Lisbon Fado - The Soul of the City
Lisbon Fado - October 2009 - Fado is one of the treasures of Portugal and one of the most beautiful and original musical styles in the world today. The type of Fado that has captivated international audiences, through singers like Amalia and Mariza is a style forever associated with Lisbon. It is part of the magic of this city. It is ten years since the greatest of all Fado singers died. The whole of Portugal is still under the spell of Amalia and she is now the most popular of the cultural icons of the nation. This page is full of Fado history and is also a homage to the greats including Amalia and Alfredo Marceneiro. The newer singers are on a separate page just follow the link at the end of this section. Fado is a cultural anchor of the city -an urban magic. Amalia was the soul of the music and has given inspiration to all younger singers. Amalia Rodrigues. Simply Amalia. In Portugal, everyone remembers where they were the day Amalia died. I was in the North and I remember a great hush falling as the news came on the TV. The Funeral in Lisbon, solemn and dignified, was a day of National mourning, all the great singers and half the population of the city were there. Amalia was buried in The National Pantheon with the greats of Portuguese History, in recognition of her music of course, but also her embodiment of the Portuguese Spirit. Amalia's Fado had become the way the nation understood itself, the way it survived dictatorship, the way the Lisbon poor coped, the embodiment of a nation's joys and sorrows- the Saudades of the people. Amalia also moved Fado into new areas of musical sophistication using a type of vibrato which complemented the flow of the Portuguese language - She was sophisticated but retained her integrity, an international star and a true Lisboeta. She has inspired a whole generation of wonderful singers - Mariza, Ana Moura and Cristina Branco. For in depth information on these new singers go to the
modern fado page
Amalia was the Portuguese Piaf or Judy Garland, she had a charisma which transfixed an audience . She was adored in Portugal, Brazil, France and beyond. Her first recordings were made in Brazil and she sang with Piaf in Paris. She was also a great force in the development of Fado music and its repetoire, writing many lyrics, which are full of deep emotion. I have freely translated part of her beautiful song Estrnha Forma de Vida to try to give a sense of her power. It was the will of God That I live like this That all the sighs are mine It is all my longing (saudades) It was the will of God This strange way of Life That I have in my heart I am lost in life..... She also brought outside influences to Fado and encouraged many younger musicians. Her collaboration with the French musician Alain Oulman produced many fine songs and during the dictatorship she often sang the lyrics of left wing poets like Manuel Allegre and Ary dos Santos. The repertoire of the younger singers always includes Amalia's songs. She is unchallenged as the greatest ever Fado singer and innovator. SaudadesLisbon is the city of Fado. When you walk the Lisbon streets, especially in winter you may notice and atmosphere, some say Lisbon is sad but it is more complicated than that. Lisbon and Fado have saudades. Saudades is the emotion of Fado. It brings the past into the present. Saudades, not easy to explain. Nostalgia, Longing, Melancholy, no English words capture it, but Fado music reveals the emotion.Whilst you can hear Amalia's recordings on Lisbon streets especially in the Chiado, many visitors encounter live Fado for the first time through the plaintive voice of blind singer Dona Rosa whose hypnotic melodies are heard in Rossio and the Baixa. Singing for a few pennies. She has lived in this way for decades and in 2000 made her first recording Alma Livre - Free Spirit. Her Fado is an unconventional lament full of emotion. The emotion is Saudades and it seems to weave itself into the Lisbon atmosphere. The music of Amalia is the very essence of Saudades, she was able to articulate the subtle nuances of melancholy in a way that no other singer could. Making her music seem a commentary on the human condition itself.
Origins and Early DaysIt is often said Fado is Moorish, African or Gypsy, others say it originated with homesick sailors or those left behind. No-one knows for certain. Fado means Fate or Destiny and it is the music of a limited series of emotions - most of them sad. It describes a longing for something never fully realized. It is essentially Portuguese. There is formality and ritual in Fado. The Fado singer dons a shawl and assumes a part in the tradition before singing. The Fado style has rules both lyrical and musical. It is sophisticated and requires great musical skill. Like many great forms exquisite art is made from refinements and variation on a traditional discipline. We hear of a young and spirited singer called Maria Severa, born in 1820, she was famed for the power of her voice, unconventional, untamed she was taken up by a Count but finally rejected him to continue to sing in the taverns of the Alfama where Fado is still sung today. Young singers still find inspiration in her dedication to Fado.
Lisbon Fado. Mesa de Frades . One of the most respected Lisbon Fado venues. Alfredo Duarte MarceneiroIn his throat there is something strange, It disturbs and preoccupies us Pain? Fear? Love? Jealousy? A voice for tears? A voice for laughter ? A voice that frightens , that attracts, that seduces... The voice of rigorous Fado, the voice of Alfredo. Alfredo Duarte Marceneiro of humble origins was an early master of the Art. Awarded the gold medal for singing by his contempraries in 1924. Born in Santa Isabel he lived all his life in Lisbon, singing, writing and creating Fado events.The voice is mesmorizing just as the poem above describes, it contains depths of emotion rare in modern life. His songs are now considered some of the greatest in the Lisbon Fado repetoire. He died in 1982 aged 91 having lived through very hard times and come through to be universally admired. His work can be heard on record or in the Casa do Fado - an invaluable resource for hearing the older singers.
