Music in PortugalMusic in Portugal.Portuguese music is one of the highlights of visiting Lisbon. Portugal is a country of music. In any region of the country in Summer a band may be playing and people singing and dancing. People gather to eat in the Portuguese countryside and inevitably a guitar player and an accordionist will begin a tune. When the crowd are Lisboetas someone will probably start a Fado. In this page we look at the roots music scene from the revivals of Portuguese Music after the revolution to present day Fado and beyond.
José Zeca Afonso
Music in Portugal - Zeca Afonso the radical singer who helped revive Portuguese Culture at the end of the Dictatorship. One person above all stands out as central to the revival of interest in Portuguese roots music. Jose Zeca Afonso, born 1929 in the North of the country, began to sing Coimbra Fado as a student at Coimbra university. He grew up in the latter years of the dictatorship but had a radical left wing vision and was frequently at odds with the authorities. His song Grandola when played on the radio on April 25th 1974 was the signal for the Portuguese revolution to begin. Sadly he died of motor neurone disease in 1987. His funeral was attended by thousands of his admirers.Zeca Afonso is revered by many and his songs are sung today. His ballads, full of humanity and solidarity, reach into the heart of the Portuguese People. Cristina Branco paid tribute to Zeca on her album Abril and her recording of Zeca's Redondo Vocábulo written when he was imprisoned is one of the most evocative Portuguese recordings of recent years. Zeca Afonso was one of those rare artists who was able to enter a folk tradition and make it completely his own. His songs have a poetic integrity rare in modern artists. He could be sophisticated and innocent. The emotional range is remarkable. His challenging song Vampires expressed hatred for the leaders of the oppressive regime he lived under. His compassion suffuses his lullabies and songs for children. If it pleases you to sing Even if the whole world laughs Who could not love You my Child.
Carlos Paredes
The name of Carlos Paredes is spoken in awe by Portuguese musicians and guitarists in particular. He changed the face of Music in Portugal forever. The greatest master of the Portuguese guitar to emerge in the 20th century. A great innovator he took the guitar from a background accompaniment to a great instrument in it's own right.Carlos Paredes was born in Coimbra where a distinct style of Fado is the dominant music. He learnt the Portuguese Guitar from his father. By eleven he was recognised as a remarkable musician. He worked in a hospital in Lisbon throughout his life and in the Salazar years his left leaning attitude was to get him in trouble when a colleague denounced him to the secret police. As a result, he spent time in jail where he composed although he was not allowed to play his guitar. He made little of his time in prison and refused to consider himself heroic. He went on to become the star of the Portuguese guitar but remained a modest unassuming man. He developed new styles and directions for the instrument and was nicknamed "the man with a thousand fingers". Famously playing with jazz musicians such as Charlie Haden and inspiring a whole new generation of guitarists such as Custodio Castelo and António Eustáquio, Alexandre Bateiras who have been central to developments of Music in Portugal. Many of his albums are considered classics Guitara Poruguesa 1967 was the first to reveal his talent teh 1989 - Asas Sobre o Mundo was his last which retained all his natural brilliance.Despite the rave reviews of his albums he refused to listen to his own recordings. He was a great accompanist as well as soloist and collaborated with Amalia, the Queen of fado.Carlos Paredes was a musician with great integrity and brilliance his legacy lives on his recordings and influence. Rui VelosoThe father of Portuguese rock and a key figure in Music in Portugal. He has never received recognition beyond Portugal's shores. He is without doubt a very good musician both on harmonica and guitar and has written many fine songs. He has sung with many of the singers who are making a big splash on the world stage now.In the 80s his Songs Chico Fininho and A Rapariguinha do Shopping were major hits. His lyricist was Carlos Tê who was also influenced by his background from Porto in the north of Portugal. Rui has played with B.B. King a several times when the latter toured Portugal . His collaborations extend in to all types of Portuguese music including Fado and Brazilian. He has had great success in Portugal with many platinum albums like Lado Lunar but has nevber really moved into the international scene. Maybe because his style of music is so international. In Portugal he is loved by his fans and widely respected by musicians.
