When the 'fadista' sings, a hush falls over the room… Fado, Portugal’s blues, can not only be described as a song; it represents a certain feeling which many people call the spirit of Portugal. These melancholic and often tragic songs, beautiful and touching, relate a general sense of frustration and a unique Portuguese fatalism. They express a feeling the Portuguese call saudade, an almost untranslatable word evoking longing, yearning and nostalgia. This carefully compiled 16-track collection highlights several forms of fado, from the popular Lisbon form loved by millions, to the lesser known variant from the city of Coimbra, and includes fusions of fado with other musical genres. Custódio Castelo, icon of the Portuguese fado guitar and RosaNegra, a project within the “Novo Fado” (New Fado) movement, are but two of the many fine performers, individual or group, one will happily encounter again, or anew.
