Fado (; "destiny, fate") is a
music genre
A music genre is a conventional category that identifies some pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions. It is to be distinguished from ''musical form'' and musical style, although in practice these terms are some ...
that can be traced to the 1820s in
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
, Portugal, but probably has much earlier origins. Fado historian and scholar Rui Vieira Nery states that "the only reliable information on the history of fado was orally transmitted and goes back to the 1820s and 1830s at best. But even that information was frequently modified within the generational transmission process that made it reach us today."
Although the origins are difficult to trace, today fado is commonly regarded as simply a form of song which can be about anything, but must follow a certain traditional structure. 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, and infused with a sentiment of resignation, fate and melancholy. This is loosely captured by the
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
word ''
saudade
''Saudade'' (, , , ; plural ''saudades'') is an emotional state of melancholic or profoundly nostalgic longing for something that one loves despite it not necessarily being real. It often carries a repressed knowledge that the object of long ...
'', or longing, symbolizing a feeling of loss (a permanent, irreparable loss and its consequent lifelong damage). This is similar to the character of several musical genres in Portuguese ex-colonies such as
morna from
Cape Verde
, national_anthem = ()
, official_languages = Portuguese
, national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole
, capital = Praia
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, demonym ...
, which may be historically linked to fado in its earlier form and have retained its rhythmic heritage. This connection to the music of a historic Portuguese urban and maritime proletariat (sailors, bohemians, dock workers, port traders, fishwives and other working-class people) can also be found in Brazilian
modinha Modinha is the affectionate (grammatically called 'diminutive') form of the Portuguese noun "moda", meaning "fashion". The word "moda" is also used in Portugal, today, generally referring to traditional regional songs. In Portugal, "modinha" was, fr ...
and Indonesian
kroncong
Kroncong (pronounced "kronchong"; id, Keroncong, nl, Krontjong) is the name of a ukulele-like instrument and an Indonesian musical style that typically makes use of the kroncong (the sound ' comes from this instrument, so the music is called ' ...
, although all these music genres subsequently developed their own independent traditions.
Famous singers of fado include
Maria Teresa de Noronha,
Alfredo Marceneiro
Alfredo Rodrigo Duarte ComIH (25 February 1891 – 26 June 1982), better known as Alfredo Marceneiro because of his original profession as a woodworker, (Portuguese ''marceneiro''), was a Portuguese Fado singer, with a singular voice. Marceneir ...
,
D. Vicente da Câmara D. or d. may refer to, usually as an abbreviation:
* Don (honorific), a form of address in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and their former overseas empires, usually given to nobles or other individuals of high social rank.
* Date of death, as an abbreviati ...
,
Frei Hermano da Câmara,
Amália Rodrigues
Amália da Piedade Rebordão Rodrigues GCSE, GCIH (23 July 1920 – 6 October 1999), better known as Amália Rodrigues () or popularly as Amália, was a Portuguese '' fadista'' (fado singer) and actress.
Known as the 'Rainha do Fado' ("Queen ...
,
Dulce Pontes
Dulce José Silva Pontes (; born 8 April 1969) is a Portuguese songwriter and singer who performs in many musical styles, including pop, folk, and classical music. She is usually defined as a world music artist. Her songs contributed to the 1990s ...
,
Carlos do Carmo
Carlos Manuel de Ascenção do Carmo de Almeida ComIH (21 December 1939 – 1 January 2021), better known as Carlos do Carmo, was a Portuguese fado singer.
The son of Lucília do Carmo, a well-known ''fadista'', do Carmo began his career in fad ...
,
Mariza
Marisa dos Reis Nunes ComIH (born 16 December 1973), known professionally as Mariza (), is a Portuguese fado singer.
Mariza was born in Lourenço Marques, Portuguese Mozambique, to a Portuguese father, José Brandão Nunes, and a Mozambican mo ...
,
Mafalda Arnauth
Mafalda Arnauth (born October 1974) is a Portuguese people, Portuguese fado singer.
Life and career
Arnauth was born in Lisbon, Portugal, in October 1974, and her career began in 1995 when she was invited by João Braga to participate in a con ...
,
António Zambujo
António Zambujo ( ComIH) (born September 1975, in Beringel, Beja, Portugal) is a Portuguese singer and songwriter. One of the characteristic qualities of his music is the presence of Cante Alentejano, a regional genre that influenced him while ...
