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"...

Muro Vazio
Aldina Duarte Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

A folhagem rente ao muro
No silêncio quase escuro
Cresceu pouco e devagar;
Dia a a dia fui esperando
Sem saber bem até quando
Pelas flores que quis plantar

Mesmo em frente à tua casa

Esse muro quase branco
De verde o queria cobrir
As flores vieram depois
Discretas, para nós dois
Só para te ver a sorrir

Sem as flores te vi partir
Nesse instante quis fugir
Para além do muro vazio
Hoje o verde acorda os dias

Adormece as noites frias
Mas as flores, ninguém as viu

Overall Meaning

In Aldina Duarte's song "Muro Vazio," the singer speaks about a wall that they had hoped to cover with plants and flowers, which grew slowly and quietly over time. Even though they didn't know how long it would take, they continued to wait patiently for the flowers to bloom. The wall in question was almost white, and the singer had hoped to cover it completely with lush greenery. The flowers that did eventually bloom were discreet, almost as if they had been meant only for the singer and the person they were singing to, bringing a smile to their face. However, despite their efforts, the flowers were not enough to make the person stay, and the singer was left feeling alone and wanting to escape beyond the empty wall. The greenery that had slowly grown on the wall now serves as a reminder of what once was, with the flowers long gone.

The lyrics in this song are a beautiful metaphor for a relationship, where the wall represented the separation between two people, and the flowers represented love and affection. By slowly nurturing the relationship, the singer had hoped to eventually cover the wall completely with the love and care they had for the other person. However, this was not enough to keep them together, and the singer was left to face the empty wall and the lost love they had once shared.

Line by Line Meaning

A folhagem rente ao muro
The foliage clinging to the wall

No silêncio quase escuro
In the almost dark silence

Cresceu pouco e devagar;
Grew slowly and little;

Dia a a dia fui esperando
Day after day I waited

Sem saber bem até quando
Without knowing for how long

Pelas flores que quis plantar
For the flowers I wanted to plant

Mesmo em frente à tua casa
Right in front of your house

Esse muro quase branco
That almost white wall

De verde o queria cobrir
I wanted to cover it with green

As flores vieram depois
The flowers came later

Discretas, para nós dois
Discreetly, for us two