Ana Moura has become a leading exponent of this poetic, deeply expressive idiom which personifies the Portuguese psyche as it explores such universal themes as lost love, separation, and longing.
As Ana explains, "It's very special because it's all about emotions and feelings. It needs no translation."
Ana was born in 1980, in Santarém, the bustling capital of the Ribatejo province in the center of Portugal's heartland on the Tejo River northeast of Lisbon.
The city of half a million souls is also one of Portugal's most historic cities -- an ideal place to develop an appreciation for fado. "I've been singing fado since I was little, because grew up listening to it at home," she recalls of her early home life. "My parents sang well, and at family gatherings, we all would sing."
Like young people everywhere, she soon developed an appreciation for other styles of music. The lure of singing fado, however, never waned. In her late teens, while sing pop and rock music with a local band, Ana always included at least one fado in each performance. Then, one night on a whim, about five years ago, she and some friends went to one of Lisbon's storied fado houses -- small performance venues where singers, guitarists and aficionados gather to worship the affecting style that's become Portugal's most important music export.
At the urging of her companions, she sang. "People liked me," she recalls of her first foray into a venerated bastion of the fado culture. Later that year, at a Christmas party that was attended by a lot of fadistas (fado singers) and guitarists, she sang again and, as fate would have it, noted fado vocalist Maria de Fe was in the audience and was duly impressed. "She asked me to sing at her fado house," Ana recalls of the fortuitous moment that launched her career.
"My life changed when I began going to the fado houses," Ana states today. "There's no microphone -- it's very intimate. New singers learn through a kind of apprenticeship, learning the intricacies of the style from the older, more established singers."
Before long, word of Ana's rich contralto, stunning looks and innate affinity for the demanding style spread, winning airtime on local television programs devoted to fado and rave reviews in Lisbon newspapers.
Ana has emerged as a leading voice of traditional fado just as the venerable idiom is enjoying a renaissance of popularity. "Today," she explains, "there's a new generation that sings lyrics related to our time. There are some older fado songs that we, the younger singers, cannot perform, because the lyrics are about a time and themes we don't identify with. We don't feel it, and fado is all about feelings. We must feel what we sing, and there are many older fados that don't belong to our generation. Younger singers use lyrics that speak of today, so young people have begun to get more interested in the music again."
As with jazz and country music in the U.S., tango in Argentina, samba in Brazil, fado sprang from the culture of working class people. And, as with the aforementioned examples, over the years the style evolved from humble origins to win broad appeal. Today, as Ana proudly proclaims, "In Portugal, fado is for everyone."
Like virtually every aspiring fadista, Ana drew early inspiration from the example of Amalia Rodrigues, the revered singer who most personified the style. "It was her soul and her voice," she comments of the late vocalist's singular imprint on the music. "She had everything in her. Some singers have a great voice by no soul, no intensity. Others have feeling but not a suitable voice. She had it all, and, she was a very good improviser."
Improvising is an under-appreciated part of the fado tradition. One technique, which Ana uses to great effect on the song "Lavava no rio lavava" (I Went to the River to Wash), is what the Portuguese term vocalisos -- the expression of words and effects through use of vocal trills. The practice is believed to have been absorbed over centuries of exposure to Spanish flamenco and Moorish styles.
A key track from her album exquisitely sums up the magnetic pull fado has exerted on Ana. "Sou do fado, sou fadista" (I belong to fado, I am a fadista) by her mentor and primary collaborator, guitarist Jorge Fernando, eloquently explains Ana's total surrender to the style:
"I know my soul has surrendered, taken my voice in hand, twisted in my chest and shown it to the world. And I have closed my eyes in a wistful longing to sing, to sing. And a voice sings to me softly, and a voice enchants me softly, I belong to fado, I belong to fado, I am a fadista."
Today, Ana Moura still thinks of how and where it all began, and of the importance of keeping those vital ties alive. "Before," she muses, "I used to sing in the fado house every day. Today, because of my concert schedule and travel, it's impossible. But, when time permits, I like to return. Sometimes I feel that I must go there. I need that."