,
Ana Moura
Ana Cláudia Moura Pereira (born 17 September 1979), known as Ana Moura, is a Portuguese fado singer. An internationally recognized singer, she was the youngest fadista to be nominated for a Dutch Edison Award.
Early life and career
Ana Mour ...
,
Camané
Camané (born Carlos Manuel Moutinho Paiva dos Santos Duarte, 20 December 1966 in Oeiras) is a male vocalist and a forerunner of the new generation of fado male singers. "The greatest fadista since Amália Rodrigues and Maria da Fé," is how B ...
,
Helder Moutinho
Hélder António Moutinho Paiva dos Santos, artistically known as Helder Moutinho ( Oeiras, 21 February 1969) is a Portuguese singer and songwriter, and one of the most distinguished artists in the Fado genre. He's also the brother of two renowne ...
,
Carminho
Maria do Carmo Carvalho Rebelo de Andrade (born 20 August 1984, in Lisbon), better known as Carminho (), is a Portuguese fado and popular music singer. She comes from a family of musicians, since her mother, Teresa Siqueira, was a famous fado sin ...
,
Mísia
Mísia (born Susana Maria Alfonso de Aguiar, in 1955 in Porto, Portugal) is a Portuguese fado singer. Mísia is a polyglot. Despite singing mostly fado, she has sung some of her songs in Spanish, French, Catalan, English, and even Japanese.
...
,
Cristina Branco
Cristina Branco (born 28 December 1972 in Almeirim, Ribatejo, Portugal) is a Portuguese musician. She was drawn to jazz and styles of Portuguese music before settling on fado, a choice made after being introduced to the music of Amália Rodrig ...
,
Gisela João
Gisela Joao Gomes Remelho (born November 6, 1983) is a Portuguese fado singer.
The album ''Gisela João'' was number one in Portugal and was Ípsilon/ Público's and Blitz's record of the year.
Early years
Born in Barcelos, João soon develop ...
and
Katia Guerreiro
Katia Guerreiro (born February 23, 1976) is a South African-born Portuguese fado singer, who has released eight albums and has received several awards, including Order of Arts and Letters, Chevalier rank, from the French government and the Order ...
. On 27 November 2011, fado was added to the
UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists
UNESCO established its Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage with the aim of ensuring better protection of important intangible cultural heritages worldwide and the awareness of their significance.Compare: This list is published by the Intergover ...
.
It is one of two Portuguese music traditions part of the lists, the other being
Cante Alentejano
Cante Alentejano is a Portuguese music genre based on vocal music without instrumentation from the Alentejo region. It was inscribed in 2014 in UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, one of two Portuguese mu ...
.
Etymology
![Port-guitar-silva-1796](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Port-guitar-silva-1796.jpg)
The word fado possibly comes from the Latin word ''fatum''
("fate", "death" or "utterance"). The word is linked to the music genre itself, although both meanings are approximately the same in the two languages. Nevertheless, many songs play on the double meaning, such as the Amália Rodrigues song "Com que voz", which includes the lyric "''Com que voz chorarei meu triste fado''" ("With what voice should I lament my sad fate/sing my sad fado?").
The English-Latin term ''
vates
In modern English, the nouns vates () and ovate (, ), are used as technical terms for ancient Celtic bards, prophets and philosophers. The terms correspond to a Proto-Celtic word which can be reconstructed as *''wātis''.Bernhard Maier, ''Dictio ...
'', the Scandinavian ''fata'' ("to compose music") and the French name ''fatiste'' (also meaning "poet") have been associated with the term ''fadista''.
History
Fado appeared during the early 19th century in Lisbon, and is believed to have its origins in the bohemian areas of the capital such as
Bairro Alto
Bairro Alto (; literally: ''Upper District'') is a central district of the city of Lisbon, the Portuguese capital. Unlike many of the civil parishes of Lisbon, this region can be commonly explained as a loose association of neighbourhoods, with no ...
, Mouraria and Alfama districts.
There are numerous theories about the origin of fado. Some trace its origins or influences to the Medieval "
cantigas de amigo
''Cantiga de amigo'' (, ) or ''cantiga d'amigo'' (Galician-Portuguese spelling), literally "friend song", is a genre of medieval lyric poetry, apparently rooted in a female-voiced song tradition native to the northwest quadrant of the Iberian Peni ...
