They have a folkloric melancholic tinge infused with a sentiment of resignation in them. The centuries-old songs of the seamen and the dock workers from the Portuguese shores are coming to town. Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra (QPO) is bringing Fado, the Songs from Portugal to Doha’s diverse music loving audience this October.
Fado, inscribed in the Unesco Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists, is a music genre that can be traced to the 1820s in Portugal, or even before that. This form of folk song that follows a certain traditional structure can be about anything, but is often associated with sea and the life around it.
Famous Portuguese fado singer and pianist Maria Ana Bobone is teaming up with Conductor Manuel Rebello and the orchestra to perform a series of interesting compositions on October 12 at Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC) Auditorium 3.
“She is a very popular singer and this form of music is very unique. I am sure that the people here would like this traditional form of music. It will be a chance for people in Doha to listen to Portuguese artists,” ambassador of Portugal to Qatar Antonio Tanger tells Community.
The ambassador says the Portuguese embassy has also lined up a score of other cultural activities in the coming months in Doha.
In popular belief, fado is a form of music characterised by mournful tunes and lyrics, often about the sea or the life of the poor, and infused with a sentiment of resignation, fatefulness and melancholia.
This is similar to the character of the music genre Morna from Cape Verde, which may be historically linked to fado in its earlier form but has retained its rhythmic heritage.
This connection to the music of a historic Portuguese urban and maritime proletariat can also be found in Brazilian Modinha and Indonesian Kroncong, although all these music genres subsequently developed their own independent traditions.
At Fado, The Songs of Portugal, Maria and QPO musicians will perform Frederico Valério: Que Deus me Perdoe; Filipa Carvalho: Tudo isto é fado; Popular: José embala o Menino; Frederico Valério: fado xuxu; José Afonso: Venham mais; Armandinho: Melancolia; Caco Velho: Barco Negro; Pedro Caldeira Cabral: Danca; José Marques Amaral: Fria Claridade; Alain Oulmann: Com que voz; João Braga: Nome de Mar; Maria Ana Bobone: Auto-retrato; Popular: Senhora do Almortao; Popular: Zanguei-me com o meu amor; and Popular: Maria Faia.
Maria is unanimously recognised as one of the best of her generation’s fadistas. She sings it and she does it in a distinct way, in the tradition of all the great voices. Maria started singing fado at the age of 16, after completing courses in both piano and singing at the National Conservatory of Music.
Her debut album entitled Alma Nova, performed in partnership with two other singers, would set the beginning of a brilliant career. She then recorded two albums for MA Recordings: Luz Destino and Senhora da Lapa, revealing a refined musical taste and where she welcomes new instruments to her fado (harpsichord and saxophone) in addition to the usual presence of the Portuguese guitar.
Her career continued with the release of Nome de Mar, a project that gave her the deserved public recognition and which collected the most positive reviews from all the “media.” The qualities and enormous talent of Maria led her to make various incursions in other musical projects, constantly engaging in successful partnerships.
It was those same qualities that led her to gather around her prestigious guitarists as Ricardo Rocha and Pedro Caldeira Cabral, each contributing with the uniqueness and beauty of their own compositions that reached, in the voice of Maria Ana Bobone, the pursued sonority of its creators.
She has constantly performed at Portugal’s major venues besides performing at numerous festivals and concert halls throughout the world, presenting fado music and Portuguese culture to other cultures such as England, USA, Brazil, Sweden, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Switzerland, France, and Mexico.
In her album, Fado & Piano, released in 2012, she partners with producer Rodrigo Serrão and explores and reveals the full dimension of her talent; composing, writing, singing, creating musical arrangements and playing all the songs on the piano.
She re-defines it as an instrument of choice in accompanying fado. Innovating once again, she sustains it in a deep respect and knowledge of old traditions, accompanied as always by the inescapable Portuguese Guitar and the Double-bass.
Leaving fado aside for a moment, she sings in English through the words of Rodrigo Serrão (producer, musician).


Related Story