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"...
Contos De Fados
Aldina Duarte Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tantas sortes, tantas vidas
Que parecem tão diferentes
E que afinal são parecidas
Sejam de hoje ou de ontem
Inventadas ou vividas
Por mais vidas que se contem
São contos, contando contos
Que vivemos, que sonhamos,
A que se acrescentam pontos
De cada vez que os contamos
E se os contos são cantados
Se a rima for bem escolhida
Já não são contos, são fados
Já não são fados, são vida
Já não são contos, são fados
E se são fados, são vida.
The lyrics of Aldina Duarte's song Contos De Fados discuss the interconnectedness of human experiences through storytelling. The first stanza acknowledges the diversity of people and situations in the world, but also notes that at their core, they are all similar. The second stanza reflects on the power of storytelling as a way to share and connect human experiences. Whether the stories are true or invented, they all add to the richness of human existence. The chorus suggests that when stories are sung with a well-chosen rhyme, they become more than just tales - they become fados. Fados are a traditional storytelling form from Portugal that often deal with themes of longing, sorrow, and melancholy. By becoming fados, the stories take on a more significant and enduring meaning, becoming a part of the fabric of life itself.
Line by Line Meaning
Tantas terras, tantas gentes
There are so many lands and so many people
Tantas sortes, tantas vidas
So many fates, so many lives
Que parecem tão diferentes
That seem so different
E que afinal são parecidas
But in the end they are similar
Sejam de hoje ou de ontem
Whether they are from today or yesterday
Inventadas ou vividas
Whether they are made up or lived through
Por mais vidas que se contem
No matter how many lives are counted
Sobram sempre tantas vidas
There are always so many lives left
São contos, contando contos
They are stories, telling stories
Que vivemos, que sonhamos
That we live and dream
A que se acrescentam pontos
And to which points are added
De cada vez que os contamos
Every time we tell them
E se os contos são cantados
And if the stories are sung
Se a rima for bem escolhida
If the rhyme is well chosen
Já não são contos, são fados
They are no longer stories, they are fados
Já não são fados, são vida
They are no longer fados, they are life
Já não são contos, são fados
They are no longer stories, they are fados
E se são fados, são vida
And if they are fados, they are life
Contributed by Sarah E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.