"Fado" painting by artist Jose Malhoa
Music historians are debating the origins of the Portuguese song genre "fado" from the Latin "destiny". The history of the genre has been well known since the first half of the 19th century. The origins of "fado" are lost in the songs of the Portuguese troubadours, nuns and students who lived during the time of chivalry.
It seems to me that the genre of "fado" songs arose among sailors and drunks, where there is sadness and longing in words and melodies. Then this folk genre was taken up by aristocrats who knew musical notation and knew how to create beautiful melodies, so the Portuguese developed "fado" to a global phenomenon.
According to my version, the musical origins of "fado" are in the ancient, drawn-out, sad, tunes of Mauritania, and the dance rhythms of Brazil. Mauritania and Brazil united on the streets of the Alfalaya quarter, where the traditions of the peoples of the Iberian Peninsula were mixed.
A desperate sailor sailing on a ship from his native shores to new, still unknown lands, or a sad tavern whore, or a sad young nun who was forcibly given to a monastery ... These people composed drawn-out songs filled with sorrow and longing.
A good performer of "fado", called fadishta, conveys the emotion of light sadness (saudade) by his singing.
The Portuguese of the old days, yearning, but not losing hope for the best, created the folk "fado". They seemed to have heard the voice of a half-forgotten pagan god who used to live on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. God of love, sadness and lyrics, fate and acceptance of a bitter fate. Then the aristocrats brought musical harmony and harmony to the folk "fado".
In "fado" I can hear the magnificent Lusitanian lyrics, in which the ancient city of Lisbon, and the ocean, and sadness, and love, and eternal hope.
In my opinion, classical Russian romance was influenced by fado. Please watch and listen to the video, appreciate how selflessly the singer sings and how the musician plays amazingly on the Portuguese guitar.
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