Chapter 16: How to listen the right way

The most authentic Fado show in the city – is a promotion slogan that you will read so many times in one place that you wonder: Which of them tells the truth? And what does authentic Fado really mean? A key part of it is the strong connection to tradition, which is mirrored in the long history of Fado.

Traditionally, Fado is sung in restaurants, combined with gastronomy. And thus, some artists, as Sara Paixão and Pedro Moutinho, find that only in the Fado houses one can experience authentic Fado. Nevertheless, it happens that the food in the restaurants keeps people from appreciating the music as much as it deserves to be. This is why Fado singer Nadine prefers to perform at concert venues. 

Fado house or concert venue?

Filipa Biscia plays at different kinds of venues. She likes performing in both restaurants as well as at other evening shows. A night in a Fado house is more exhausting for her as an artist, but she also admits that it’s the more authentic way of experiencing Fado. However, she thinks that a concert outside a Fado house is an authentic experience, too – as long as the artists are authentic fadistas.

In the end, it depends on the personality of the listeners which kind of experience might be best for them. There is red and white wine, some prefer dry, and others prefer a fruity one. On the same note, there are different tastes of Fado.

Each of the “chefs” – the Fado singers – has their own way of creating a taste and each guest has their individual preferences. Thus, it is impossible to describe a Fado show objectively as a good or a bad experience. It might have been good or bad for oneself, but there will always be someone who would think the contrary. Some people might prefer a female over a male voice, prefer an A Capella show over a performance with microphone. 

Also, the ‘way of tasting’, may vary among the Fado audience. In all the individuality we shouldn’t forget some manners of behavior everyone should stick to. 

Tradition no. 1: Don’t try to understand, just feel.

Rather than understanding each part of the lyrics, the sparkle of Fado lies in the feelings vibrating through a room when it’s sung. The feelings sent out from the musicians as well as the feelings of the listeners. Therefore, a fadista shouldn’t feel the need to explain a song, it should simply be felt. Let the magic happen.

Tradition no. 2: Respect the silence.

Restaurants are places to eat, to laugh and to talk – in Fado restaurants, there are the sets of Fado determining the structure of a dinner night. And while the artists present Fado, everyone else got to be quiet – it’s the only way to listen well. In most fado houses silence during the Fado is being respected. However, there are always exceptions, depending on the restaurant and the audience. An example out of my ‘fado diary’:

Somehow accidently, I step into the Tasca de Noticias restaurant, located in the Bairro Alto. It’s one of those places that tries to attract tourists with promoting “live Fado performances”. I enter without any expectation, in the need for water and some sweet dessert. The waitress is super friendly. The problem is that she is friendly even when the Fado is played. I feel like doing something illegal when I talk to her after she came up to me to take my order. Even guitar player and singer Luis Tomar, who plays on that evening, tells me that he does not consider this a real Fado house. After having played all around the world, he is at the end of his career, thus he doesn’t have high expectations on the space he plays. He still shares his doubts to the waiters, but they are more focused on being kind to each guest.

My individual experience

Therefore, Tasca de Noticias a good place to have dinner. The Fado played there is good too. But the ambient of the restaurant doesn’t respect the Fado tradition in the right way.

Tradition no. 3: Listen with your ears, see with your eyes

When experiencing special moments, it has become a usual pattern of humans to take out their phone and take a photo or a video of the scene happening around them. This kind of behavior shifts our mental focus from perceiving the presence with one’s own senses to the effort of getting the best picture out of the moment. People want proof of having been there, but the problem is that those people might disturb those who keep saving their memories in their souls – it happened to me, in one of the most famous Fado venues in Lisbon. 

Located in an almost majestic position, Café Luso overlooks the Rua do Norte of Bairro Alto. “Like a dining room of a king’s palace” are the first words in my notes. It’s the piano in the entry hall, the high ceilings, the candlelight on the walls behind the Fado musicians that make this room look so majestic. Also, in addition to the guitars there is a Cello adding a little extra point to the Fado in this venue. I sit on a small table right next to the bar, in front of me are two rows of tables. At their end, there is the musicians’ space. I only have a few seconds to admire the great Cello until a man on the table in front of mine stands up from his chair – he moves to the middle, rises both his arms with the phone in his hand. As he sits down, I see how he reviews the pictures he has taken before. They still don’t seem to be good enough, as he keeps on taking pictures, standing up and sitting down again. I cannot believe his audacity to behave that way. He makes it impossible for me to focus on the Fado happening in the front.

My individual experience

In the break before the last Fado set I overhear a conversation between some young women who share their amazement about the night, which has been their first Fado experience, with one of the organizers at the restaurant. He explains to them that according to a Portuguese saying they themselves have transformed into fadistas only through listening well to it (“E tao Fadista quem Canta Como quem sabe Escutar”). And it makes me think again of the man taking pictures, who has not been able to listen well, thus doesn’t deserve the title of a fadista…

Let the magic happen

Of course, it is nice to keep a memory together with a souvenir in our camera roll. However, when it comes to live music, it is not our phone but rather our heart that will keep the energy and the memories from the experience in the best way possible. To keep the listeners experiencing a Fado show with their soul rather than through the camera lenses and in respect to the artists, some Fado houses don’t allow to take videos or even photos during the performance. Nevertheless, in many restaurants it is still officially allowed; and that’s okay, as long as one does it consciously and with respect towards the musicians and other guests.

