Fado: experience the soul of Portuguese song at Muziekgebouw Eindhoven
Fado emerged in the nineteenth century within the impoverished docklands of Lisbon. It was the music of sailors, prostitutes, and the working class, for whom life was not always easy. As a result, music became an essential way for them to share feelings for which they could not find the right words. The songs, therefore, spoke of daily existence: poverty, jealousy, unrequited love, and a fate that cannot be steered. The gravity of life resonates through every note, yet it does so in a way that makes you immediately embrace life all over again.
In the twentieth century, this changed thanks to the legendary Portuguese singer Amália Rodrigues. She lifted fado out of the working-class neighbourhoods and brought it to major theatres and international stages. She replaced the folk-style lyrics with high-quality poetry by Portuguese masters. Thanks to her, fado became the national symbol of Portugal. What’s more, in 2011 the music style was added to UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage, giving it international recognition as well.
Saudade
Anyone who wants to understand fado cannot ignore saudade. It is a Portuguese word that defies easy translation, expressing a deep longing for someone or something that is absent. That absence may be a person, but just as easily a place, or even a time. Saudade is melancholy without bitterness; sorrow imbued with beauty. In fado, this almost intangible emotion is given a voice. The restrained musical accompaniment leaves space for moments of vulnerability, for a silence that can feel almost fragile. It is precisely this quality that makes fado universal: everyone recognises the longing for something that has passed, or perhaps never fully existed at all.
Fado is also immediately recognisable musically. Its foundations are simple: a singer, the fadista, accompanied by the twelve-string Portuguese guitar and a classical guitar, known as the fado de viola. Yet it is precisely this restraint that gives the music its strength. Everything serves the voice and the story it tells.
Casa de fado
In Portugal, fado can be found in many places. In small taverns and fado houses (casas de fado) in Lisbon, the audience sits close by, often just a few metres from the singer. Despite the intimate setting, however, it is anything but background music to accompany a drink or a conversation. Fado demands silence; not out of politeness, but as something entirely natural. After all, it feels as though someone, in this case the fadista, is entrusting you with their deepest vulnerability. You wouldn’t simply talk over that, would you?
That same intensity carries fado onto today’s major stages. Contemporary fado musicians move effortlessly between tradition and innovation, dressing the genre in a modern guise while remaining deeply respectful of its past. Even in a venue like Muziekgebouw Eindhoven, where you cannot help but listen to the fadista’s story, the essence of the Portuguese song tradition remains perfectly intact. The distance to the stage may be greater, but the sense of intimacy and vulnerability is still felt just as strongly.
Want to experience fado for yourself? Three fadistas will soon be making their appearance at Muziekgebouw Eindhoven.