Misia "Paixões Diagonais" 1999*****

Misia is one of the greatest modern performers of fado, a Portuguese musical tradition of at least 200 years. It's sorrowful and passionate music, originally the musical expression of the society's urban outcasts. People have often compared it to American blues, Spanish flamenco and Greek rembetiko. Although each one is very distinctive of the country and society that gave birth to them, there are similarities in the way they express emotion, especially sadness and longing. In 1990 there had only been one recognisable fado star: Amália Rodrigues, who was already a septuagenarian. Her retirement from recording and performing seemed to foreshadow the genre's decline, but instead it signified its rebirth: Misia (and, later, others like Mariza and Cristina Branco) managed to renew and modernize it, making it even more popular internationally than in Rodriguez's heydey. The traditional setup of classical guitar and lute-like 12-string portuguese guitar is augmented here with piano, violin and accordion, adding an extra layer of sensuality and accentuating the subtle tango influences in Misia's music. Two of the album's stand-out tracks, "Paixões diagonais" and "Triste sina" have found unexpected audience in the U.S. through their use in the romantic Hollywood comedy Passionada, starring CSI:Miami star Sofia Milos. "Paixões diagonais" appears here in two versions, the sensual,tango-inflected opener and melancholic piano-led closer. The lush orchestration of the following tracks "Ainda que" and "Triste sina" manages to highlight rather than drown Misia's emotional and dramatic singing. "O corvo" is a rather rhythmic track that reminds me of Cabo Verdean music, while "Fado triste" is, as you may have guessed, a sad song introduced by mourning violin. At no point of the record does the quality level drop, but some further highlights include the sad portuguese guitar in "Minha alma de amor sedenta" and her excursions away from traditional fado territory (cabaret and chamber music on "Liberdades poéticas", Broadway balladry on "Nascimento de Vénus"). No doubt about it, "Paixões diagonais" is an exceptional record in its marriage of the traditional and modern, local and universal - probably my favorite of the fado albums we have at home (my girlfriend really loves this music). I'll present some of them in the future and hope to also make some interesting new discoveries during my planned trip to Lisbon in May. I know from experience that, beside the dozen or so artists that break through to the world music circuit and achieve international careers, there's always a vibrant scene with important artists that never achieve fame beyond their country's borders and I'm eager to tap into that source. Until then, I still have a lot of great Portuguese CD's to present in this blog: Madredeus, Cristina Branco, Mariza, Dulce Pontes, Amália and, of course, more Misia. Who knows if we'll ever get to them all? So much music, so little time...

***** for Paixões diagonais (1st version), Ainda que, Triste sina, Liberdades poéticas

**** for O corvo, Fado triste, Se soubesse o que sentias, Minha alma de amor sedenta sequiosa, Nascimento de Vénus  

*** for A palavra dos lugares, Par rêve, Paixões diagonais (2nd version)