(Adapted from a text by Cindy Byram)
A Penumbra
Ana Moura Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Pensamento inútil vou tentar-me anular
Fiquei triste, triste sou, eu não sei rezar
Vem que a alma se afunda
Nesta imensa penumbra
Que a noite me está morrendo
Que a noite me está morrendo
Minha noite um brilho tem, um sinal plebeu
Não tenho malícia mãe, o discuido é teu
O amor não se nega nem a quem nega o seu
Uma noite em claro estou a saber de mim
À flor da minh'alma sou princípio do fim
Quem me prendeu, quem me amou
Não cuidou de mim
Półcień
W noc przejrzystą jestem i nie umiem się modlić
Kusi mnie by zbędną myśl iść i unieważnić
Byłam smutna, smutna jestem, nie umiem się modlić
Dusza ma pogrążona
W tym ogromnym półcieniu
Co noc mi umierająca
Co noc mi umierająca
Moja noc ma blask, swój znak, taki zwykły znak
Nie jestem złośliwa mamo, twa jest nieostrożna
Miłość nie neguje nie i jej nie zaprzecza
W noc przejrzystą jestem i, we mnie nic nie umiem
Jestem kwiatem duszy mej i końca początkiem
Kto mnie więził, umiłował
I nie troszczył o mnie
Dusza ma pogrążona
W tym ogromnym półcieniu
Co noc mi umierająca
Co noc mi umierająca
The song A Penumbra by Ana Moura is a soulful lament about the troubles of the night that leads to a darkness in one's soul. The lyrics depict the singer's inability to pray as she tries to push out useless thoughts and feelings that bring her sadness. The first stanza sets the mood by describing the uselessness of thoughts that invade the singer's consciousness even when she tries to block them out. She is sad and disheartened, and she explores the deep corners of her soul in her search for meaning. She is asking herself who loved and who imprisoned her when she needed their help.
In the chorus, the singer highlights her feelings of hopelessness and her longing for light amidst the darkness. She talks about the penumbra, which refers to the gray shaded areas at the edges of a light source. This is a metaphor for her soul that is struggling to find its way out of the shadows. The final stanza brings out a sense of confusion, and the singer admits that she cannot find her way out of the dark. She feels like a flower of her soul, unsure of what to do and where to go.
Overall, A Penumbra is a powerful and thought-provoking song that speaks to the listener at a deep emotional level. It is a song that anyone who has experienced darkness in their lives can relate to. The message is that while the night may be dark, it is not permanent, and there is always a way out of the shadows.
Line by Line Meaning
Uma noite em claro estou, eu não sei rezar
I am awake all night, I do not know how to pray.
Pensamento inútil vou tentar-me anular
I will try to nullify my pointless thoughts.
Fiquei triste, triste sou, eu não sei rezar
I became sad, I am a sad person, I do not know how to pray.
Vem que a alma se afunda
Come because the soul sinks.
Nesta imensa penumbra
In this immense twilight.
Que a noite me está morrendo
That the night is dying on me.
Minha noite um brilho tem, um sinal plebeu
My night has a brightness, a common sign.
Não tenho malícia mãe, o discuido é teu
I am not malicious, mother, the mistake is yours.
O amor não se nega nem a quem nega o seu
Love is not denied, even by those who deny it.
Uma noite em claro estou a saber de mim
I am awake all night, getting to know myself.
À flor da minh'alma sou princípio do fim
At the surface of my soul, I am the beginning of the end.
Quem me prendeu, quem me amou
Whoever held me, whoever loved me.
Não cuidou de mim
Did not take care of me.
Dusza ma pogrążona
My soul is submerged.
W tym ogromnym półcieniu
In this immense half-light.
Co noc mi umierająca
Every night, dying on me.
Contributed by Joseph J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Thomas VASCO
Belas fotos, música cativante de beleza, cores espetaculares. Paraiso na Terra!
Maria Canuto
Oh! Que música, que voz linda. Adoro, tudo isso é fantástico.
Sérgio Pinto
Uma noite em claro estou a saber de mim - one night without sleeping I'm looking for myself À flor da minh’alma sou princípio do fim - the flower of my soul I'm the begining of the end Quem me prendeu, quem me amou - who traped me, who loved me Não cuidou de mim- didn't care for me
Gilberto Ferraz
Magnífica interpretação. Parabens! Gilberto FERRAZ
Luiz Santos
Concordo Ana Moura é, sem sombra de dúvida, a melhor fadista! Fado "Talvez Depois" meu preferido!
mavie terre
belle voix et belle interprétation , bravo!!
Rui Canelas
É mesmo a melhor Fadista dos nossos Tempos, Uma Nova Amália =)
josé geraldo forte dos santos fernandes
Linda.....voz....Linda...Música.
Sérgio Pinto
Minha noite um brilho tem, um sinal plebeu - my night has a glow, a vulgar sign Não tenho malícia mãe, o descuido é teu - i don't have malice mother, it's your negligiance O amor não se nega nem a quem nega o seu - Love isn't denied even to those who deny their
Marcia Banda
Love this song!!...-)