Portuguese fado, this is the musical universe where Sara Correia develops her singing career since she was a teenager.
Folkworld has extensively written about the world of fado in past articles,[47][64][73] and without ignoring that traditional Portuguese music maintains a diversity of rural styles from north to south, it is evident that fado continues to be the solid representative of national urban popular music, constantly generating new artists and compositions.
Sara Correia was born in Lisbon in a family with strong roots in fado music and at the age of thirteen she won the contest Grande Noite do Fado (Great Night of Fado) whose first price included the publication of an album, which became Sara’s first CD ‘Destino’ (2008), followed by ‘Sara Correia’ (2018), and then now ‘Do Coraçaö’ (2020).
This last album is another great collection of eleven delicate tunes where Sara’s lyrical talent is supported by the characteristic Portuguese guitars of Angelo Freire, Bernardo Couto or Diogo Clemente. Although most of the songs maintain the typical style, there is for example 'Solidäo' (Soledad), with lyrics by Paulo Abreu Lima, and music by Antonio Zambujo (who sings with Sara), which deviates from traditional fado and incorporates the organ Hammond (Rubén Alves), double bass (Chico Santos) and drums (Andre Silva).
For sure, many tunes in the album transmit that feeling of sweet melancholy, longing, yearning,… ‘saudade’, so persistently linked with fado, like for instance in: ‘Por Passares’ (music by Vitorino, words Diogo Clemente), ‘O Pórtico’ (music by Mario Pacheco, words by Diogo Clemente), ‘Chegou Täo Tarde’ (by Joana Espaldinha), or ‘Porquê do fado’ (by Carolina Deslandes). But that is not always the case, for example in the cheerful ‘Tu ganhas sempre’ (by Diogo Clemente), or ‘Per perto’ (by Jorge Cruz).
Sara Correia 'Do Coraçâo' is a truly beautiful and talented work from the heart of a young Portuguese artist who will surely continue to expand the horizons of fado for years to come.
Photo Credits:
(1)-(2) Sara Correia
(unknown/website).
