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 Voz Que Conta A Nossa História
Ana Moura Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Num compassar dolente e sossegado
Seduz a minha alma uma voz de homem
Que ao longe entoa triste um triste fado
Como se aquela voz entristecida
Contasse a nossa história a toda a gente
Cada quadra parece ser escolhida
E enquanto eu não reclamo a dor dos dias
Em que me afundo a sós nesta memória
O frio das noites frias e vazias
Só cabe a voz que conta a nossa história
The above lyrics are from the song "A Voz Que Conta A Nossa História" by Ana Moura. The song starts by referring to a friend, and how the hours seem to sleep peacefully within the singer's chest. However, what seduces the singer's soul is a sad and melancholic voice of a man in the distance who sings a sad fado.
As the song progresses, it becomes clear that the voice is telling the story of the singer and their lover. Each verse seems to be carefully chosen to reflect the pain of a love that hurts slowly. The singer is not able to forget the memories and cannot escape the pain, as the voice of the man continues to narrate their story.
Overall, the song is a reflection of the pain and longing associated with love. The melancholic voice of the man is used to convey the depth of emotion, and the lyrics paint a vivid picture of a love that was intense but ultimately led to heartache.
Line by Line Meaning
Amiga no meu peito, as horas dormem
My heart is like a friend in whom time sleeps peacefully and slowly.
Num compassar dolente e sossegado
In a rhythm that is both melancholic and calm.
Seduz a minha alma uma voz de homem
A man's voice seduces my soul.
Que ao longe entoa triste um triste fado
From afar, it sings a sad fado.
Como se aquela voz entristecida
As if that sad voice
Contasse a nossa história a toda a gente
Is telling our story to everyone.
Cada quadra parece ser escolhida
Each verse seems to be chosen
Do amor que quer doer lentamente
Of a love that wants to slowly hurt.
E enquanto eu não reclamo a dor dos dias
And while I don't complain about the pain of the days
Em que me afundo a sós nesta memória
In which I sink alone in this memory
O frio das noites frias e vazias
The cold of the cold and empty nights
Só cabe a voz que conta a nossa história
Only the voice that tells our story fits
Contributed by Samuel N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.