Chapter 15: Students’ operatic love serenades

Impatient guests wait in front of the door to the Fado ao Centro concert room and I am one of them. The Coimbra Fado presentation starts at 6 o’clock in the evening. Only a few minutes before they finally open the doors and let us enter. Free choice of seats. Amazed by the darkness in the room and the pictures on the walls, I take an aisle seat in the second row. 

When you spend a day in Coimbra, you will realize that there is not much to do than visiting the university. It seems like it has always been like this. Usually, students are busy with studying. However, in the past the students of Coimbra got creative. Apart from studying, they found love in putting rhymes together for the women they admired. In the second half of the 19^th century male students started singing these poems on the streets of Coimbra – and the Fado do Coimbra was born. 

Please, turn the lights on, my dear…

When everyone has found a place in the fully booked venue, the black curtains to the black backstage zone are slowly getting closed. A film starts playing, introducing everyone to the tradition of the Fado of Coimbra. The following Fado presentation will be completely different from those I experienced in Lisbon. Coimbra fadistas are even more expressive and operatic with their way of singing; and their poems talk rather about love than about Lisbon. Some of the classics presented at Fado ao Centro are E Alegre se fez triste, composed by Manuel Alegre, the guitar instrumental Variations in G Major by Artur Paredes, or Raul Ferrão‘s famous Coimbra – internationally known as April in Portugal.

The classic expression of the Fado of Coimbra is the serenade, in which a suitor sings at the door of a potential lover, who may respond by appearing at the window or by switching the lights of the bedroom on and off if she liked it. These and more characteristics of the Coimbra fado are presented live at Fado ao Centro in the most traditional way possible. João Farinha founded the space in the centre of the city to keep the precious tradition of Coimbra Fado alive. I talked with him after his show on a Friday evening in October.

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SG: When did you start doing these fado concerts here & how did you came up with the idea?

JF: 15 years ago, I quit my job and opened this place with two befriended guitar players. It was my idea to do this as a business. Before singing was my hobby and when there was the chance of having this place for us in the oldtown, I thought it would be a good idea to make this our place. At the beginning everyone said, fado houses are at night. But we thought, well the street is full of people during the day, so why not do Fado during the day? So that’s the main principle and it’s without food.

SG: The offer of these daily shows is now actually growing.

JF: Yes, and we were the first ones.

SG: And I think there is a difference between Lisbon and Coimbra Fado. Because Lisbon Fado has its origin in the taverns but Coimbra Fado comes from the streets.

JF: Yes, and from the old salons of the upper-class. And the students would go there to play.

SG: And is it still happening that students play on streets?

JF: Sometimes, sometimes they do. Not as much as many years ago. The buildings are higher now. So, it’s more difficult.

SG: And would you say that you as a Coimbra fadista you can also sing Lisbon Fado?

JF: The technique is completely different. Because the Coimbra kind of Fado is more lyrical. It has also some technique from Belcanto. And about the Lisbon kind of Fado some say that you don’t even have to have a voice to be able to sing it. Because it comes straight from the soul. And you don’t need a great voice. On of the greatest of all times was Marceineiro. He had very little voice, but he touched the people with his way of singing. But the Coimbra kind of Fado lives on the performance of the singers. Of course, in Lisbon fado there are also many singers, especially women, with powerful voices, spectacular voices. But you don’t need that in Lisbon. And here in Coimbra you need it. 

SG: To me it also seemed a bit like opera.

JF: Yes, it’s a bit operatic. Because the students in the 19^th century tried to sing like the opera singers did at that time, their hometown songs, love songs to sing for the girls. The opera was the fashion music of that time.

SG: And are you afraid that this tradition will die? There are only very few places where it’s still played. 

JF: Yes, abut there have been time where it was worse. Now lots of people are singing and playing. I believe it can change. Now. The first girls are playing too. But actually, we have this kind of places that didn’t exist 20 years ago. So, the musicians had no place to play. Now there are professional musicians of Coimbra Fado, it’s something new that never had been. So, I believe the future is good.  

SG: I also saw that there are several music schools in Coimbra.

JF: Yes we have a school that teaches the Coimbra Fado, the instruments and the singing. And there are also some other privat schools.

SG: And do you also think that Coimbra Fado might have a perspective outside of Coimbra? For example, in Lisbon, where there are much more people to reach.

JF: there have been places like that, there was one in Lisbon called “Coimbran tavern”. Cause there are lots of former students from the Coimbra university that live in Lisbon. And they tried to do something like that in Lisbon. But I think they were open for about ten years and then closed when the pandemic came. But in Porto there are also former students. And there is also the tradition of the Coimbra Fado. There are some places where they play the two kinds of Fado.

SG: Yes I was at one. The Fado Maior do Porto. 

JF: But the unique one in is our place here in Coimbra. 

SG: So you sing here every day?

JF: Almost. During the week I usually sing here. On weekends we have concerts in other places of Portugal and the world. Or sometimes I also just need one or two days to rest.

SG: But this here is your place and you own it, right?

JF: Yes, yes.

SG: And now it’s already time for the next show?

JF: Yes, it’s high season now. September, October. April, May, June. And sometimes we get the 6 o’clock session crowded and then we open another one. 

SG: So you always do that when it’s full?

JF: Yes, we always open another one then. Sometimes we also have concerts in the morning, afternoon or evening for private groups.

SG: Ah I see, so before 6 o’clock there was one of those private concerts.

JF: Yes, it was a private group from Taiwan. So, it’s a way of living now. It was something that the older guys never thought of and never thought it would be possible. And it was even not very well seen to make a living out of this. Because most of the guys that study at the university they would be lawyers, architects or engineers. I took economics and management. And my father also sang but he was skeptical to make it as a fulltime profession. I worked as a manager for about 10 years and then I quit my job for this place. But it was something new. You can have lawyers singing. 

