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{{Short description|Portuguese music genre}}
{{About|the music genre|the database of forged documents|FADO|other uses|Fado (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox music genre
| name              = Fado
| image             = Jose malhoa fado.jpg
| caption           = ''Fado'', painting by [[José Malhoa]] (1910)
| stylistic_origins = [[Portuguese music]]
| cultural_origins  = Early 19th-century [[Lisbon]], Portugal
| derivatives       = [[Coimbra fado]]
| subgenrelist      = 
| subgenres         = 
| fusiongenres      = 
| regional_scenes   = 
| other_topics      = 
}}
{{Infobox intangible heritage
| ICH         = Fado, urban popular song of Portugal
| State Party = Portugal
| ID          = 00563
| Region      = ENA
| Year        = 2011
| Session     = 6th
| List        = Representative
}}

'''Fado''' ({{IPA|pt|ˈfaðu}}; "destiny, fate") is a [[music genre]] which can be traced to the 1820s in [[Lisbon]], Portugal, but probably has much earlier origins. Fado historian and scholar Rui Vieira Nery states that "the only reliable information on the history of fado was orally transmitted and goes back to the 1820s and 1830s at best. But even that information was frequently modified within the generational transmission process that made it reach us today."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fnac.pt/Para-uma-Historia-do-Fado-Rui-Vieira-Nery/a306961 |title=Para uma História do Fado, Rui Vieira Nery, NERY, RUI VIEIRA, Livros. Comprar livro na Fnac.pt |access-date=2011-11-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120405033015/http://www.fnac.pt/Para-uma-Historia-do-Fado-Rui-Vieira-Nery/a306961 |archive-date=2012-04-05 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Although the origins are difficult to trace, today fado is commonly regarded as simply a form of song which can be about anything, but must follow a certain traditional structure. 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, and infused with a sense of resignation, fate and melancholy. This is loosely captured by the [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] word ''[[saudade]]'', or longing, symbolizing a feeling of loss (a permanent, irreparable loss and its consequent lifelong damage). This is similar to the character of several musical genres in Portuguese ex-colonies such as [[Morna (music)|morna]] from [[Cape Verde]], which may be historically linked to fado in its earlier form and have retained its rhythmic heritage. This connection to the music of a historic Portuguese urban and maritime [[proletariat]] (sailors, bohemians, dock workers, prostitutes, taverna frequenters, port traders, fishwives and other [[working-class]] people) can also be found in Brazilian [[modinha]] and Indonesian [[kroncong]], although all these music genres subsequently developed their own independent traditions.

Some famous singers of fado, of which there are many, include [[Alfredo Marceneiro]], [[Amália Rodrigues]], [[Carlos do Carmo]], [[Mariza]], [[António Zambujo]], and [[Camané]]. On 27 November 2011, fado was added to the [[UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists]].<ref name=fado>{{cite web |title=Fado, urban popular song of Portugal |url=http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?lg=en&pg=00011&RL=00563 |publisher=UNESCO Culture Sector |access-date=2011-11-27}}</ref> It is one of two Portuguese music traditions part of the lists, the other being [[Cante Alentejano]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?lg=en&pg=00011&RL=01007 |title=Cante Alentejano, polyphonic singing from Alentejo, southern Portugal |access-date=November 3, 2015 |work= unesco.org |publisher=[[UNESCO]]}}</ref>

Modern fado is popular in Portugal, and has been performed by many renowned [[List of fado musicians|musicians]].

== Etymology ==
[[File:Port-guitar-silva-1796.jpg|thumb|right|[[Portuguese guitar]]]]

