Portugese Fado

     Fado is a style of music that is the national pride and soul of Portugal. There are two distinct styles of Fado: Lisbon and Coimbra. The Lisbon style originates from the 830s by the meeting of women and sailors. This is a very melodramatic style of music. It is very drawn out. The Coimbra style was created by a group of university students. It is very light and lyrical, which descends from their knowledge of classical music.

     The song lyrics for these songs are poems. There are three main influences from which the lyrics originate: troubadour, Moorish, and 19th century maritime culture. The troubadour influence  is about unrequited love. The Moorish influence is fatalistic and melancholy (it is their fate or destiny to suffer). The 19th century maritime culture influence pertains to loneliness and suffering. All three influences are very sad.

     There is a very famous word in Portugal that encompasses their music, “sauddal.” There is not a direct translation, however it means that something that you once loved, lost, and will never have again. It is very depressing.

    Portuguese music is linked to Brazilian music because the Portuguese traveled to Africa and then Brazil during colonization. The traditional instruments are the viola and the guitarra. The guitarra has twelve strings, and the frets are different than the American guitar.