SG: You give musicians actually the chance to live from their passion. 

JF: The guitar player he is an architect. And he quit his job for the music.

SG: And you make that possible. Thank you for talking with me João. 

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Let’s enrich the future of Coimbra Fado!

From the conversation with the passionate Coimbra fadista João Farinha the great differences between the Lisbon and Coimbra fado traditions became clear. The Fado of Lisbon is played in lots of places, whereas the presentation of Fado of Coimbra is limited to very few venues in the town. But still, the musical characteristics are pretty similar: a singer accompanied by a Portuguese guitar and an acoustic Fado guitar. Some scholars (Nunes, 1999 / Nery, 2012) “trace the genesis of the Fado of Coimbra back to a process of regionalization of the Lisbon Fado”.^[1] 

At its beginnings, Lisbon Fado was associated with taverns located in workers’ districts. Coimbra, on the other hand, has been determined by a highly educated population. It was the sons of the nobility who started spending their nights in bohemian taverns where popular Fado was sung. Continuously, “this genre was progressively introduced into the private homes of the upper classes”. In 1853, the first academic anthem was sung, written by Cristiano O’Neil Medeiros and José Augusto Sanches da Gama and it became a tradition for graduating students to sing some of these songs as a ‘gift’ to the city. Nowadays, travellers can give a gift to the city, too. It is listening to and thereby appreciating the serenades of Coimbra Fado…

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^[1] Costa, J., & Nossa, P. N. (2017). Beyond Sight and Sound: Fado of Coimbra, Intangible Heritage with Touristic Value. Rosa dos Ventos – Turismo e Hospitalidade, 9(4), 557-568. https://doi.org/10.18226/21789061.v9i4p557

Chapter 14: Nuances of voice and guitar strings

Lisbon has Lisbon Fado – Coimbra has Coimbra Fado – and Porto… has both!? An obvious phenomenon for every tourist walking through the streets of Porto is the promotion for the “authentic” and “traditional” Fado shows in the early evenings. Among all these offers, Casa da Guitarra and Fado Maior do Porto are outstanding places. They teach visitors about the characteristics of the Portuguese Fado traditions: the Lisbon and the Coimbra Fado. 

Travelling the world of string instruments 

Closely connected with both Fado styles is the Portuguese guitar, which may appear in different forms. In the free exhibition at Casa da Guitarra, you will get to know instrument makers, artists and a huge variety of string instruments. And, right in the traditional instruments shop, there are offered guitar workshops as well as daily Fado concerts. 

As displayed in the exhibition, Portugal has a long musical tradition of string instruments: they have been part of the population’s daily life for centuries, in both work and leisure. Above all, it’s the sound of the Portuguese guitar that fascinates people from other countries. In Fado, the instrument has the unique ability to express feeling and create a narrative through responding to the singer’s melody without resorting to words.

Thus, the guitar is a symbol for the Portuguese cultural identity. Its origin is linked to a line of evolution that goes back to the European cittern and the English guitar. Probably it were British merchants and musicians who brought the English guitar to where local artisans adapted the instrument to their preferences. That being said, it acquired new technical, aesthetic, and sonic characteristics.

Crafted with love and attention to detail

To build a guitar, craftsmen from different areas need to work together, as the instrument consists of various materials. Metal is need for tail pieces and tuning machines, bone for saddle and nut and the guitar head is carved of wood. At Casa da Guitarra one can see “the assembly of the neck with the mold of the instrument to be built”. Decorative elements can be crucial when differing between the Lisbon and the Coimbra guitar model. 

“Nowadays it is common to identify the model of the guitar by its headstock hook. The scroll (or snail) tops a Lisbon model guitar; a simpler teardrop-shaped hook identifies a Coimbra guitar, while a more elaborate head, in the shape of a flower, animal, or human, corresponds to a Porto guitar.”

Casa da Guitarra

After the decoration is built, artisans need to be patient: it’s time for bending the thin and delicate strings around the mold, which is only possible with the use of heat. In the next steps, they glue the different parts of the guitar carefully together. 

“The top is also an essential piece for the mechanical-acoustic functioning of the instrument as it directly receives the vibrations produced by the strings and transmitted by the bridge. The braces, in varying numbers and arrangement, are first glued inside.“

Casa da Guitarra

Finally, the fingerboard completes a guitar – it is made of high-density wood and will support the frets that allow you to stop the string according to musical notes.

The huge diversity of guitar models reflects the creativity of their creators who used different shapes, dimensions and materials.

The names behind the shapes

With the emergence of large music stores, it has become increasingly common for instrument labels not to identify their manufacturers. The exhibition at Casa de Guitarra highlights some of the most important guitar builders, whose names deserve to be remembered:

•  António Duarte founded his first workshop in 1870 at Rua da Banharia. He is appreciated for his careful choice of materials and the precise calculation of the fingerboard. He won a silver medal at the 1908 National Exhibition in Rio de Janeiro.
• José Carvalho, born in 1953, is one of the most famous artists in the field of wood carving. He has dedicated himself to carving guitar necks for 30 years until now. 
• Joaquim da Cunha Mello established himself as a guitar maker at the end of the 19^th century. His sons and sons-in-law worked together in his workshops, where they produced guitarras, cavaquinhos, mandolins and banjolins. The family decorated the instruments with details and sold them at affordable prices.
• Alfredo Teixeira is the founder of the Casa da Guitarra project. He has played string instruments since he was 13. Later, he learnt by himself to build the instruments, which he has been doing since 2007. In 2012, he opened the Casa da Guitarra.