The word fado possibly comes from the [[Latin]] word ''fatum''<ref name="DK2013">{{cite book |title=Smithsonian Music: The Definitive Visual History |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cUfyAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA304 |date=1 October 2013 |publisher=Dorling Kindersley Publishing |isbn=978-1-4654-2126-5 |page=304 |chapter=Longing for Fado}}</ref> ("fate", "death" or "utterance"<ref>[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fatum Wiktionary – fatum]</ref>). The word is linked to the music genre itself, although both meanings are approximately the same in the two languages. Nevertheless, many songs play on the double meaning, such as the Amália Rodrigues song "Com que voz", which includes the lyric "''Com que voz chorarei meu triste fado''" ("With what voice should I lament my sad fate/sing my sad fado?").<ref name="Elliott2010">{{cite book |author=Richard Elliott |title=Fado and the Place of Longing: Loss, Memory and the City |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sa-gR-P-pVEC&pg=PA19 |year=2010 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. |isbn=978-0-7546-6795-7 |page=19, note 17 |quote='Fado', as well as referencing a musical genre, is also the Portuguese word for 'fate', allowing a potential double meaning in many songs that use the word.}}</ref>

Perhaps shedding light on ''fadista'' are the Proto-[[Celt]]ic ''*wātis'' ([[prophet]], [[poet]]; see [[Proto-Celtic language]]), the English-Latin ''[[vates]]'' (Celtic [[bard]], prophet, philosopher),  and the [[Old French]] ''fatiste'' (poet), evolving to the [[Middle French]] ''fatiste'' (actor in a [[medieval]] [[mystery play]]).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://archive.org/details/cursodehistoriad00braguoft |title=Curso de historia da litteratura portugueza, adaptado ás aulas de instrucção secundaria por Theophilo Braga |first=Teófilo |last=Braga |date=28 March 1885 |publisher=Lisboa Nova livraria internacional |access-date=28 March 2018 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/epopasdaracamos01braggoog|page=[https://archive.org/details/epopasdaracamos01braggoog/page/n389 321]|quote=fatiste.|title=Epopêas da rac̨a mosárabe |first=Teófilo |last=Braga |date=28 March 1871 |publisher=Imprensa portugueza |access-date=28 March 2018 |via=Internet Archive}} https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fatiste</ref>

== History ==
Fado appeared during the early 19th century in Lisbon, and is believed to have its origins in the bohemian areas of the capital, such as [[Bairro Alto]], Mouraria and [[Alfama]] districts.

A different theory about the origin of fado was defended by Brazilian musical critic [[José Ramos Tinhorão]], who said that fado was brought into Portugal by the hands and craft of a mixed-race Brazilian musician called [[Domingos Caldas Barbosa]] in the mid 18th century.

There are numerous theories about the origin of fado. Some trace its origins or influences to the medieval "[[Cantiga de amigo|cantigas de amigo]]" (song of a friend), others suggest some ancient [[Moorish]] influence, and yet others point to the chants of (enslaved) Africans sailing at sea. None of these are compelling. It possibly evolved and formed from various older musical genres.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.museudofado.pt/gca/index.php?id=17
| title=História do Fado |last=Seara.com |website=[[Museu do Fado]] | access-date=28 March 2018}}</ref>

Fado performers in the middle of the 19th century were mainly from the urban [[working-class]], namely sailors, bohemians and [[courtesans]] in popular taverns, who not only sang but also danced and beat the fado. During the second half of the 19th century, the dance rhythms faded away, and the performers became merely singers (fadistas).
[[File:Maria Severa - Fado-Sängerin.jpg|thumb|[[Maria Severa Onofriana|Maria Severa]], fado singer (1820–1846)]]

The 19th century's fadista [[Maria Severa-Onofriana|Maria Severa]], a half [[Romani people in Portugal|Cigano]] woman considered scandalous by some at the time, was the artist who made this genre famous.<ref>[https://bibliotecadigital.agrcanelas.edu.pt/index.php?page=13&id=95&db A Severa]</ref>

More recently [[Amália Rodrigues]], known as the "Rainha do Fado" ("Queen of Fado") was most influential in popularizing fado worldwide.<ref>{{cite news|last=Rohter|first=Larry|title=Carving Out a Bold Destiny for Fado|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/27/arts/music/ana-moura-is-among-singers-reinvigorating-fado.html?_r=1&hp|newspaper=The New York Times|date=March 25, 2011}}</ref> Fado performances today may be accompanied by a [[string quartet]] or a full orchestra.

