Mariza Canta Amália

Mariza

Released on 2021-01-29 by Parlophone Portugal
Main artists: Mariza
Genre: Fado

Available in

16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo

Unlimited Streaming

Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps

Start my trial period and start listening to this album

Enjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription

Digital Download

Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.

For all fado musicians, fans and a fortiori singers, Amália Rodrigues is like the centre of gravity. An unavoidable figure for everyone who either wants to listen to or develop the genre. As an icon of an entire country, a symbol of Portugal’s soul, the fadista’s aura has not wavered since she died in 1999. 2020 would have marked her 100th birthday. Mariza, Portugal’s current most-popular singer, is celebrating her 20-year-long career by dedicating an entire album to her elder. Canta Amália contains a selection of Saint Amalia’s most popular songs, from one of her earliest hits (Foi Deus, 1952) to one of her last (Lágrima, 1983) and focuses on standards from her golden age in the 1960s, when she worked with the brilliant composer Alain Oulman (Gaivota, Fado Português, Estranha Forma de Vida, Povo Qui Lavas No Rio, Cravos de Papel and Com Que Voz). Mariza approaches this repertoire with respect, but also with the emotional distance that characterises her relaxed approach to the normally tear-inducing genre.

Mariza has once again called up Jaques Morelenbaum for this album – a Brazilian producer, arranger and cellist who has previously worked with Tom Jobim and Caetano Veloso. He was also the mastermind behind one of the highlights of Mariza’s career, the 2005 album Transparente. The strings come out in full force, making the arrangements – which are sometimes jazzy and at other times Brazilian-sounding – as lush as a 1950s Hollywood blockbuster. Yes, Canta Amália was recorded in Rio, though the Brazilian accents also serve as a nod towards Amália’s recording debut in that same city in 1945. And while the Brazilian Lula Galvão’s guitar sometimes unveils Hispanic accents, it’s probably to evoke the diva’s origins. Born in Beira Baixa, a former Portuguese province bordering Spain, the local music strongly influenced her sound. But of course, the crystalline notes of the unmistakable Portuguese guitar, played by two of the greatest contemporary practitioners - Bernardo Couto and Luís Guerreiro - take us back to the heart of Lisbon’s Alfama, an old neighbourhood where Fado was born. This album never tries to be overly intimate or traditional. It is destined for large stages capable of hosting large orchestras and stars such as Mariza or Amalia, who was the first Fado singer to be celebrated in a prestigious concert hall. © Benjamin MiNiMuM/Qobuz

More info

Mariza Canta Amália

Mariza

You are currently listening to samples.

Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.

Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.

From kr133,33/month

Com Que Voz