Over time, many guitarists have become true legends for their virtuosity and emotion. The most recognized ones are Armandinho (Armando Augusto Freire), Carlos Paredes, Pedro Caldeira Cabral and António Chainho.

Fado Maior do Porto unites 2 traditions in 1 show 

Not far away from the Casa da Guitarra one can experience both styles of Fado in only one concert – Fado Maior do Porto makes this unique experience possible. Every evening at 19h, they open their stage on the riverside of Porto to the music group Canto do Rio and other Fado singers. The combination of Coimbra and Lisbon Fado makes this show stand out from others.

At 18.30h guests already arrive in the intimate venue of Fado Maior do Porto. With walls out of stone and low ceilings, the place seems to like a comfortable mix of a restaurant and a living room. It’s worth coming early to save yourself seats close to the small stage in the middle of the room.

I get to sit in the first row. The woman who welcomed me at the door lights the candles and brings everyone a glass of port wine. Impatiently, I look at the red chairs and carpet on the stage in front of me. I clink wine glasses with the guest next to me.

In Porto, the love for Lisbon and Coimbra meet

A few minutes after the official beginning musicians come to the front. They wear black ropes, which is a characteristic for Coimbra Fado. the singer jokes, “we don’t wear them because we think we are superheroes”. He also explains the music style’s connection with university students in Coimbra. When the fadista of the Canto do Rio group sings Olhos Claros, his voice slowly gets more voluminous from tone to tone, culminating in an operatic way of singing.

The set of Lisbon Fado is presented by a woman. She brings femininity and, of course, a lot of saudades to the stage. I automatically compare her way of singing to the Coimbra Fado set we’ve heard before. And my impression is that the Lisbon Fado is more playful and more diverse in terms of emotion and soulfulness. 

At the end of the show, the Italian guy next to me shares his opinion with me. He resumes about his first ever Fado experience: “I prefer the voice of a woman for Fado” and “I didn’t like so much that they talk between the songs, because that took me out of the feeling.” Others might think the exact opposite. Explanations may help for understanding the content of a song. The beautiful thing is that each visitor makes their individual experiences in the concerts, each of them listens and receives the music with their very own heart. 

Chapter 13: Home is a feeling and so is Fado

It’s a windy Thursday night in October when I walk through the streets of Porto with a clear destination: the restaurant Fado Português. There are some Fado houses in the center of Porto, but I choose this one and only Fado house at the other side of the river, in Vila Nova de Gaia. The restaurant was founded in 2021 by Sandra Correia, a renowned Fado singer. She started singing professionally at the age of 16 – since then, she has amazed audiences with her voice in many countries and of course in the Fado houses of the capital Lisbon.

Going into the restaurant warms me not only physically but also emotionally. Sandra Correia welcomes me kindly and points me to the second room of the restaurant, where tonight’s dinner show will be presented. Today, there are less guests than usual, so the front area of the restaurant is left free, and everyone can enjoy their evening with a magnificent view over Porto. The room is fully framed with floor-to-ceiling windows, the bridge lights glitter on the seemingly far horizon. They are reflected in the Douro River, that gently bends to the right and finally disappears in the dark. 

“You won’t be able to explain it, but you will want to hear it again.” 

The atmosphere in the room is intimate and it seems more silent than in Lisbon Fado houses. I sit down and get a glass of red wine. A man walks from table to table. It’s João Costa Menezes, who has worked as a producer for many years. He gets to know the guests and introduces them some facts about the restaurant. If I hear it right, I am part of an audience with a Portuguese couple, another two Portuguese friends and an US-American group, who have never listened to Fado before.

At 21.05h João lights the candles, “they are getting ready” he whispers to me, referring do the musicians. Do I look impatient?, I think to myself, because yes, I am. Before the first live set is played, starters are being served. The delicious goat cheese with honey and walnuts prepares me well for the exquisite Fado presentation. 

Three courses, three sets of Fado

After some minutes, João steps to the front to present some introductory information about Fado. He describes how Fado spread through the streets and taverns, where people started singing spontaneously – today known as fado vadio. “The base for Fado are poems, singers interpret these poems and the Portuguese guitar answers to the singer’s melody.” Then, he makes the space free for the musicians. 

Surprisingly, today’s Portuguese guitar player is female, which is very unusual. Sandra Cristina is the first singer – with her blond hair and knee-long pink dress her appearance kind of falls out of the typical fadista image I had until then. She sings a quick and expressive Fado. I look to the table next to mine, where one of the two Portuguese men looks towards the singer with tears in his eyes. For me, it takes some minutes to connect with her voice and way of singing. The longer she sings, the more I like it. 

As I sit there, surrounded by warm people and soulful music, looking at the night views over Porto, drinking an excellent sip of red wine, having another taste of the warm goat cheese – it feels like the best place I could be in that moment.

Before the next set, main dishes are served – I get some couscous with roasted vegetables. 

Eyes bring us closer to each other

With the next singer I connect right from the first moment I see her. Mia Morgado holds intense eye contact with the guests in the room. When she looks at me, it feels like she looks into my soul and I into hers. I tell her after the set how much I liked that, and she explains to me that she does it intentionally.

“Many Fado singers close their eyes, which makes them seem very deep inside the song, inside themselves, inside their souls”

Mia Morgado

However, for Mia, a part of carrying these emotions to the audience, is looking right into their eyes.

“Now it’s getting epic, she’s one of the best Fado singers of the country.” Mia says about the restaurant owner, who will be the third and last singer of the night. Dessert is now served on the tables. I find the way back to my seat. 