== Musicological aspects ==
Fado typically employs the [[Dorian mode]] or [[Ionian mode]] (natural major), sometimes switching between the two during a melody or verse change.
A particular stylistic trait of fado is the use of [[rubato]], where the music pauses at the end of a phrase and the singer holds the note for dramatic effect. The music uses double-time rhythm and triple-time ([[waltz]] style).

== Varieties ==
There are two main varieties of fado, linked respectively to the cities of [[Lisbon]] and [[Coimbra]].

The Lisbon style is better known, owing much to the popularity of Amália Rodrigues. It has been suggested that fado appeared on the streets of Lisbon only after 1840. Before then, the sailor's fado was sung at the bow of a boat, serving as a model for the first fados sung on land.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://o-faiante-no-piano.webnode.es/l/fado-do-marinheiro/ | title=Fado do marinheiro :: O-faiante-no-piano | date=20 November 2016 }}</ref> Lisbon hosts a [[Fado Museum]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.museudofado.pt/en | title=Museu do Fado }}</ref>
 
=== Coimbra fado ===
{{Main|Coimbra fado}}
[[File:Queima 2009.jpg|thumb|[[Coimbra]] students playing fado in a [[serenade]] at the front door of the [[Old Cathedral of Coimbra]] (''Sé Velha)'']]
The fado style of Coimbra is traditionally linked to the city's [[University of Coimbra|university]] and the style of medieval serenading [[troubadours]]. It is sung exclusively by men; both the singers and musicians wear the academic outfit (traje académico): dark robe, cape and leggings. Dating to the [[troubadour]] tradition of medieval times, it is sung at night, almost in the dark, in city squares or streets. Typical venues are the steps of the [[Santa Cruz Monastery]] and the [[Old Cathedral of Coimbra]]. It is also customary to organize [[serenade]]s where songs are performed before the window of a woman to be courted.

As in Lisbon, Coimbra fado is accompanied by the ''guitarra portuguesa'' and ''viola'' (a type of guitar).  The Coimbra guitar has evolved into an instrument different from that of Lisbon, with its own tuning, sound colouring, and construction. [[Artur Paredes]], a progressive and innovative singer, revolutionised the tuning of the guitar and the style with which it accompanied Coimbra fado. Artur Paredes was the father of [[Carlos Paredes]]. He followed in his father's footsteps and expanded on his work, making the Portuguese guitar an instrument known around the world.

In the 1950s, a new movement led the singers of Coimbra to adopt the ballad and folklore. They began interpreting lines of the great poets, both classical and contemporary, as a form of resistance to the [[António de Oliveira Salazar|Salazar]] dictatorship. In this movement, names such as [[Adriano Correia de Oliveira]] and [[José Afonso]] (Zeca Afonso) had a leading role in popular music during the [[Carnation Revolution]] of 1974.

Some of the most famous fados of Coimbra include: ''Fado Hilário'', ''Saudades de Coimbra'' ("Do Choupal até à Lapa"), ''Balada da Despedida'' ("Coimbra tem mais encanto, na hora da despedida" – the first phrases are often more recognizable than the song titles), ''O meu menino é d'oiro'', and ''[[Samaritan]]a''. The "judge-singer" [[Fernando Machado Soares]] is an important figure, being the author of some of those famous fados.

It is not a Coimbra fado, but a popular song that is the best known title referring to this city: ''Coimbra é uma lição'', which had success with titles such as ''April in Portugal''.

== See also ==
* ''[[Fados (film)|Fados]]'', a 2007 movie about fado by Spanish director [[Carlos Saura]]
* [[List of fado musicians]]
{{Portal bar|Latin music|Music|Portugal}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://storyateverycorner.com/fun-things-to-do-in-lisbon/#Fado_the_Quintennial_Portuguese_Music Fado Music in Alfama Neighborhood of Lisbon]
* [https://www.portaldofado.net/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/lang,en/ Portal do Fado – All about Fado is here]

{{Music of Portugal}}
{{Lusophone countries music}}
{{UNESCO Oral and Intangible music}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Fado| ]]
[[Category:Music of Portugal]]
[[Category:Urban street dance and music]]
[[Category:Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity]]