When it comes
to its music industry, Portugal has made as many new discoveries, as
the country’s founding fathers did sea routes. From pop to rock, to
the evolution of its popular folk music, the industry is a constantly
evolving creature. However, in Goa, when we think of Portuguese
music, the word and idea that we associate with the concept is the
Fado.
A
genre of music that is (on record) traceable to the early
19th century
(though rumoured to be much older), the Fado is ingrained in the very
soul of Portuguese folk music. Though in time it has taken many
forms, as it is sung differently in Porto, Coimbra and Lisbon, the
Fado is, by self-earned right, the very expression of the Portuguese
soul. While the Fado spent many a year being represented for decades
on foreign shores by Amália Rodrigues, in more recent times, several
other artistes have sprung to the fore, such as Dulce Pontes, Mariza
and Katia Guerreiro, to name but a few. But when we think of the
genre, closer to home, the household name that comes to mind is Sonia
Shirsat.
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Sonia’s
latest endeavour, while working with the Fado has entailed dealing
with a new concept called ‘Fado in the City’. Speaking on the
concept, she says “I felt the need to do something that would aid
in popularising the Fado and give it wider reach. The idea behind the
‘Fado in the City’ performances, was to bring the Fado to a host
of venues that are easily accessible by the general public, and can
be attended by all who are interested in further discovering all that
the genre entails, absolutely free of cost.”
While
the first show in the series, which acted as a preview, was held
behind closed doors at the residence of the Consul, Rui Carvalho
Baceira, the other performances will unfold as follows: Sunaprantha
in Altinho on May 20, Maracas in Porvorim on May 26 and the
ancestral house of the Figueiredo family in Loutolim on June 4.
‘Fado in the City’ will then be on a mini hiatus of sorts, before
returning with another short string of 5 performances, before coming
to a close at Nostalgia in Raia on October 1.
In
addition to this, to further increase awareness, the string of ‘Fado
in the City’ shows will be accompanied by a coffee table book by
the same name. These will be handed out to members of the audience at
the performances, also for free. “The volume has been compiled in a
way that I believe will make it easy for first timers to understand
the basics about the Fado. The topics will cover areas like the
origin of the Fado, the various types of Fado, legends of the genre,
like Maria Severa, Amalia and so on, instruments used in the
Fado; Fado in Goa, etc,” says Sonia, while discussing the book.
For
the entire series, Sonia will be accompanied by Orlando De Noronha
on guitarra
Portuguesa and
Carlos Meneses as well as Dr Allan Abreu on the viola
do fado.
Whether you remain uninitiated in the Fado or you are a veteran, with
an initiative such as this, there is no time like the present to be
introduced /re-introduced to the genre in Goa.