Sandra Correia starts singing expressively while she slowly walks to the front of the room. She has the unique power of captivating the audience; even in the moments she doesn’t sing. When she stands in the front and closes her eyes, I am with her. She feeds my soul with so much emotion, from sadness to joy and love. I feel an enormous gratitude for experiencing this with her. Suddenly, a voice from the back joins her, it’s Sandra Cristina, the first singer of the evening. And then Mia Morgado follows them both. Together they create a powerful voice trio that echoes across all corners of the restaurant.

“Fado cannot be explained, it must be felt” is the spirit of this restaurant. And once you have been there to experience it, you will realize how much truth lies in that phrase. It starts from the perspective of the singers who intuitively decide on their song choice. As Sandra Correia puts it: 

“I have a lot of experience. I feel the people in the room, my feeling in the moment and then I know what I would sing.” 

Sandra Correia

Fado singers feel the energy in the room they sing

An interplay of feelings of the present moment determines the music that is played. Sandra Correia played for many years in the fado houses of Lisbon, for example at Club de Fado. She gets nostalgic when she thinks of that time. “Alfama is my home” she says with a smile, and “here in this fado house I also carry with me all the places I sang in”. She is proud of having created this space for herself and for everyone else. When I ask her whether it feels different to sing in Porto than in Alfama, where she used to be surrounded by many other fado houses, she looks around in her restaurant and realizes:

“This place brings the soul of Alfama to Porto.” 

Sandra Correia

Lisbon is magical and so is this incredible view over Porto. Now, she is not anymore singing in her ‘home’ Alfama. Instead, she is in her home region, close to her parents. “I visit them every day, and I’m very thankful that it’s possible”.

Fado, a feeling of home

Together with João Costa Menezes as the manager, Sandra Correia is at her restaurant every evening. Sometimes, she plays concerts in other places. But mostly, she amazes the guests in her own space at Fado Português. João is there to build the connection with the each of the visitors; he answers their questions and talks with them about where they are from and whether they experienced Fado before. He tells me that every night he adapts to what he feels among the audience – sometimes he explains more and sometimes less backgrounds about Fado. 

When I mention my impression of the Fado offer in Porto, João agrees with my observation that there are many more “touristic Fado shows” than traditional Fado houses. He states that “the daily fado shows kill the Fado houses. It happens in Porto and will probably happen in Lisbon.” Whatever happened or will happen, Fado is alive. And at Fado Português in Porto, it awakens at night.

Chapter 12: Fado shows outside the restaurants

Apart from traditional Fado houses there is another, more modern version of Fado experiences. From Algarve over Lisbon to Porto – the touristic Fado shows in historic venues have spreaded all across Portugal. Though shows are sung by authentic fadistas, the Fado experience is different from a dinner night at a restaurant.

In Alfama, close to the Fado houses, Fado e Fado offers daily shows in a historic venue. The venue is hidden in the basement of a building with symmetrically impressing bows on the ceilings. I get to sit in the first row chairs; next to me I hear Germans speculating about the two chairs on stage. “Will the singers sit down?“ – the other one retorts “but I thought it’s only one singer?” 

Fado lessons for tourists

I explained them that the chairs are for the guitar players, one will play the Portuguese and the other the acoustic guitar. They are fascinated by my knowledge, asking more and more questions. Lucky them – before the show starts, a woman explains all basics of the Fado music to the tourists in the room. The ‘lesson’ begins with some bits of the origins of Fado. It moves on to the characteristics of traditional Fados and the different kinds of guitars.

An elderly male fadista opens the concert. Then he announces “the beautiful Nadine” to stage. In the end, they even sing a duet together and are honored with a huge applause from the audience. The atmosphere in the room is different in comparison to Fado restaurants. People sit in rows, as you would expect it from a small concert venue. The show is fully booked on this Saturday night of October. 

At the Fado e Fado experience singers will explain the gist of a song to the visitors. When I talk to the singer Nadine after the show, she tells me that this is especially important for her. “It makes it easier for listeners to connect with the feelings in the song”, she states. Nadine also thinks that the setting makes it easier for guests to focus on the music. In restaurants they may sometimes be distracted by the food, which distracts her when she sings. 

Fado shows beneath the ground

We move on to the next modern Fado place, located in the middle of Jardim do Príncipe Real in Lisbon. Real Fado Concerts has turned a 19^th century underground water reservoir into a Fado concert room. The Reservatório da Patriarchal has no windows, and is hidden from the surrounding world. Next to the playground of the park, organizers of the show will lead you downstairs. Stepping into the natural venue of stones and bows feels like entering a secret space of the city.

A few minutes after 19h the musicians come to the front – two young men. They start with an instrumental, then, kind of surprisingly, a soft voice joins them on their song. Filipa Biscia opens the show with Fadista Loca and then continues with Saudade de lo bem. She enchants everyone in the room with her fine and precise voice. My gaze goes from her to the acoustic guitar, to her, to the Portuguese guitar and all the way back. The trio fits well together. 

Filipa explains the importance of the feeling saudade in Fado. She also makes clear, that in traditional Fados the singers can choose the poems they would sing. The poem she would sing now is: “I love your eyes. But I love mine even more. Because if it weren’t my eyes. I couldn’t see yours”. 

The show continues with famous classics: “Strange way of life”, which, as Filipa presents, was written by Amália Rodrigues and originally sung by Alfredo Marceinero – two names in the history of Fado that everybody must know. Another traditional Portuguese song “Lisboa a Noite” that is usually played at the parade around St. Anthony in June. 

