The Mournful Beauty of Fado Music
Fado is a traditional music genre from Portugal, characterized by mournful songs and themes of longing, separation, and nostalgia.
It is typically sung in Portuguese and accompanied by a 12-string guitar, or “Portuguese guitar.” It is not widely popular outside of Portugal and the Portuguese-speaking world, though it has a dedicated fanbase in those regions.
Born in the popular contexts of the 1800s Lisbon, Fado was present in convivial and leisure moments. Happening spontaneously, its execution took place indoors or outdoors, in gardens, bullfights, retreats, streets and alley, taverns, and cafés.
Fado is meant to be felt, not understood or explained.
- AMÁLIA RODRIGUES
Often referred to as the “Queen of Fado,” Amália Rodrigues was a prominent fado singer in the 20th century and helped popularize the genre internationally.
A recognized symbol of Portugal, Fado is a passionate performance that incorporates music and poetry. It represents a Portuguese multicultural synthesis of Afro-Brazilian sung dances, local traditional genres of song and dance, musical traditions from rural areas of the country brought by successive waves of internal immigration, and the cosmopolitan urban song patterns of the early nineteenth century.
A sample of Fado lyrics:
Fado was born on a day,
When the wind barely stirred,
And the seas elongated the skies.
On the main rail of a sailing ship,
In the chest of a seaman
While sorrowful he sang.
While sorrowful he sang.Oh, what immense beauty,
My land, my hill, my valley
Of golden leaves, flowers and fruits
Do you see lands of Spain,
Sands of Portugal,
Vision blinded by tears.In the mouth of a seaman
In the fragile sailing ship
The hurtful song fading
With the piercing of desires
From the lips burning with kisses
That kiss the air and nothing more,
That kiss the air and nothing more.