fado

Hear this out loudPauseIn popular belief, fado is a form of music characterized by mournful tunes and lyrics, often about the sea or the life of the poor, and infused with a sentiment of resignation, fate and melancholy.

Hear this out loudPauseFado is known for how expressive and profoundly melancholic it is. In fado music, the musician will sing about the hard realities of daily life, balancing both resignation and hopefulness that a resolution to its torments can still occur.

Hear this out loudPauseA shawl, a guitar, a voice and a lot of feeling. A recognised symbol of Portugal, this simple image can describe Fado, a music of the world that is Portuguese. In its essence, it sings the feeling, the heartbreak, the longing for someone who left, the daily life and the conquests.

Hear this out loudPauseFado's roots can be traced back to the early 1800's and originated in Portugal, but only appeared in Lisbon after 1830. The word Fado comes from the Latin word fatum, from which the English word fate also comes from. Fado was added to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage on November 27, 2011.

Amália Rodrigues Hear this out loudPauseKnown as the "Rainha do Fado" ("Queen of Fado"), Amália Rodrigues was a Portuguese singer and actress best known for her passionate and romantic, yet hauntingly tragic, renditions of fado, Lisbon's traditional form of song.

Hear this out loudPauseTraditional Fado Dancing In the early nineteenth century, Fado entertainers were fundamentally from the urban areas, where the people of the working class both sang and danced the Fado. During the later part of the nineteenth century, the tradition of dancing transitioned into a singer-focused style of music.

Hear this out loudPauseThere are two great fado families: Fado Tradicional and Fado Canção (or Musicated Fado). But in most concerts, fado singers, like Amália Rodrigues, also do a “mixed program” and sing two more styles of Portuguese music, but that are not Fado: Marchas and Folclore.

Hear this out loudPauseFado is the folk music of Lisbon's rustic neighborhoods. Since the mid-1800s, it's been the Lisbon blues - mournfully beautiful and haunting ballads about lost sailors, broken hearts, and bittersweet romance. Fado means "fate" - how fate deals with Portugal's adventurers...and the families they leave behind.

And quickly took its place as the music of the country. Most Portuguese need but one word to describe fado. So dodgy which loosely translates to longing travel a murmur by Shawn the father national.

Hear this out loudPauseConsidered the “King of Fado” in Portugal, Camané has performed concerts in the main cities of Portugal, Europe, America and Asia.

Maria Severa Onofriana Hear this out loudPauseMaria Severa Onofriana (26 July 1820 – 30 November 1846), also known simply as A Severa, was a Portuguese fado singer and guitarist. She is regarded, in her short life, as the first fado singer to have risen to fame, attaining a near-mythical status after her death.

two Hear this out loudPauseTherefore, let's analyze what, currently, fado singers usually sing in their shows and try to understand each of these styles. There are two great fado families: Fado Tradicional and Fado Canção (or Musicated Fado).