Fado

Fado is a kind of popular urban song which originated in Lisbon, (arguably) in the mid-19^th century.

It is a very peculiar and, as often as not, a tricky genre of performance too, that leaves audiences in raptures as they deeply engage themselves with both singer and players in umpteen communicational processes, ranging ritually from absolute, devotional quietness to very cheerful and jolly sing-alongs. Indeed, these processes are unique ‘social mobilisers’ of many kinds of verbal, musical and body expression, by means of a whole set of cultural conventions and trends of musical style that govern both live performances and the listening experience of Fado, making it one of Portugal’s major living treasures of intangible cultural heritage.

The chosen repertoire, here, covers old time fados and other exquisite examples of this national music genre where, according to Rui Vieira Nery, “well-established set-tunes” can accommodate new lyrics; you may call these “castiços” or “rigoros”, depending on how the wonderful parody techniques apply to the music.