Stylistic origins: Portuguese music, possibly with Moorish and Brazilian modinha influences; Cultural origins: Early 19th century Lisbon, Portugal; Typical instruments: Portuguese guitar; Mainstream popularity: Much in Portugal, sporadic elsewhere, especially France, The Netherlands and Japan; Derivative forms: Coimbra Fado.Fado (translated as destiny or fate) is a music genre which can be traced from the 1820s in Portugal, but probably with much earlier origins. In popular belief, Fado is a form of music characterized by mournful tunes and lyrics, often about the sea or the life of the poor. However, in reality Fado is simply a form of song which can be about anything, but must follow a certain structure. The music is usually linked to the Portuguese word saudade (that has no match in English but it could be understood as nostalgia felt while missing someone), a word describing a sentiment. Another similar English translation can be to pine for something or someone. Some enthusiasts claim that Fado’s origins are a mixture of African slave rhythms with the traditional music of Portuguese sailors and Arabic influence. There are two main varieties of Fado, namely those of the cities of Lisbon and Coimbra. The Lisbon style is the most popular, while Coimbra’s is the more refined style. Modern fado is popular in Portugal, and has produced many renowned musicians. According to tradition, to applaud fado in Lisbon you clap your hands, in Coimbra you cough as if clearing your throat. Mainstream fado performances during the 20th century included only a singer, a Portuguese guitar player and a classical guitar player but more recent settings range from singer and string quartet to full orchestra. The fado is undoubtedly Portugal’s most famous music. One theory states that Fado had its origin in Moorish songs, which were preserved in the quarter of Mouraria in Lisbon. The melancholy of those songs and the references in many fado lyrics to this part of Lisbon support that theory. Musicological research connects the first fado performances to modinhas, which were a kind of Brazilian hall music that was successful among middle-class social circles in the later 18th century in Lisbon and Porto: at the time, Brazilian students were a strong presence in the University of Coimbra. The first great fado singer who survived in collective memory is Maria Severa Onofriana, who lived in the first half of the 19th century. In the 1920s and 1930s, a series of fado de Coimbra (a version born in Coimbra) recordings were very popular. Guitarists Carlos Paredes and his father Artur Paredes were the masters and the great pioneers of this genre and of the Portuguese guitar. The Orfeon Académico de Coimbra was, and still is, one of the most prominent ambassadors of Fado de Coimbra, along with an internationally recognized choral activity. Amália Rodrigues introduced the best-known variety of fado. Still today, after her death in 1999, Rodrigues is considered to have been the greatest fado diva ever. After she died, a new wave of performers added stylistic changes and brought more international popularity to the traditional Portuguese music. In the last few decades there has also been some successful experimentation with fado by mixing it with electronic music. Carlos do Carmo, Mariza, Ana Moura, Mafalda Arnauth, Camané, Katia Guerreiro and Mísia brought with them a new look to the traditional song, occasionally reviving 19th century fado. Whilst Dulce Pontes mixed fado with popular and traditional Portuguese music, Madredeus and Cristina Branco added new instruments and themes – all they kept of the original Fado are its looks and the concept of saudade. The fado is almost universally sorrowful, although some can also be joyful songs. Mísia and Mariza are considered to be the best fado singers of the newest generation.
Lisboa Fado
Fado probably arose from the taverns and popular squares of working-class city sectors (Alfama, Castelo, Mouraria, Bairro Alto, Madragoa), being sung and heard by the people until the well-to-do began frequenting those places to join in the enjoyment of the music. The first fado singer of renown was Maria Severa. The most popular themes were saudade, nostalgia, the small stories of everyday life in the traditional sections of town (bairros típicos) and Bullfights: these were also the themes for songs that were permitted by the Salazar dictatorship, and these themes pushed aside the tragic fado, which dealt with lovers’ jealousy or passion, often leading to violence, with lots of blood, repentance and remorse. The lyrics that were concerned with social or political problems, or which featured any complaint about the establishment, were repressed by the regime’s censorship. The “classic” fado (also known as fado castiço) was performed by the earliest performers of whom anything is known: among others these were Carlos Ramos, Alfredo Marceneiro, Berta Cardoso, Maria Teresa de Noronha, Hermínia Silva, Fernando Farinha, Fernando Maurício, Lucília do Carmo, Manuel de Almeida. Modern fado began, and had its heyday, with Amália Rodrigues. She popularized fados that featured the words of great poets, such as Luís de Camões, José Régio, Pedro Homem de Mello, Alexandre O’Neill, David Mourão-Ferreira, José Carlos Ary dos Santos, João Ferreira-Rosa, Teresa Tarouca, Carlos do Carmo, Beatriz da Conceição, Maria da Fé. João Braga also carved out his name in the history of fado’s revitalization because of the quality of the poems and the music that he performed: he interpreted poems by the authors mentioned earlier, as well as works by Fernando Pessoa, António Botto, Affonso Lopes Vieira, Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen, Miguel Torga or Manuel Alegre. Braga was also the mentor of a new generation of ‘’fadistas’’. Along with the attention to lyrics, new instrument accompaniment and music by distinguished composers were introduced: Amália collaborated with Alain Oulman (an important contributor to the modernization of fado musical accompaniment), and others who played similar roles were Frederico de Freitas, Frederico Valério, José Fontes Rocha, Alberto Janes, and Carlos Gonçalves. The Lisboa fado that is known throughout the world today can be (and often is) accompanied by violin, cello, or even by a complete orchestra, but the Portuguese guitar (guitarra portuguesa) is always an essential element. There still are today great musicians, such as Armandinho, José Nunes, Jaime Santos, Raul Nery, José Fontes Rocha, Carlos Gonçalves,Custodio Castelo, Pedro Caldeira Cabral, José Luís Nobre Costa,Ricardo Parreira , Paulo Parreira and Ricardo Rocha. The viola de fado (a Spanish style guitar) is also central to some of the fado music, such as is the case with viola de fado performers such as Alfredo Mendes, Martinho d’Assunção, Júlio Gomes, José Inácio, Francisco Perez Andión, o Paquito, Jaime Santos Jr., Carlos Manuel Proença, or with the greatest fado performer of the fado guitar bass (known in Portuguese as viola baixo) Joel Pina. Today many younger singers – Maria Ana Bobone, Mariza, Joana Amendoeira, Misia, Miguel Capucho, Mafalda Arnauth, Ana Sofia Varela, Kátia Guerreiro, Camané, Gonçalo Salgueiro, Diamantina, Cristina Branco, Ana Moura – have added their names to those of the great fadistas, and are giving this urban song an amazing revival. The traditional fado or ”típico” today is sung mainly for tourists in “fado houses” (casas de fado), with the traditional instrumentation. The best fado houses are found in the traditional or bairros típicos of Alfama, Mouraria, Bairro Alto and Madragoa. It maintains the characteristics of the tradition: singing past and present sorrow with bitter sadness. But fado can also tell a funny story with irony, or provide a way for two singers to battle, improvising the verses – this is called the desgarrada.
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