" (song of a friend), some suggest some ancient Moorish influence and others point to the chants of Africans (enslaved?) sailing at sea, but none is conclusive. It possibly evolved and formed, from a mixture of several older musical genres.
Fado performers in the middle of the 19th century were mainly from the urban working-class, namely sailors, bohemians and
courtesans
Courtesan, in modern usage, is a euphemism for a "kept" mistress or prostitute, particularly one with wealthy, powerful, or influential clients. The term historically referred to a courtier, a person who attended the court of a monarch or other ...
in popular taverns, who not only sang but also danced and beat the fado. During the second half of the 19th century, the dance rhythms faded away, and the performers became merely singers (fadistas).
![Maria Severa - Fado-Sängerin](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Maria_Severa_-_Fado-S%C3%A4ngerin.jpg)
The 19th century's fadista
Maria Severa, a half
Cigano woman considered scandalous by some at the time, was the artist who made this genre famous.
More recently
Amália Rodrigues
Amália da Piedade Rebordão Rodrigues GCSE, GCIH (23 July 1920 – 6 October 1999), better known as Amália Rodrigues () or popularly as Amália, was a Portuguese '' fadista'' (fado singer) and actress.
Known as the 'Rainha do Fado' ("Queen ...
, known as the "Rainha do Fado" ("Queen of Fado") was most influential in popularizing fado worldwide.
Fado performances today may be accompanied by a string quartet or a full orchestra.
Musicological aspects
Fado typically employs the
Dorian mode
Dorian mode or Doric mode can refer to three very different but interrelated subjects: one of the Ancient Greek ''harmoniai'' (characteristic melodic behaviour, or the scale structure associated with it); one of the medieval musical modes; or—mos ...
or
Ionian mode
Ionian mode is a musical mode or, in modern usage, a diatonic scale also called the major scale.
It is the name assigned by Heinrich Glarean in 1547 to his new authentic mode on C (mode 11 in his numbering scheme), which uses the diatonic octav ...
(natural major), sometimes switching between the two during a melody or verse change.
A particular stylistic trait of fado is the use of
rubato Tempo rubato (, , ; 'free in the presentation', literally ) is a musical term referring to expressive and rhythmic freedom by a slight speeding up and then slowing down of the tempo of a piece at the discretion of the soloist or the conductor. Rub ...
, where the music pauses at the end of a phrase and the singer holds the note for dramatic effect. The music uses double time rhythm and triple time (
waltz
The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position.
History
There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the wa ...
style).
Varieties
There are two main varieties of fado, namely those of the cities of
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
and
Coimbra
Coimbra (, also , , or ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of .
The fourth-largest urban area in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto Metropolitan Area, Porto, and Bra ...
. The Lisbon style is more well known, alongside the status of Amália Rodrigues, while that of Coimbra is traditionally linked to the city's
university
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
and the style of medieval serenading
troubadours
A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a ''trobairit ...
.
Modern fado is popular in Portugal, and has produced many renowned
musicians
A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...
.
Madonna explains fado at her 2021 concert film
Madame X
''Madame X'' (original title ''La Femme X'') is a 1908 play by French playwright Alexandre Bisson (1848–1912). It was novelized in English and adapted for the American stage; it was also adapted for the screen twelve times over sixty-five ...
.
Coimbra fado
![Queima 2009](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Queima_2009.jpg)
This fado is closely linked to the academic traditions of the
University of Coimbra
The University of Coimbra (UC; pt, Universidade de Coimbra, ) is a Public university, public research university in Coimbra, Portugal. First established in Lisbon in 1290, it went through a number of relocations until moving permanently to Coi ...
and is exclusively sung by men; both the singers and musicians wear the academic outfit (traje académico): dark robe, cape and leggings. Dating to the
troubadour
A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a ''trobairit ...
tradition of medieval times, it is sung at night, almost in the dark, in city squares or streets. The most typical venues are the stairsteps of the
Santa Cruz Monastery
The Monastery of the Holy Cross ( pt, Mosteiro da Santa Cruz, links=no), also known as the Church of the Holy Cross, is a List of national monuments of Portugal, National Monument in Coimbra, Portugal. Because the first two kings of Portugal are b ...
and the
Old Cathedral of Coimbra
The Old Cathedral of Coimbra ( pt, Sé Velha de Coimbra) is a Romanesque architecture, Romanesque Roman Catholic building in Portugal. Construction of the Sé Velha began some time after the Battle of Ourique (1139), when Prince Afonso Henriques ...
