Fado's beating heart

One needed a great deal of imagination to transform the cavernous and plush Cultural Centre into a tiny smoke-filled taverna in a narrow alleyway in Lisbon, but it says a lot for Mariza's artistry that she managed to do it last Thursday, and clearly to the satisfaction of her audience.

Fado ("fate", "destiny") is a peculiarly Portuguese contribution to world culture, with its impassioned songs of longing, of sadness, of separation, and the sea, which suddenly switch in mood to a Latin vivacity and joie de vie.

Its origins are disputed; it may have been influenced by Moorish songs heard in the Mouraria quarter of Lisbon, there may be some Brazilian input, but certainly by the 18th century it had become a genre much favoured in Lisbon and Coimbra. In both cities, students would drape a fringed black shawl around themselves and sing, to the sounds of the distinctive Portuguese guitar (which influenced in turn the Kronchong music of Indonesia), perhaps echoing regret at the passing of Portugal's period of greatness, when this tiny country at the edge of Europe led the world in exploration and discovery. 

The late Amalia Rodrigues helped break this largely male preserve, and Mariza (no other professional name), follows in her footsteps, but in her own way. The shawl is abandoned for a stunning black silk-and-tulle dress, and her accompanists are not just a couple of guitar players, but include a pianist-trombonist, and, perhaps surprisingly, a drummer (an innovation obviously appreciated by the Bangkok audience). The two lead guitarists were brilliant, totally wrapped up in their music, completely indifferent to the world around them, dressed in unassuming black working clothes.

For a modest Bt150, you received the complete programme for the 11th Dance and Music Festival, and in that were 11 pages of Portuguese poems translated into English and sung as fado.

Mariza told her spellbound audience about her mixed background and her early life, when already she was fascinated by the fado. She had the audience eating out of her hand by sheer force of personality combined with natural charm. And to show she did not really need the microphone, in the final song her voice effortlessly filled the hall without it.

Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, patron of the festival, was present for this memorable evening, and the hall was packed. In our imaginations, its dimensions had shrunk to fit the small room in which twenty or so people squeezed to listen to these gifted musicians take us, seemingly with little effort, into another world.

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Roots music

Though it has been traced back to 1820s Portugal, fado is thought to have much earlier origins. Some aficionados claim that it emerged from a mixture of African slave rhythms with the traditional music of Portuguese sailors and Arabic traders. The Portuguese word saudade - which translates as nostalgia or yearning -- is often mentioned in connection with the music.

Two distinct varieties of fado developed in the 19th century, one in  Lisbon the other in Coimbra. The Lisbon style is the most popular, while Coimbra's is usually described as the more refined. According to tradition, to applaud fado in Lisbon you clap your hands, while in Coimbra one merely coughs as if clearing one's throat.

Mainstream fado performances during most of the 20th century included only a singer, a Portuguese guitar player and a classical guitar player but more recent settings popularised by artists such as Mariza range from singer and string quartet to full orchestra.