Fado moves Center StageIn the 1920s Lisbon Fado was considered radical and left wing, but as the century moved on was repositioned in the heart of Portuguese Culture and was deliberately supported by Salazar. Fado became enormously popular mid-century and in this period many stars of Fado emerged. Amalia, Herminia Silva, and the aristocratic Maria Teresa de Noronha were the big names in Fado houses and in stage shows in the Broadway of Lisbon, Parque Mayer, off Avenida Liberdad. Despite the demands of mass entertainment these fadistas retained an integrity and Fado kept it's soul. In these years Amalia became an icon for the Portuguese. Her success in several films in the 40s and 50s consolidated her position and she became the first Fado singer to achieve success beyond the Portuguese speaking world. Beginning with Paris and London in 49 she went on to sing in New York and Tokyo during the 50s. Her last performance was fittingly when Lisbon became City of Culture in 1994. Her voice had everything, strength beauty and an incredible emotional power. The house where she lived and died in Rua Sao Bento near Estrella is an essential visit for Fado lovers. An outstanding male star of the period was Tony de Matos, a Fado singer who crossed into the world of Music Theatre and Film and became a romantic idol of a generation. A later star of the period was Lucília do Carmo who opened the club “Faia” in the Barrio Alto where Alfredo Marceneiro, Carlos Ramos, and Tristão da Silva all sang. Her son Carlos do Carmo is considered one of the greatest living male singers. Lucilia's voice strong, deep and dignified has a powerful moving quality. Her club was for a time a center of the Fado world. No page on Lisbon Fado could forget the greatest Portuguese Guitar player Carlos Paredes. A true master of his instrument working in a hospital by day, at night creating magical soundscapes. His technical experiments lead in the direction of jazz but the sentiment is Saudades the key emotion of Fado. Living Legends
Mariza and Carlos do Carmo, following their recent collaboration "Estranha Forma de Vida" - one of Amalia's greatest songs. Several artists alive today began their careers in the time of Amalia and have gone on to form an aristocracy of the Lisbon-Fado world. Argentina Santos, owns the club Parreirinha de Alfama where she still sings. Her voice is strong and powerful but has a beautiful light top range unusual in Fado singers. She is an undisputed queen of the Fado scene. A similar status goes to Maria da Fé, owner of Sr Vinho Lisbon Fado club in Lapa - a place where everyone who is anyone has sung. Her voice strong, full of suffering and survival, has a unique power to move. She recently sang with Ana Moura at the Coliseum. Another outstanding singer who joined Ana Moura is Beatriz da Conceição a legend in the Fado world for her vast repetoire and her cultivation of poets Artur Ribeiro, Vasco de Lima Couto, José Carlos, Ary dos Santos. She has an unfogetable presence and a voice with strength and tenderness. Two male artists are pillars of the older generation of Lisbon Fado, Joao Braga and Carlos do Carmo son of Lucilia do Carmo. Joao Braga, refined, suave, literary has been singing Fado for over 40 years and has sung with all the stars. He is famous for his recordings of songs by the great poets of Portugal including Pessoa and Alexander O'Neil. Carlos do Carmo, cosmopolitan and urbane, has Fado in his bones. Famous for his recordings in celebration of Lisbon in collaboration with the lyricist Ary dos Santos. His Fado was influenced by American singers of the Sinatra period and his use of double bass and strings caused controversy.It is said that his mother had to be persuaded by Afredo Marceneiro of the qualities of her son's style.He went on to achieve success on stages in Europe and the States. Ill health following a fall on stage has limited his appearances but he remains an aristocrat of the Lisbon Fado scene. His sad beautiful voice can be heard in a recent collaboration with Mariza on Estranha Forma de Vida.
Fado Ascendant
Camané singing in the beautiful Gardens of Oeiras June 2009. Suddenly Lisbon Fado seems incredibly fashionable in World music circles. The death of Amalia brought attention to the form and the phenomenal success of Misia, Madredeus and Mariza brought the world's attention to Portuguese music in general and Fado in particular. The film "Fados" by Carlos Saura continued to bring new fans, many from Spain. Now new stars are on the rise, all conscious of the debt they owe Amalia. Cristina Branco has sensitively developed Fado, incorporating new instrumentation behind her delightful fresh voice. Ana Moura, a smokey-toned young singer, is becoming the guardian of the Lisbon Fado canon, she famously impressed the Rolling Stones when they came to Lisbon. The sophisticated Camané "The Prince of Fado", is one of three brothers who dominate the male Fado scene at the moment. Fado singers respect their tradition and these young singers are no exception, they are keeping the spirit alive and developing the form with imagination and reverence. Ana Moura sings "I belong to Fado, I am a Fadista" which in her voice is more than a musical statement, but a manifesto for life, signifying that Fado is not about personal stardom but is something deeper, unreducible, mysterious. Fate. Lisbon Fado. More on these singers and their contemporaries on the
Contemporary Fado page
and
Music-in-Portugal page
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