ana moura sings fado
february 5, 2011
Salaam Dear Ones,
Last night Taslima and I went to the Dortmundkoncerthalle to see Ana Moura sing Fado. Fado is a traditional musical style that comes from Portugal and is sung in small local taverns. Musicians usually sit in a circle, guitarists and a singer perform without amplification, and a small crowd of neighborhood types gathers. Last night, in typical "country" style, the band opened, three older men on guitar - bass guitar which looked like a normal guitar but was obviously much deeper in sound, acoustic guitar, and Portuguese guitar which was swollen and rounded and had a haunting lilting sound. The man who played the Portuguese guitar was a master. He could make you cry, no problem, and was able to convey every emotion known to man through his instrument.
The moment Ana Moura walked languidly onto the stage, she had us. You could not take your eyes off her. She was wearing a black dress with long see-through lace sleeves and back, and the front and skirt were liquid sequins with a train that trailed behind her. Her look was at once erotic and lady-like, all at the same time. Her gestures were small and delicate and conveyed such power as to move the entire audience with a single tiny clap. A silvery fringed scarf was attached to the shoulder of her dress and she used it to great effect, sometimes holding it in her hand in front of her and letting it sweep before her shimmering in the light, sometimes tossing it over the other shoulder, draping herself lightly with it. Her performance was really quite amazing and made you proud to be a woman, proud to be part of the human family, happy to be alive and to feel such things and to hear such sounds.
And what sounds they were! Her voice was deep and full and sensuous. Every song was about heartbreak, love, and loss, and hope of loving again. Though I didn't understand a word, I knew this. Actually, I did understand one song that she sang in English. She just recorded with the Rolling Stones, if you can believe that. The Stones are in the process of putting together a World Music album of people covering their songs, and she was chosen to cover "No Expectations" and something else ("You Can't Always Get What You Want" maybe). She performed "No Expectations" for us in her style and it was enchanting, so different from any version I had ever heard. It's wonderful to hear musicians take a song that is such a signature song for someone else, and to make it entirely their own. Like the gal who covered "Jolene" on Dolly Parton's "The Grass is Blue" cd...
Ana Moura's adab was impeccable. She thanked the musicians, she thanked the person who did the lights, she thanked the person who did the sound. All by name. She made herself very small, very compact, very internalized; the antithesis of the Puppini Sisters who were showboating last week. Funny, when the Puppini Sisters did their cheerleading thing and tried to whip the crowd up into a clapping frenzy, every cell in me refused. Last night, all Ana Moura had to do was give a tiny clap, a smile, and a nod, and all I wanted to do was clap "con gusto" throughout the entire song. Willingly. Joyfully. There's got to be a teaching in there somewhere.
So, needless to say, Taslima and I had a beautiful evening. I rocked my Frida Kahlo look, which seemed fitting, and afterwards we got autographs like school girls. To top it off, on the way to the car, we lifted a poster off the wall in the park haus. So now I even have an Ana Moura poster in my room!
On another note, I got some pictures of the bakery yesterday, and yes, one of Dirk. I'll sent some later to you with another travelogue. Just wanted you to have this for now.
Love you all so much. Enjoy your weekend.
Your fattie
Last night Taslima and I went to the Dortmundkoncerthalle to see Ana Moura sing Fado. Fado is a traditional musical style that comes from Portugal and is sung in small local taverns. Musicians usually sit in a circle, guitarists and a singer perform without amplification, and a small crowd of neighborhood types gathers. Last night, in typical "country" style, the band opened, three older men on guitar - bass guitar which looked like a normal guitar but was obviously much deeper in sound, acoustic guitar, and Portuguese guitar which was swollen and rounded and had a haunting lilting sound. The man who played the Portuguese guitar was a master. He could make you cry, no problem, and was able to convey every emotion known to man through his instrument.
The moment Ana Moura walked languidly onto the stage, she had us. You could not take your eyes off her. She was wearing a black dress with long see-through lace sleeves and back, and the front and skirt were liquid sequins with a train that trailed behind her. Her look was at once erotic and lady-like, all at the same time. Her gestures were small and delicate and conveyed such power as to move the entire audience with a single tiny clap. A silvery fringed scarf was attached to the shoulder of her dress and she used it to great effect, sometimes holding it in her hand in front of her and letting it sweep before her shimmering in the light, sometimes tossing it over the other shoulder, draping herself lightly with it. Her performance was really quite amazing and made you proud to be a woman, proud to be part of the human family, happy to be alive and to feel such things and to hear such sounds.
And what sounds they were! Her voice was deep and full and sensuous. Every song was about heartbreak, love, and loss, and hope of loving again. Though I didn't understand a word, I knew this. Actually, I did understand one song that she sang in English. She just recorded with the Rolling Stones, if you can believe that. The Stones are in the process of putting together a World Music album of people covering their songs, and she was chosen to cover "No Expectations" and something else ("You Can't Always Get What You Want" maybe). She performed "No Expectations" for us in her style and it was enchanting, so different from any version I had ever heard. It's wonderful to hear musicians take a song that is such a signature song for someone else, and to make it entirely their own. Like the gal who covered "Jolene" on Dolly Parton's "The Grass is Blue" cd...
Ana Moura's adab was impeccable. She thanked the musicians, she thanked the person who did the lights, she thanked the person who did the sound. All by name. She made herself very small, very compact, very internalized; the antithesis of the Puppini Sisters who were showboating last week. Funny, when the Puppini Sisters did their cheerleading thing and tried to whip the crowd up into a clapping frenzy, every cell in me refused. Last night, all Ana Moura had to do was give a tiny clap, a smile, and a nod, and all I wanted to do was clap "con gusto" throughout the entire song. Willingly. Joyfully. There's got to be a teaching in there somewhere.
So, needless to say, Taslima and I had a beautiful evening. I rocked my Frida Kahlo look, which seemed fitting, and afterwards we got autographs like school girls. To top it off, on the way to the car, we lifted a poster off the wall in the park haus. So now I even have an Ana Moura poster in my room!
On another note, I got some pictures of the bakery yesterday, and yes, one of Dirk. I'll sent some later to you with another travelogue. Just wanted you to have this for now.
Love you all so much. Enjoy your weekend.
Your fattie