Tourists show their enthusiasm about Fado

When the musicians take a short break, I listen to the conversation of excitement between a man and a woman next to me. I can only get some bits of it.

‘she has such a quiet voice it’s beautiful‘ – ‘the end of a line always drops, do you notice?‘ – ‘I love that guitar‘ – ‘I saw he only plays with two fingers‘ – ‘It looks like he two strings in one‘ – ‘They are singing to someone who is gone‘

The show continues with a beautifully played instrumental. Both guitar players seem excellent for their age. I wonder that with the experience they will gain in the future they will get even better from day to day or if at some point, they will reach the top of their talent-mountain. Filipa finishes the show with the beautiful gesture of shaking hands with everyone – singing “Ola, muito obrigada!”.

Where architectural and vocal miracles meet

Tavira is a little town in the South of Portugal. I take a train from Faro to get there. From the train station I walk towards the location of Fado com História, close to the river. The beautiful concert venue Igreja de Misericórdia is somewhat hidden in a side street. On the right side of the church there is the auditorium, where usually one of the two daily concerts by Fado com História takes place. The auditorium is a small and intimate hall, with a living room kind of feeling. Pictures on the walls and chairs in rows, Fado music on playback echoes onto the small alleys outside.

“Today both presentations are in the church, because we have a big group coming”, Vírgílio Lança, host of the shows and acoustic guitar player tells me. I am happy about that, because I was even more excited to see the interior of the church and to hear the singer’s voices echoing in the big hall. And I don’t get disappointed: Benches are filled with people from front to back, from left to right. The high ceiling of the Renaissance building is supported by eight columns – a set of blue and white tiles from the 18^th century decorate the walls. 

Surrounded by tourists, tourists, and tourists

The two guitar players come towards the front of the church, they take the stairs up to the altar and sit down on the prepared chairs – Giuseppe on the Portuguese guitar and Vírgílio, the host, on the acoustic guitar. After fixing some issues with the microphone, Vírgílio Lança welcomes everyone. “Temos Portuguesa?”– silence. “No Portuguese people”, he detects. So, he continues his introduction about the importance of Fado for Portuguese culture in English, and then also in French. 

They start playing an instrumental, the pace of the song lets their fingers move quickly. Some delayed visitors sneak themselves into the church. After giving the audience a great first impression of the magic Fado guitar sounds, the host introduces today’s singer: “She is beautiful and has a powerful voice, but above all, she sings with her heart – Helena Candeias!” I remember Helena’s uniquely energetic and emotional powerful voice from my first Fado night at O Castelo; when she sings, I cannot take my eyes of her. Because she doesn’t just sing with her voice, but with her whole body. 

Operatic voice, traditional Fado

She starts with a traditional Fado, which are “the most important ones”, as Vírgílio explains. “The musicality of a traditional Fado is always the same”, he goes on, “the singer chooses the lyrics without the musicians knowing about it”. Within the evolution of Fado, the musical foundation of the Fados hasn’t changed a lot. However, the lyrics are composed in a new way to fit to the old traditional melodies.

With Maria Lisboa Helena sings her soul out, holds tones until the infinite that echo into the upper corners of the church. She continues her show with April in Portugal, one of the most famous Portuguese songs: the first original release has been followed by 1000 official recorded versions.

At the end of the show, I talk to Helena and share my fascination about her powerful voice echoing into every corner of the church, even without a microphone. Helena tells me that in the church, they normally sing with microphone. But on that day, Vírgílio Lança had the idea to sing without microphone and eventually he got to persuade her. Lucky audience.

Chapter 11: Welcome to the Fado Queen’s home!

“I came into life singing” – in one of her first written poems Amália Rodrigues describes the crying of her birth as the first song she sang.

I came into life singing 
The first lament I sung
Though it was sung while crying
With feeling that it rang

Amália Rodrigues

From 1920 to 1999 she was flourishing and spreading her music throughout the world. Visiting her house will proof you that she wasn’t just a talented singer, but also a woman with sense and style. For many reasons she is celebrated as the greatest Fado legend of all time. Amália Rodrigues defines Fado as:

“a very mysterious thing, you have to feel it and you have to be born with the anguished side of the people, to feel like someone who has neither ambitions nor desires, a person…as if one did not exist. That person is me and that’s why I was born to sing fado.”¹

Amália Rodrigues

A century filled with Amália Rodrigues’ grace

She knew that she would want to open her house for the public, so before her death she founded her own foundation, that is today in charge of managing the house museum. Everyone who’s interested can visit her house and take a guided visit through its rooms. The museum’s tour will bring you insights into her life and personality. 

The first room of the museum showcases Amália’s biography on a timeline full of marks and information. Born to a poor family in Lisbon, she discovered her love and talent for singing at a very young age. Her parents wanted her to marry before she would sing in the Fado clubs, as the guide in the museum tells me. So, in 1940 Amália married the Portuguese guitar player Francisco da Cruz. The marriage only lasted a few years. Amália was one of the first women in Portugal to make a divorce.

And soon, on one of her trips to Brazil she met her future husband César Henrique de Seabra Rangel, who would stay by her side until his death in 1997. Two years later, on 6^th of October 1999 Amália returned to the heavenly angels. An era came to an end.

Globally known and loved

Nowadays, the internet allows us to watch and listen to concerts in other countries, which makes it also easier for artists to become internationally recognized. Amália lived in an era where there were no such streaming platforms as Spotify or YouTube to distribute music through.

