Mafalda Arnauth , Who Is This Sublime Singer From Portugal ?

March 9, 2010 - PRLog -- It can be said, without a single millisecond of hesitation or reluctance that Mafalda Arnauth is certainly, without question one of the most important voices of the Portuguese fado in this new decade and she is already on her fifth CD, which impeccably  demonstrates her constant progress in both the quality and image of her extraordinary vocal abilities.

The latest work is presented in an excellent manner, with an elegant presentation of packaging and the unexpected surprise of a CD together with a complimentary DVD of 5 live tracks, documenting the magnetism of this music and scenery of this wonderful performer.


In popular belief, fado is a form of music characterized by mournful tunes and lyrics, often about the sea or the life of the poor. However, in reality fado is simply a form of song which can be about anything, but must follow a certain structure.

The music is usually linked to the Portuguese word saudade which means to miss or to long for someone or something. Some enthusiasts claim that fado's origins are a mixture of African slave rhythms with the traditional music of Portuguese sailors and Arabic influence.

But fado only appeared after 1840 in Lisbon, at that time only fado marinheiro (sailor fado) was known and was sang, like the cantigas de levantar ferro, only by sailors. Fado was not known in the rest of the country, not even in the Algarve, and it was not known in the south of Spain where the Arab influence stood until the end of the 15th century.

Until the beginning of the 19th century there was no written record of fado, which represents, to the Portuguese tradition, a genre originally developed and perfected by the lower strata of society, it was sung with a sense of melancholy and nostalgic inevitability of fate.

Today FADO has evolved, as has Mafalda Arnuth.

As a result, the genre has always developed on sad and fatal lyrics, usually in a minor key harmonies and slow tempos in metrics that are rigorous, so far from certain times of joyous folk dances, traditional instruments was generally essential, based on the combination of the traditional Portuguese and Spanish guitar.

Mafalda shows a paradigm, distinct from these traditional ingredients and certainly very personal in its presentation.

Pessimism and resignation are not part of the character of this artist, the work in question, suggests trust in the universal as the key to life.

Love, instead of fatalism, open harmonies and dark, poetic lyrics to metric non-routine use of intermittent reinforcement to ¾ of a sense of joyfulness, richer tone on the instrumental interpretations though is always strictly acoustic, her voice is pure and unwavering, steering the listener away from dramatic or existential.

Significant recourse to texts of major poets and writers such as Home Pedro de Melo, Tiago Torres da Silva, Vitorino and Manuel Alegre are beautifully presented in this magnificent CD.

Mafalda however, is not only an interpreter of these beautiful poetic works; she also composes lyrics and music directly to present a fair portion of her repertoire on this elegant CD.

The result of such intensity is entirely transverse to the tracks offered, only to propose a synthesis and not to create a hierarchy means 'Povo que no lava river', 'Tinta Verde' and 'How much corn's sake' as there are steps that remain particularly printed, without detracting from the rest.

A final mention must be made of the excellent performance of her voice, never just in an overall performance but fundamental in the fresco of what she is presenting to the listener.