Booming Fado - [www.thisislondon.co.uk]

[Mario Ferreira]

URL: http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/music/gig ... d=23419282

Booming Fado

Simon Broughton 02.11.07

It's impossible to imagine fado like this five years ago, before the huge success of Mariza in the UK, who has brought renewed international attention to the music. But it is also impossible to imagine it before London's annual Atlantic Waves festival of "exploratory music" from Portugal, which opened with this pretty traditional, but spectacular, line-up of six divas of fado.

The traditional backing of Spanish guitar, Portuguese guitar and huge acoustic bass guitar accompanied Raquel Tavares, who, in her early 20s but clad in the traditional black shawl, launched into her first song and uttered the magical fado word "saudade" (longing) within 20 seconds. It was going to be a night of traditional or at least neo-traditional fado.

All the younger singers - Aldina Duarte, Joana Amendoeira and Mafalda Arnauth (quite a star in Portugal) - slipped easily between Portuguese and English to explain some of the songs to this mixed Anglo-Lusophone audience, although the Portuguese were the more vociferous.

But it was veteran singers Beatriz da Conceição and Maria da Fé who made you realise how fado needs to be lived as well as just reinterpreted. Beatriz - imagine Ann Widdicombe in a lacy black dress and shawl - was the star, with a theatrical gravitas and ability to make every word sound spontaneous. Mariza aside, Lisbon's fado is booming.

[Alan C.]

And so it should! Marvelous music.

I'm not sure I want to visualise Anne Widdecombe in anything! But good luck to them.

Mariza takes some beating, soulful voice with a sensual presence.

Alan

[Roy Hersh]

Lost in translation: "Mariza takes some beating."

I happen to love Fado and have since 1994. I like the old masters and I like some of the newer names and of course Mariza fantastic. I know Mario has seen her live and is a groupie, but I've never been so fortunate even though she occasionally plays in the USA.

I have always felt that one of the things we fail to do on our TOURS is to enjoy a great Fado performance. I may have to change that for the next one!

[Todd Pettinger]

I know Mario has seen her live and is a groupie

I can just picture Mario in the crowd... swaying to the music and holding up a half-empty bottle of Bin 27 or Six Grapes.

Todd

[Roy Hersh]

How did you know his two all-time favorite Ports, are you clairvoyant?

[Todd Pettinger]

Good guess. They are robust enough to outlast "anything else" that might be hanging around a concert of any type! :twisted: :?

[Mario Ferreira]

Hey !!! - I can handle those handle those two Ports pretty well !! - Seriously
I have no problems with any of those :) :) :)

I've seen twice Mariza performing alive. Curiously, both in the USA and never in Portugal !! - the first time I saw Mariza alive was in New York in the Town Hall (in 2003 I believe) and the second time was in Oct-or-Nov-2004 in Oakland, California, for a show included in the San Francisco Jazz Festival.

MF

[Marco D.]

I just caught the documentary on Amalia Rodriguez called "Art of Amalia" on TV:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0204839/

Highly recommended. It has some pretty rare footage, including a chilling rendition of "Barco Negro".

[Roy Hersh]

Thanks for this article, it gave me an idea of what to do with my last night in Portugal.