Today her value is recognized, not only in Portugal but also in many foreign countries, where her presence is regularly requested.
Mafalda Arnauth, her first album released in 1999, was immediately acclaimed by specialists and won the Prize for Best Upcoming Voice by the weekly magazine Blitz, a sign that new generations are back into fado.
After a year filled with concerts and important invitations, that took her to the most important concert halls in The Netherlands, the Louisiana Centre (Denmark) and to Italy, to perform in the festival Sete-Sois, Sete-Luas, an important Mediterranean folk event, she sang at Centro Cultural de Belém (Lisbon), where she was warmly acclaimed by the press.
Mafalda's second album, Esta voz que me atravessa (This voice that goes through me) was reelased in 2001 and it was produced by Amélia Muge and José Martins. Her album Encantamento was self-produced. She feels it "leaves fatality, disgrace, and nostalgia behind. Hope is fed on sadness; inspiration on suffering; strength and courage on diffculties."
As Fontes
Mafalda Arnauth Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Que ligam o meu ser, vivo e total
À agitação do mundo irreal
E calma subirei até às fontes
Irei até às fontes onde mora
A plenitude, o límpido esplendor
Que me foi prometido em cada hora
Irei beber a luz e o amanhecer
Irei beber a voz dessa promessa
Que às vezes como um voo me atravessa
E nela cumprirei todo o meu ser
In Mafalda Arnauth's song "As Fontes," the singer expresses their desire to break away from the chaos and noise of the world and find peace and fulfillment at the source of all things. They long to break all the bridges that connect them to the unreal world and instead ascend to the "fontes," or sources, where they can find a "plenitude" and "limpido esplendor," or clear splendor. This divine promise was given to the singer at every hour but has not been fulfilled in the "incompleta face do amor," or the incomplete face of love.
The singer then proclaims that they will "beber a luz e o amanhecer," or drink the light and dawn, and the promise of a better future that occasionally "atravessa," or crosses, their path like a bird in flight. They pledge to fulfill their entire being in this promise and find peace and wholeness at the sources.
The lyrics of "As Fontes" express a profound desire for inner peace and fulfillment, a common theme in many literary and artistic works. The concept of finding solace and renewal at the sources or origins of all things is also a common motif, especially in spiritual or religious contexts. The lyrics also touch on the idea of love as incomplete or unsatisfying, which is a theme explored in many works of poetry and fiction.
Line by Line Meaning
Um dia quebrarei todas as pontes
Someday I will break all the bridges
Que ligam o meu ser, vivo e total
That connect my living and complete being
À agitação do mundo irreal
To the agitation of the unreal world
E calma subirei até às fontes
And calmly I will rise up to the sources
Irei até às fontes onde mora
I will go to the sources where
A plenitude, o límpido esplendor
Plenitude, the clear splendor resides
Que me foi prometido em cada hora
That was promised to me every hour
E na face incompleta do amor
And in the incomplete face of love
Irei beber a luz e o amanhecer
I will drink the light and dawn
Irei beber a voz dessa promessa
I will drink the voice of that promise
Que às vezes como um voo me atravessa
That sometimes passes through me like a flight
E nela cumprirei todo o meu ser
And in it, I will fulfill my whole being
Contributed by Sydney E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Simply Me
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