Thus, she contributed her music through singing in the real world. She travelled to various countries on different continents. Her international orientation is reflected in her language skills: She spoke and sang in Portuguese, French, Italian, Spanish and English. 

Amália Rodrigues embodies an emblematic character

Several paintings and portraits of Amália decorate the house – they show her at the age of 20 to 26 and 70. She was a beautiful and charismatic woman in all these stages of her life. She was a woman that turned to be almost kind of an icon. You will barely find a Fado house in Lisbon that has not hung up portrays of Amália on its walls. And there is more behind those portraits than (just) a reminder to her great Fado singing. In a way, she embodies freedom and a unity of nations.

Somehow, she managed to keep the balance between a world star and a sensitive, charismatic woman. All her elegance and grace, the diversity in one personality, can be explored in Amália’s house museum in Lisbon.

The clock room shows her love for fashion. She even designed many pieces by herself. When she sang Fado, her dresses on stage were black. She also showed her love for colourful outfits in international shows singing folklore: from Samba in Rio to Flamenco in Spain. 2000 accessories and 200 shoes are still to be seen in her home and proof how much Amália took care of her appearance. The amount of high heels shows that she wasn’t a tall person at all. In her bedroom one will find many divine statues and pictures that show her deep connection with religion. 

Notes from the Fado Queen’s heart

After I walked through Amália’s house, I felt like I got to know her in the most intimate way possible. Until I found a book with collected poems written by her. And when I read it, even though I cannot talk to her anymore face to face, it feels like her soul is talking to mine through her poems. Her passion for flowers cannot only be seen in her house and garden but also in her poems, as for example in Rosa vermelha, Gostava de ser quem era, and Flor de Lua. 

Gostava de ser quem era
Pois quando eu era menina
Tinha toda a primavera
Só numa flor pequenina
I’d like to be who I once was
After all when I was young
In a single tiny flower
I had a whole springtime sprung

Amália Rodrigues

She herself describes her trajectory as a poetic creator in an interview with Vitor Pavao dos Santos: “I always liked writing poetry, I had a knack of ceremony, to avoid giving a speech, I’d make acknowledgements with verse, with quatrains.”

However, she was also critical with her writings: “I know I’m not a poet, but I’m able to come up with lyrics to sing, as good as the ones that are out there.” Rui Vieira Nery notes that in Amália’s poems there are hardly found any references to Lisbon. She sang other poet’s works, too: from the marches of Raul Ferrão to the elegies of David Mourão-Ferreira or Alexandre O’Neill.²

The way Amália has combined her talents as an actress, poet, stylist, fadista and multilingual singer is unique… Her life fills a century with grace. She brought her music to countries all around the world, while staying close to the roots and at the same time opening up for other cultures. being travelled around the world. 

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1. Possible Gender Differences in Classical Music, Flamenco and Fado (Alicia Garcia-Falgueras, 2023) ↩︎
2. Poems and Biographical info from the book Poems by Amália Rodrigues, edited by Rui Vieira Nery ↩︎

Chapter 10: A non-touristic place for tourists

When guitar player Luís Guerreiro and Fado singer & producer Rodrigo Costa Félix found out that they both had the same dream, they worked together on fulfilling it. After the pandemic they started their first Fado restaurant “Fado ao Carmo”, located in Chiado. After singing himself at established Fado houses like Club de fado for over 20 years, Rodrigo has already learned a lot about the life in Fado houses before he opened his own. 

“I knew what I want to do and what I don’t want to do”

They had started some new ideas such as offering a fixed menu, instead of creating a separate “tourist menu” as restaurants used to do it before. Having been aware and proud of the success their restaurant had, they soon decided to open a second venue with the same name. They found a beautiful place for it, located in Travessa do Almargem in Alfama.

Rodrigo seems to be a real perfectionist, which doesn’t make it easier for himself to manage a restaurant. “Most guests are tourists, but we don’t want to make them feel that they are in a touristic place”. Thus, being attentive towards the guest in every little detail is one of the main principles in his restaurant. At the beginning of the evening the waiters would explain to each table how the restaurant works: food is served in between the sets, there is no service during the fado presentation, and taking photos and videos of the musicians is allowed, but without flash.

A late night at Fado ao Carmo

I arrive at the restaurant in Alfama shortly after 10pm. It’s the time when the first guests finish dinner, and tables get available for the late birds like me, who want to listen to good fado accompanied with a glass of white wine. Musicians are having a break right now, desserts are being served.

I have some minutes until the next set starts. I have a taste of my white wine will be the perfect companion for listening to excellent guitar and voice interplays. There two red chairs placed on a little plateau in the middle of the room. Slowly, when the lights are dimmed, the musicians come from outside and walk towards them. The guitar players sit down and the singer, Ana Margarida Prado, stands between them. The guitars are tuned, last dishes are served before the show starts. Silence. Cutlery is clinking on the plates. Guitar strings are gently plucked. Some whispers, some laughs until the singer decides on the song. Her voice is more voluminous and powerful than I could have imagined. 

As with the applause, a loud “beautiful“ echoes from the audience towards the musicians. Before the next Fado is sung, absolute silence enters the room and stays with us for around half a minute. I notice that silence in a big venue like this is a bigger silence than the silence in a small room. It’s so powerful, because it is silence itself that keeps people truly silent. Someone on the other side of the restaurant puts his wine glass back on the table. I can’t see but hear it. She chooses a song, the melody starts on the Portuguese guitar. She now uses the performance space and draws circles singing and expressing herself. 