. It is also customary to organize
serenade
In music, a serenade (; also sometimes called a serenata, from the Italian) is a musical composition or performance delivered in honor of someone or something. Serenades are typically calm, light pieces of music. The term comes from the Italian w ...
s where songs are performed before the window of a woman to be courted.
As in Lisbon, Coimbra fado is accompanied by the ''guitarra portuguesa'' and ''viola'' (a type of guitar). The Coimbra guitar has evolved into an instrument different from that of Lisbon, with its own tuning, sound colouring, and construction.
Artur Paredes
Artur Paredes (10 May 1899 – 20 December 1980) was a Portuguese guitar player in the city of Coimbra. He was the natural son of Gonçalo Rodrigues Paredes and Maria do Céu."Artur Paredes."Museu Do Fado March 2009. Accessed October 18, 2018.
...
, a progressive and innovative singer, revolutionised the tuning of the guitar and its accompaniment style to Coimbra fado. Artur Paredes was the father of
Carlos Paredes
Carlos Paredes ComSE (; 16 February 1925 – 23 July 2004) was a virtuoso Portuguese guitar player and composer. He is regarded as one of the greatest players of Portuguese guitar of all-time.
Born in Coimbra, Portugal, in a family with a l ...
, who followed in his father's footsteps and expanded on his work, making the Portuguese guitar an instrument known around the world.
In the 1950s, a new movement led the singers of Coimbra to adopt the ballad and folklore. They began interpreting lines of the great poets, both classical and contemporary, as a form of resistance to the
Salazar dictatorship. In this movement names such as
Adriano Correia de Oliveira
Adriano Maria Correia Gomes de Oliveira, GCIH, ComL, or just Adriano (April 9, 1942 – October 16, 1982) was a Portuguese musician, born to a conservative Roman Catholic family in Porto. His family moved to Avintes after his birth. He went to C ...
and
José Afonso
José Manuel Cerqueira Afonso dos Santos (2 August 1929 – 23 February 1987), known professionally as José Afonso and also popularly known as Zeca Afonso or simply Zeca, was a Portuguese singer-songwriter. One of the most influential folk and ...
(Zeca Afonso) had a leading role in popular music during the Portuguese revolution 1974.
Some of the most famous fados of Coimbra include: ''Fado Hilário'', ''Saudades de Coimbra'' ("Do Choupal até à Lapa"), ''Balada da Despedida'' ("Coimbra tem mais encanto, na hora da despedida" - the first phrases are often more recognizable than the song titles), ''O meu menino é d'oiro'', and ''Samaritana''. The "judge-singer"
Fernando Machado Soares
Fernando Machado Soares (3 September 1930, in São Roque do Pico – 7 December 2014), was a Portuguese fado singer, poet, composer, jurist and judge.
Early life
He was born in the municipality of São Roque, on the island of Pico, the archipel ...
is an important figure, being the author of some of those famous fados.
Curiously, it is not a Coimbra fado but a popular song which is the most known title referring to this city: ''Coimbra é uma lição'', which had success with titles such as ''April in Portugal''.
See also
* ''
Fados'', a 2007 movie about fado by Spanish director
Carlos Saura
Carlos Saura Atarés (born 4 January 1932) is a Spanish film director, photographer and writer. Along with Luis Buñuel and Pedro Almodóvar, he is considered to be one of Spain’s most renowned filmmakers. He has a long and prolific career th ...
*
List of fado musicians
This is a list of fado musicians.
Singers
{{cmn,
*Mafalda Arnauth
*Cristina Branco
*Camané
*Carminho
*Carlos do Carmo
* Beatriz da Conceição
*Rouxinol Faduncho (Marco Horácio)
* Luís Goes
*Katia Guerreiro
*Gisela João
*Alfredo Marceneiro
* ...
References
External links
Fado Music in Alfama Neighborhood of Lisbon
{{Authority control
Portuguese music
Urban street dance and music
Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity