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Showing posts from March 18, 2012

In review--Legends sing fate

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Legends of Fado Compilation Arc Music The first fado recording I heard did not feature the new generation of fadistas.    I discovered fado after a music librarian in Seattle referred me to Amália Rodrigues, a name that sounded exotic to my ears in 1996.   Yet, the first CD that I purchased (a scratchy archival recording) featured lesser-known vocalists from the 1920s and 1930s.   I fell in love with the vocals and when I played it for a vocalist (colleague) she glanced at me as if I had lost my mind.   Flash forward to 2000, when I discovered Mariza and no one looked at me as if I lost my mind.   These days fado enjoys worldwide acclaim and while a new generation of vocalists innovate the tradition, they too pay homage to the mothers and fathers of fado.   After all,   a plant can’t grow without its roots. The compilation Legends of Fado features Rodrigues, of course, but also other male and female fado legends that give Amália heated competition, even if she rema