Tourists come here from around the world

The set is finished, and I realize that the singer didn’t talk at all, but maybe she did that in the opening set. Rodrigo switches the lights back on, opens the shutters at the entry door and starts again the background playback music. The main part of the fado night seems to have come to an end. The last guests finish their desserts, ask for the bill, leave the restaurant.

After the Fado set Rodrigo comes again to sit next to me. While we talk, he cannot take his eyes from the entrance area. And it seems to hurt his eyes when no one opens the door for the guests on their way out. He tells me that those acts of service – opening the door, saying goodbye and thanking them – are the most important way to show appreciation for the guests’ visit. 

Do you feel that guests are sometimes distracted by the food?
“Yes, sometimes that happens. Some also stop eating during the Fado presentation and continue in the break. The problem is then that the food may get cold.”

Do you choose the singers every night?
“Yes, we choose all the singers. Very wisely. We usually have two musicians and two singers, one woman. one man. We try to keep the cast young, as we also want to attract a young audience.

What happens if guests don’t follow the restaurant rules?
“We go again to them, explain them. It’s all a matter of respect.”

Rodrigo Costa Félix

I lose Rodrigo from my conversation when he gets up impatiently to open the door for an American couple. For the next and final set of the night, Rodrigo himself will be the singer. Ana Margarida Prado is now having dinner on a table close to the musicians. After diving into the Rodrigos calming way of singing, the most beautiful surprise enlightens the room. Ana stands up from her table and her voice joins Rodrigo’s on the song Hortelã Mourisca. Together they create beautiful harmonies from one to the other side of the room. This moment will be held in my memories forever.

Chapter 9: Close to the Fado roots

On the first step into A Baiuca, the restaurant gives the vibe of an authentic and relaxed gathering space. Restaurant owner Clara Sevivas shares her warm energy with the people in the room, making it a place to feel comfortable and appreciated. She believes that “the place is very special for itself, even without me”. The musicians and the people that come there make every Fado night at A Baiuca a memory for the hearts.

A Baiuca seems not so touristy like other Fado houses – there are also a lot of Portuguese people coming, as Clara explains to me. She also has regulars from all over the world. And this is just one of many aspects that proofs.

“They show a lot of interest in the Fado, some even started learning Portuguese to understand the lyrics.” 

Clara Sevivas

Authentic reviews decorate the walls at A Baiuca

The walls of the restaurant room are full of scratches and comments in different colors. Clara explains the origins of this “idea”. After she bought the place, they started to draw grids on the walls, noting down the results of their card plays. “One day we forgot to erase it. And then someone else wrote something.” And these doodles animated guests to write more and more notes on the walls. Today one can read hundreds of messages on the walls, capturing people’s emotions and thoughts during the Fado nights at A Baiuca in the past years. A place that unites souls.

On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, guests come here to listen to one of the top Portuguese guitar players Ângelo Freire. Growing up in Graça, the area right next to Alfama, Ângelo has always been in touch with fado. As a child he went to the Fado houses in Alfama. At the age of 7, he started learning to play the guitar by himself. He played Fados, and he also found the potential in his voice. In his youth he took vocal coach lessons, and for 8 years he studied guitar. In the past years he accompanied great Fado singers on stage such as Mariza or Ana Moura.

Life at the Fado house as an authentic foundation

Currently, Ângelo plays the Portuguese guitar on stage with singer Sara Correia. And still, it’s important for him to keep playing in the Fado houses, where Fado is born and kept alive in the most authentic way. Ângelo is closely connected with the people in the neighbourhood around A Baiuca, the Fado house where he plays on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. It’s like his emotional foundation for everything else he does. He would never want to stop playing at the Fado houses. 

Sometimes it’s difficult to find subs for the days when he has other shows to attend. Because on the big stages they need the best musicians, such as Angelo. He is planning a guitar project with Jose Manuel Neto and Luis Guerreiro, touring together through Europe. “They are my inspiration”, says Ângelo about musicians older than him. He looks up to them. I can feel that during his performance at A Baiuca, where he plays together with a female elderly woman and an acoustic guitar player from the older generation. 

“The audience will usually notice how I feel on that day from my choice of songs. On some days I’m in a positive mindset and on others in a darker mood.” 

Ângelo Freire

When he enters the restaurant, I feel that he is rather in a stressed mood and that his head was circling in many directions. Later he confirms my first impression as right. That doesn’t stop him from performing great as he used to do.

In the first set, Ângelo “only” plays the Portuguese guitar, accompanying his “Fado grandmother”, as he says, Fernanda. She has a powerful voice. Restaurant owner Clara stands behind the bar, surveilling the room. When someone starts to make noise, she points with her finger on her mouth: “shhhh”. I like that. She seems to have an authentic connection with the traditional way Fado is performed.

And suddenly, Clara starts singing herself, creating a wonderfully harmonious duet with Fernanda. It’s incredibly beautiful how her young voice interacts with Fernanda’s voluminous one. 

Is it a problem for you when guests in Fado houses film you?
“It’s okay if they want to have it as a memory. But I’m sure that most of them don’t look at the videos again after that evening.”

What do you think about early evening Fado shows?
“The fadistas that sing there don’t grow from their performance.”

Do you also play your own songs in the Fado houses?
“Sometimes, but usually not. To be honest I don’t remember all lyrics of my own songs.” (*laughs*)

Ângelo Freire

The traditional Fado lyrics are in his mind – the melodies on the Portuguese guitar and the chords on the acoustic guitar. But the lyrics of the own songs not… a musicians’s mystery.

In the Fado houses one will see, that Fado is about more than just singing or playing some guitar strings. There is the vivid energy in the restaurant, the connection between the listeners’ souls.