Her greatest mystery is the definition of her soul as a Fado singer, given … Read Full Bio ↴Her greatest mystery is the definition of her soul as a Fado singer, given she grew up away from the "family" of Fado. That soul is revealed in her intelligent voice, in her rare timbre, in the way the words sound so organic, syllable by syllable, note by note… The poems, the music set a mood for the story that is being sung; the instrumental accompaniment further underscores the intuition of the Fado singer, shaping the voice to the meaning of the words, to the musical improvisation. Together, these elements make the Art of Fado. It only appears when there is a soul. If there is a soul. Aldina's personality is entirely within her performing abilities. Everything in her art becomes immediately original, in a shockingly simple way. Aldina Duarte believes. Aldina Duarte makes us believe. Aldina Duarte began working at 20 in a newspaper. Then she worked in radio. She was a backing singer in an art school band. She performed in a film, Manuel Mozos's Xavier, where she sang the only Fado she had ever known, Rua do Capelão, one of Amália Rodrigues' greatest hits. Later, she started listening to Fado in a venue where she first came across Beatriz da Conceição, one of the genre's classic divas. They spoke of Fado, of life as a Fado singer. Aldina became enamoured of all she heard; asked for her advice, heard her speak of everything that means anything in Fado. She wished to sing Fado. She spent her days listening to records, her nights listening to singers, her months reading and memorizing poems. She sang in a stage play. Later she sang live during Lisbon's June celebrations; then she accepted an invitation for a TV variety show where she only lasted three programmes, realising it wasn't the road she wanted to take. It all suddenly fit into place when she sang, in a residency at a prestigious Lisbon theatre. Once a month, they would invite their favourite Fado singers and actors who would do poetry readings. The residency was often favourably mentioned in the press, audiences flocked.
Then Aldina was invited to sing nightly in a Fado venue; it was as if she had passed a tough entrance exam into a Fado school. She respected and maintained the rituals she had always found distinctive and beautiful about Fado: a black shawl, a black dress, silence, diffuse lighting. Everything she had ever loved about Fado. Her success led to invitations to sing in other Fado venues, to guest in concerts. One day she was invited to sing abroad, in the Piccolo Teatro of Milan; to sing Fado in a play about poet Fernando Pessoa, written by novelist and essayist Antonio Tabucchi and directed by lead actor Giancarlo Dettori, director Lamberto Puggelli and the Master, Giorgio Strehler. The experience helped shape what was to become her attitude towards Fado, leading her to be more careful about what she sang, and how she sang it. Besides singing professionally at the Senhor Vinho venue, Aldina has worked in the the Portuguese Cinemathèque - Cinema Museum and is currently a researcher at EMI Music Portugal where she is organizing the company's immense archives of Portuguese music - much of which is made up of Fado recordings. Beginning 2004, Aldina Duarte released her debut album “Apenas o Amor”. Since then she has been performing concerts in Portugal, Spain, France, Morocco, Italy, Belgium, Austria and The Netherlands. “Apenas o Amor” since its release has been referred as one of the best albums of 2004 by the Portuguese press. Her second cd "Crua" was released in January of 2006.The album was produced by João Monge who was also responsible for writing the lyrics... And now, 2008, the third album "Mulheres ao Espelho"...

À Espera de Redenção
Aldina Duarte Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Fiz minha casa ao relento
De cinzas, a minha cama
Sem abrigo, como o vento
Sem destino, como a chama

Fiz as pazes com a guerra
Fiz punhais de grandes mágoas
Sem remorsos, como a terra

Sem limite, como as águas

Dei fim a tudo o que quero
Para voltar ao início
Fiz da crença, desespero
Do caminho, precipício

Fiz do gesto, a desmedida
Da perdição, o meu norte
Sem sentido, como a vida
Sem regresso, como a morte

Fiz da terra o meu tormento
Do fogo, devastação
Como as águas, como o vento
Sem rumo nem direcção

Fiz do vazio pensamento
À espera de redenção

Overall Meaning

These lyrics in Aldina Duarte's song, À Espera de Redenção, convey a sense of aimlessness, despair, and resignation. The first two stanzas of the song signify a lack of purpose and stability through the imagery of a makeshift home built on ashes and a bed left out in the open. The comparison to the wind and fire also reinforces the transience of existence. The third and fourth stanzas introduce the themes of regret and surrender, with the singer acknowledging the inability to achieve what they once desired and settling for a state of hopelessness.

Line by Line Meaning

Fiz minha casa ao relento
I built my home in the open air

De cinzas, a minha cama
My bed is made of ashes

Sem abrigo, como o vento
Without shelter, like the wind

Sem destino, como a chama
Without destination, like the flame

Fiz as pazes com a guerra
I made peace with war

Fiz punhais de grandes mágoas
I made daggers out of great sorrows

Sem remorsos, como a terra
Without remorse, like the earth

Sem limite, como as águas
Without limit, like the waters

Dei fim a tudo o que quero
I put an end to everything I want

Para voltar ao início
To go back to the beginning

Fiz da crença, desespero
I turned belief into despair