Alfama

Fado is to the Portuguese what the blues is to America: it is the yearning, bloody, naked soul exposed. This 150-year-old art form is so inseparable from its people that it has become the sum of Portugal's cultural identity. The undisputed queen of fado, Amalia Rodriques, is the jewel to which all other performers are compared. Misia, like her native Portugal, is reverent to tradition as well as mindful of the future. Her love for fado is not without a contemporary flair, and although she is perhaps the most celebrated current interpreter of the genre, her work has received an equal amount of praise and outrage. The haunting Canto finds the perfect middle ground between old and new, fusing lyrics by existing Portuguese poets with (12-string) guitarra and the husky cadences of Misia's otherworldly voice. Inspired by composer Carlos Paredes, Misia brings in a classical string quintet, resulting in a serendipitous blend of modern drama that transcends nationalities. The pairing of traditional with classical is seamless, lending an added weight to the already heavy material. These are songs that travel like bullets to the heart, speaking the oldest language know to mankind: despair. Highly Recommended.