Following to the previous post, Today I'm going to talk about traditional Portuguese music: Fado.
Jotafan made a good article about Fado music (https://steemit.com/music/@jotafan/fado-a-nation-s-soul-through-music), so I will not dwell on the history of Fado and go on to some examples of music that are worth knowing.
Well, to start it is impossible to speak of fado without talking about Amália Rodrigues, the queen of Fado. Amália initiated what was called "modern Fado" that we know more today.
The first song is from 1970 and is called "Gaivota". This music was most recently adapted by a portuguese music group called "Hoje" that integrated in some "Amália Hoje" that contains fados of Amália Rodrigues with the current pop sonority - Amália Hoje - Gaivota.
Another important name in fado is the fado singer Mariza. Mariza was born in Mozambique but came to Portugal with only 3 years old. He started singing at his father's restaurant where other fado singers were playing. The next song is a song sung in a duet with the Spanish singer Miguel Poveda called "Meu Fado Meu". Sung in Madrid with the "La Orquesta Nacional de España" in a concert commemorating the 25 years of Spain and Portugal joining the European Union. It is not common to hear Fado sung in other languages nor sung by two fado singers, so it is a special video.
In music is referred to the locality called "Mouraria" in Lisbon, which is also referred to in other Fados because it was the neighborhood where Fado was "created".
Mariza also sings one of the best known Fados "Gente da minha terra" (The people of my land) with the lyrics of Amália Rodrigues herself. This Fado is talking about people from her land (Portugal), she's saying: "Oh people from my land, now I understand that sadness that I bring with me it's from you". This song is so emotional that it is possible to see in the video elements of the orchestra crying.
Fado has been changing and in recent years has appeared new fadistas with songs that conquered the Portuguese again. The next song is sung by Ana Moura who, along with Mariza and Carminho, is one of the fadistas more known internationally, it is called "DesFado".
This is the song lyrics translated into English:
It's my destiny's wish that I don't believe in destiny
My fado song is to have no fado song to sing
It's to sing it without having even felt it
To sense it like no one else, but being senseless at the same time
Oh how sad this joy that I have is
Oh how glad, this deep sadness!
To wait that someday I won't be wainting one more day
For someone that never arrives and that has been present here
Oh how I long
To have something to long for
To have longings for someone
That has been here and does not exist
To feel sad
Just because I'm feeling so well and happy
To feel happy
Just because I'm feeling so sad
Oh If only I could sing no more "if only I could"s
And feel sorry just for not having anything to be sorry about
Maybe I could hear, then, as I fell silent,
A voice of my own here inside me, singing about someone
Oh what misfortune, this good luck befallen on me!
Oh what good luck to live in such an unfortunate manner
With the incertitude that no thing is more certain
Than the great incertitude of being certain about nothing
Finally I'll leave a 5 min video with 10 fado singers and their fados that were created in the last 5 years. Some of them as you can see, have influences from other misic styles.
I hope you enjoyed this introduction to Fado and if you come to Portugal to listen to Fado just a tip: to listen to Fado it is necessary to be silent while the fado singer is singing or the guitar playing, and the applause is only in the end. The first fado singers did not accept applause but nowadays they receive with pleasure.
Image - Alain Rouiller - Porto et fado 11
https://www.flickr.com/photos/alainrouiller/33219888366/in/album-72157678750374632/
