and Fondo Cultural have survived and are available in a handful of libraries, private collections, and research institutes throughout Europe and the US. It is worth noticing that up to 1977, the artistic direction of Discos Qualiton was mostly the result of the expertise of Ivan Cosentino as a musician and recording engineer, while the publishing, editorial presentation, production, and marketing was carried out by Nelson Montes-Bradley.La Nación, Monday, July 5, 1999. http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=144699
Catalogue
According to what has been reconstructed from catalogs,Discos Qualiton. Catálogo Numérico. Fonema S.A. Peru 375 1er. Piso, Buenos Aires. (1976). 2 pages. 8.5 in X 11 in. Printed in ArgentinaEdiciones Fonema (1973-74). 20 pages printed on both sides. Black and White. Cover in color showing album covers. 7 in X 8.5 in. Printed in Buenos Aires. newspaper articlesLa Nación, November 24, 1967. Buenos Aires, Argentina. and vinyl records available from private collectors and currently being sold at auctions or through internet services. Qualiton was one of five labels published by Fonema in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Other labels released by Fonema were: Colección Privada (Private Stock), Serie del Conocimiento (Knowledge Series), Archivo Colonial de América Latina (The Latin American Colonial Archive) and Juglaría. Each new album released by Fonema was identified with an alphanumeric code in one of the five labels. Some of the sequences in the catalog are interrupted and this is perhaps due perhaps to the fact the albums were either pending release or that we have not yet been able to identify its contents. In order to facilitate research, we present each album (LP) in the following categories.
Qualiton
QH-2002:Homenaje a Pablo Bondorevsky. Side A: "Petruchka" suite for piano (sic) by Igor Stravinsky; "Scherzo No. 3 in C♯ minor, Op. 39" by Frédéric Chopin B: "Partita in B major" by Johann Sebastian Bach. Recorded live in 1967. Executive Producer Nora Raffo, Editor: Nelson Montes, Artistic Editor Ivan R. Cosentino. With Notes by Carlos Suffern. Illustration by Isaías Nougués, printed by Imprenta López.Produced by Fondo Cultural S.R.L.Vinyl pressed by CBS Records, Buenos Aires.Album for sale QH-2006: Roberto Lara, guitarra. Guitarist Roberto Lara plays from a repertoire of Argentine composers: Carlos Guastavino, Pelaia, A. Alemann, Julián Aguirre, Gómez Carrillo and Abel Fleury. Roberto Lara, guitar; Eduardo A. Alemann, recorder.Recorder Home Page. Argentinian Music Recorder. Compiled by Gonzalo Ariel Juan. QH-2008: Música para niños, Vol.1. (Music For Children, Vol. 1) This is the first in a series of four volumes. Each volume incorporates a repertoire exhibiting a wide variety of cultural traditions, and languages. Performer: Conjunto Pro-Musica de Rosario. Conductor: Christián Hernández Larguía. QH-2009: Canto 4. Canto 4 being the title of the album, and the name by which the vocal quartet originated in Rosario was known. Canto 4 was produced by Nora Raffo, founding member of Discos Qualiton. Cover photo by OKY. Cover Design by José Luis Bollea also a member of Canto 4. The album included a compilation of Negro spirituals and other popular themes from the Americas such as: "Cap´n Go Side Track Your Train"; "Maracatú"; "Entraña de árbol"; "Go Tell It on the Mountain": "Cançao para ninar meu bem"; "All My Trials"; "Black Girl"; "Lord If I Got My Ticket"; "Creciente de nueve lunas"; "Berimbao"; "Chacarera del fusilado"; "It isn't nice"; "José Junco". QH-2010: Brahms: Marienlieder. Vocal Works by Johannes Brahms: Marienlieder "Songs For Mary", for mixed chorus Op. 22 (1860); Sieben Lieder (Seven Songs), for mixed chorus Op. 62 (1874). Coro de Cámara de Córdoba. Conductor: César Ferreyra. SQH-2011:El habitante del silencio. Remo Pignoni, piano. Includes the following works for piano by Remo Pignoni: "Pa'la