Fado music is the heart of the Portuguese soul. It is the oldest urban folk music in the world. Some say it came as a dance from Africa in the 19th century and was adopted by the poor on the streets of Lisbon. Or perhaps it started at sea as the sad, melodic songs coaxed from the rolling waves by homesick sailors and fishermen.

Whatever its origins its themes have remained constant: destiny, betrayal in love, death and despair. Although considered a sad music the theme of most fados is usually love, albeit unrequited, but there are fados written on other subjects. There is also a version of the Fado that blends fado and folk traditions. It is termed the “popular fado” because of this, it tends to be lighter in spirit, and often ad-libbed.

By the early twentieth century, fado had become a fixture in the everyday life of Lisbon’s working class. It was played for pleasure but also to relieve the pain of life. Skilled singers known as fadists performed at the end of the day and long into the night. Fado was the earthy music of taverns and brothels and street corners in Alfama and Mouraria, the old poor sections of Lisbon. (Another strain of fado, Coimbra fado, was favored among university students and professors.)

From the 1940‘s until her death in 1999, the towering figure of Portuguese fado was Amalia Rodrigues. She was the diva of fado, worshipped at home and celebrated abroad as the most famous representative of Portuguese culture. When she died Portugal’s Prime Minister called for three-days of national mourning. Such is the hold of fado over the people of Portugal.

The word fado means fate in Portuguese, however given the sometimes sad nature of the music, I think that the word lament is more appropriate. The essential element of fado music is “saudade,” a Portuguese word that translates roughly as longing, yearning or nostalgia for unrealized dreams. Fado flowers from this fatalistic world view. It speaks of an undefined yearning that can’t be satisfied. For Portuguese emigrants fado is an expression of homesickness for the place they left behind.

Like other forms of folk music such as American blues, Argentine tango or Greek rebitika, fado cannot be explained; it must be felt and experienced. A fado singer must have the soul to transmit the feeling existing in this very Portuguese form of poetry. This is probably its best kept secret.

The traditional accompaniment for the fadista is a Portuguese guitar, or guitarra, a 12-string instrument, and bass guitar, or viola. Sometimes a second acoustic guitar is added. Little is known about the exact origin of the fado guitar, but it is likely a descendant of the Arab Lute. If so, it was introduced during the Moorish occupation of the Algarve, and southern Portugal before the Crusades. The guitar, as it exists today, is indigenous to Portugal, and has a unique sound that is the pride of Portugal.

Portuguese Guitar

The Portuguese guitar (guitarra portuguesa) is a steel strung, 12-string, teardrop shaped cittern. It is a descendant of the Renaissance citola (also known as citolom, citra, cithara or cítara). In the 18th century, its design was influenced by the importation of English guitars into Portugal. It is from the English guitar that "watch key tuners" were adopted. While the general shape of the English guitar and Portuguese guitarra are similar, there are a number of design diferences. For example, the style of the head, the extension of the fingerboard, the ornamentation around the soundhole, the slope of the sides. While both of these instruments have 6 courses, the English uses only 10 strings but the Portuguese uses 12 strings. The English guitar is tuned to a major chord (gecGEC), while the Portuguese tuning (baeBAD) is derived from old cittern tuning. In the 20th century, the size of the Portuguese guitarra has increased and its construction was greatly influenced by the Gracio family and others who have improved the tonal qualities of the instrument. It is used in accompanying the Lisbon fado (an urban Portuguese song form), to accompany student songs from Coimbra, in performing musical variations and for composed pieces. The Lisbon instrument is known as the guitarra de fado, and the longer scale guitarra from Coimbra is known as the guitarra de Coimbra. It is rarely played solo, typically, it is accompanied by a Spanish-type guitar which the Portuguese call a viola or violão .