Portugal: Le Fado de Coimbra

by Fernando Machado Soares

Overview

Fado has often been compared to the blues. But while both forms strive to make sadness into a transcendent aesthetic experience and both owe much to folk music, the Coimbra fado at least owes much more to classical and liturgical sources than the blues does, not surprising since it was synthesized out of diverse influences by students at the University of Coimbra in the 19th century. In any case the songs on this live collection are less heartbroken than some other fados and instead are more in the nature of gorgeous ballads, full of dignified yearning. The "Ballad of Farewell" is so sweet and sad it melts the heart, and the audience's singing along on the choruses for once adds to the mood. The singer is one of the greatest living fadistas. He is possessed of a distinctive, even strange tenor voice, rather operatic for a "folk" singer. In fact, making allowances for age, language, and material, he sounds almost exactly like British art song tenor Nigel Rogers, both in level of refinement and the oddness of his vocal timbre. The guitarists backing Soares play the Portuguese 8- or 12-string guitar and the classical guitar. The lead Portuguese guitar player, Jose Pontes Rocha, delivers a wonderful instrumental composition of his own, a set of variations in d minor. This album would make two different audiences happy: first, those who are interested in fado and its kin (like the music of Cesaria Evora) and second, those who are fond of the art song tradition and would like to hear an exotic variation on it. ~ Kurt Keefner

Product Details

Release Date:	08/14/2001
Label:	OCORA FRANCE
UPC:	0794881648924

Tracks

1. A Ilha E O Sonho
2. Senhora D'Aires
3. Elegia
4. Santa Luzia
5. Variations en la Mineur Variations in A Minor
6. Teu Nome
7. Balada Para Uma Vida
8. Noites de Festa
9. Balada de Outono
10. Cancao de Alcipe
11. Trova du Vento que Passa
12. Fado Mentira

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Fernando Machado Soares   Primary Artist,Guitar (Classical),Guitar,Chant,Vocals
Dorval Moreirinhas   Guitar (Classical)
Jose Fontes Rocha   Guitar

Technical Credits

Alliramy Brochand   Production Secretary
Jean-Michel Bernot   Collaboration
Mary Pardoe   Liner Note Translation
Antonio Menano   Text,Composer
Pascal Besnard   Editing,Montage
Frederic Deval   Producer,Liner Notes
Ercolano Caetano   Liner Note Translation
Manuel Alegre   Composer,Text
Pierre Toureille   Collection
Public Domain   Composer
Antonio Portugal   Composer
Dino Saluzzi   Composer
Jose Afonso   Composer,Text
Fernando Machado Soares   Liner Notes,Composer,Text
Nicolas Sapieha   Photography
Traditional   Composer
Fontes Rocha   Composer
Artur Paredes   Composer