Dorita"; "Triunfo nochero"; "Por el Sur"; "Pa'que más"; "Mi quena te llama"; "Llegándome a ella"; "De angora"; "Pa'zurdo y La siguiente"; "La cromática"; "Pal'Ñato; Pa'la Lilucha"; "Como queriendo"; "Pa'su apero"; "Coyita mía"; "En séptima"; "Herencia"; "Chumbeao".Remo Pignoni: El hombre piano. http://www.socavon.net/Archivo/pignoni.htm QH-2012:El canto de Rolando Valladares. Rolando Valladares by himself. Includes: "Canto a la Telesita"; "Vidala del lapacho"; "Zamba del carrero"; "Vidala del llanto"; "Tarco viejo"; "Canción de las cantinas"; "Zamba del romero"; "Por Amaicha"; "Subo"; "Coplas de la luna". SQH-2013:Canciones para Don Quijote. Popular Spanish songs inspired in Don Quijote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote. Poems by: María Paseyro. Music by: Tomás Luzian. Performed by: María Gondell, soprano; Ulises Castelli, baritone; Eduardo Frasson, guitar. SQH-2014: Quinteto Huayna Sumaj. Huayna Sumaj Quintet. Perla Estequín, soprano; Elba Estequín, mezzo-soprano; Ricky Acosta, tenor; César Sotelo, barítono; Luis Gentilini, bajo, arreglos y dirección. Popular South American folk tunes by various artist from Latin America. "Días de Mayo". "Guarden la luna"; "Para cantarle a mi gente"; "La navidad de Juanito Laguna"; "Tonadas de Manuel Rodríguez"; "Vidala del último día"; "Malambo"; "Juanito Laguna remonta un barrilete"; "Ramón el potrerizo"; "El camino del pueblo"; "Fiesta de guardar"; "Canto a la Telesita".Yerba Buena Virtual. http://www.yerbabuenavirtual.com.ar/musicos/gentilini.htm#discosTucultura. Pato Gentilini. SQH-2015:Los 4 de Chile, Quartet with Héctor and Humberto Devauchelle. A selection of Chilean popular songs: "Por la calle del Rey arriba"; "Romance de barco y junco"; "Sencillas palabras de mi madre"; "Pequeña elegía"; "Palabras al hijo futuro"; "Para que no me olvides"; "Del cielo a tu corazón"; "Remordimiento"; "Despedida"; "Poema de la tierra". Under License from Discos Asfona, Santiago, Chile. QH-2016:Canciones desde una prisión. Rolando Alarcón (voice and guitar). Protest songs during the times of deposed president Salvador Allende: "Coplas del oficio"; "La pregunta"; "Coplas del toro vuelto"; "El verde no muere solo"; "Canciones desde un calabozo"; "Coplas del pié"; "Ha muerto Elba Susana"; "He venido desde lejos"; "Pobrecita la llave". Under License by Discos Hemisferio, Montevideo, Uruguay. QH-2017: El camino hacia la muerte del Viejo Reales. Soundtrack album of the homonymous documentary film by Gerardo Vallejos, member of Grupo Cine Liberación. QH-2018: La fuerza del diálogo. Norma Peralta (voice) and Naldo Labrín (guitar). Latin American folk songs: "Pacundina"; "Irene"; "José Dolores"; "Carcará"; "Oh, pajarillo que cantas"; "El Fiero"; "Zamba de la pena"; "Alegres eran mis ojos"; "A una paloma"; "Sirilla de la Candelaria"; "Zamba del indio Serapio"; "Canción del Centauro". SQH-2019: De aquí y de ahora. Palermo Trío (tango): 9 de Julio; Corralera; Sentimiento tanguero; Jogo bonito; Sensitivo; El choclo; Canaro en País; De aquí y de ahora; Flores negras; Imaginación; Mi redención; Responso. SQH-2020: Ayer me dijeron Negro (Just Yesterday I was called a Negro) by Roberto Darvin (voice and guitar). Includes the following songs: Canoero; Ayer me dijeron Negro; Zamba de tu piel; Por casualidad; Barlovento; Noctuno de amor y playa; Jacinto Vera; Tema de la Pimpa; Canto marinero; Guitarra. Estereofónico. Published by Qualiton under license from Hemiferio Records, Montevideo, Uruguay. SQH-2021: Música para niños, Vol. 2. (Music For Children, Vol. 2) Conjunto Pro-Musica de Rosario. Conductor: Christián Hernández Larguía. SQH-2022: Canción por Nicolás. (A Song for Nicolás) by the Quintet Huayra Puka. Includes: Canción por Nicolás; Canto isleño; Ashpa Sumaj; Te vas de mi; Duérmase lucerito; Que se vengan los chicos; La amorosa; La cancionera; Sueño y charango; Vidala doble; Corrientes cambá; Cuyana; El gato de la calesita.