Dulce Pontes
One of Portugal's most outstanding musicians. Dulce Pontes has been around a long time. She was Born in Montijo, Portugal, in 1969, She was studying music before she was 10.She was a regular on a television variety show called "O Regresso ao Passado," in the 1990s where she sang Portuguese traditional songs. She won the chance to sing Porugal's entry to eurovision in 1991 and came eighth and this led to her first CD Lusitana in the next year. A milestone for the roots element of Music in Portugal. She really found her groove with Lagrimas. The album of fado style songs was hugely popular in Portugal.International recognition came after the song Cancao do Mar was used in the Hollywood film Primal Fear with Richard Gere. The 1996 album "Caminhos" expanded her range as did the 1999 release of "O Primeiro Canto," an ambitious album which famously featured her naked and covered in mud on the cover. Her strong voice has a tremendous emotional power and she has an intellectual consistency which makes her work surprising and never dull. She has collaborated widely and sang with Amalia and Carlos do Carmo. Her recent collaborations include partnerships with Ennio Morricone and Andre Boccelli. Her recent El Corazon Tiene Tres Puertas is considered by some to be her masterpiece. She has contributed hugely to the revival of Music in Portugal and is widely respected in her native country. She has continued to take imaginative roads throughout a twenty year career.Her recent work has put her somewhat outside the world of fado and she has been neglected in the post Mariza rise of Fado to the international stage. Her sheer eclecticism makes her hard to pin down, but she remains a vital force and a remarkable musician. Madredeus
Music in Portugal. Occasionally a band arrives on the scene that seems to grab all the headlines. Madredeus put portuguese music on teh world stage in the 80s and 90s before Mariza moved into the limelight. Why were Madredeus so successful in Portugal and beyond ? Was it the originality of the music which seemed so Portuguese and yet so fresh. Was it Teresa Salgueiro's haunting voice. Or maybe Teresa's role and their music in Wim Wender's film "Lisbon Story" 1994 ? The group had been around for almost ten years when they appeared in the film. The founder members Pedro Ayres Magalhães(guitar),Rodrigo Leão (keyboard synthesizer)had been rehearsing in the church/convent of Madredeus to the east of Lisbon Center. Both rock musicians they set out to create something new by improvising and exploring together. When they heard Teresa sing in a Lisbon club something clicked. The first albums Os Dias da MadreDeus (1987) and Existir (1990) made them a leading band in Music in Portugal.There is Fado in the mix, but with classical elements, hints of Phillip Glass. Repetetive, Evocative, Mesmerising . The words are an important element in creation of the mood. Lisbon and the Sea are constant themes, their two last albums are dedicated to the city - Um Amor Infinito (2004)and Faluas do Tejo (2005) Madredeus were never a favourite band of the masses in Portugal, their style was too refined with a limited range of emotions. Romantic and ethereal, usually melancholy, the songs can be hard to distinguish one from another, but at their best they have a timeless magical quality. The three leading members of the band have gone on to have solo careers. Rodrigo Leão has been particularly successful in developing intelligent poetic music through s series of recordings with young Portuguese musicians. Teresa Salgueiro latest CD Matriz with the Lusitania Ensemble goes back to the roots of Portuguese song, it is an impressive departure highlighting the best in her voice, full of joyful vitality.
Dead Combo and other Fado FusionsMusic in Portugal is constantly developing. Recently some interesting groups have arrived on the Music in Portugal scene blending Fado with other styles. Dead Combo influenced by Ennio Morricone film music combine fado with jazz and indie music. They are also inspired by visual art and cinema and have their own publishing company, Dead & Company. The BBC's Charlie Gillett elected their CD "Vol. I" as one of the best albums in 2004.A Naifa have a more rock influenced sound.Deolinda combine fado with other ethnic musics to create a playful gentle combination.Clã produce a heady mix of poppy sound, fun, rhythmic dancemusic.Donna Maria have a sophisticated Fado influenced quality.Xaile have a folkier feel not unlike the Be good Tanyas, a soft sweet harmonic sound.These bands can often be heard around Lisbon in clubs and smaller venues. Music in Portugal topLisbon-Fado homepage Magical Lisbon Enjoying Lisbon
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