Saturday, August 01, 2009

Maria de Fatima, Rosario Foi Deus, ToCo Latino

Freaks me out because this is fado in a big production setting with strings, electronic effects and lots of other stuff that can be, frankly, a bit distracting and yet interesting from the standpoint of hearing the music in a new, for me, context.

Still, I can't help but thinking she would have done just fine without all the accoutrements. Her voice is powerful and expressive and on traditonal tunes like Ai Mouaria, Lagrima and Coimbra she could have held her own with most fadistas in front of just the basic guitarras and bass. Estranha Forma de Vida, a thoroughly gripping performance in which she's accompanied only by a piano, illustrates my point. Sometimes, and often in fado, simplicity is a virtue.

No comments: