Fado for the World: dezembro 2007

After 21 years of total dedication to Madredeus, Teresa Salgueiro is leaving. I couldn´t believe when I read in the news and I was expecting it to be a misunderstanding but it was proven correct and that angelic, ethereal voice is really leaving and so putting an end to one of the most beautiful and portuguese (very portuguese!) bands that ever existed.

Quoting from wiki:

"Madredeus (pron. IPA: [ma.dɾɨ.'ðewʃ]) is a Portuguese band. Their music combines fado influences with modern folk music.

The band's founding members were Pedro Ayres Magalhães (Classical guitar), Rodrigo Leão (keyboard synthesizer), Francisco Ribeiro (cello) and Teresa Salgueiro (vocals). Magalhães and Leão formed the band in 1985, Ribeiro joined in 1986. They'd been searching for a female singer, and found Teresa Salgueiro in one of Lisbon's night clubs. Teresa liked their music and agreed to join, so in 1987 Madredeus recorded their first album, Os dias da Madredeus ("The days of Madredeus").

The first album was recorded in their rehearsal space, a disused abbey in Lisbon. The recording was especially strenuous due to deafening interruptions every 5 minutes from Lisbon's tram service, which ran directly above. In honour of this unavoidable presence in their every performance, they named themselves after the line's nearby terminus, Madre de Deus (Mother of God), shortened to the vernacular Madredeus.

In 1993, Pedro Ayres Magalhães left the band temporarily and was replaced in live concerts by José Peixoto (Classical guitar). Magalhães rejoined the group later, making it a sextet with two guitarists.

They released several albums and became very popular in Portugal, but remained relatively unknown outside the country. This changed in 1994 when Wim Wenders, impressed by their music, asked Madredeus to perform in his movie Lisbon Story - the soundtrack gave the band international fame. Thanks to that, Madredeus spread their wings to the world and conquered fans from all over Europe, South America, Africa and Asia.

In 1994 Rodrigo Leão left the band to start a solo career, being replaced by Carlos Maria Trindade (keyboard synthesizer).

In 1997 Francisco Ribeiro and Gabriel Gomes left the band as Madredeus' style started abandoning its fado roots with the release of O Paraíso. At this time Fernando Júdice (Acoustic bass guitar) was invited to join them, to form the current line-up, again a quintet. Madredeus has sold over 3 million albums worldwide."

From their site we can read on the biography

"(This music's long journey) found a definitive form when the voice was found. Teresa Salgueiro was the perfect heart for the group's melodies and words. When the first album -- 1987's "Os Dias da Madredeus", recorded at the Xabregas Convent church -- was released, many realised they were witnessing something unique and universal. Serene, ethereal songs, carrying a whispering, almost secret "Portugueseness", songs we all knew but whose shape we'd never been able to imagine (...)

The Portuguese received them warmly and spontaneously; the opinions were split evenly between passionate fascination and quasi-religious reverence. It was then understood the extraordinary journey of Madredeus had begun.

From "Existir" (1990) onwards, Madredeus traveled with their music to other lands, lands that recognised easily and applauded the emotions and stories the group conveys. The language may not always be understood, but Madredeus have a strange alchemy that manages to make unique feelings universally shared.

1993 was the year the group went truly global, with concert appointments spreading throughout the world. Madredeus were no longer Portugal's own, but remained stubbornly Portuguese through and through."

Here is a video with one of my favourite songs Haja o que houver" [Come what may (I wait for you)"] from the album Paraíso

All the good things come to an end. And Teresa has now other projects such as this (I post here) with the polish composer Zbigniew Preisner - Silence, Night & Dreams