Portugal: Monitor Presents Portuguese Fados and Folk Songs

Most closely associated with cantinas in Lisbon and cafes in Coimbra, the fado is a popular Portuguese ballad form typifying the Portuguese spirit of saudade. More than mere longing, "saudade has a deeper meaning that permeates the whole Portuguese attitude toward the past...a kind of wistful nostalgia...but love--usually a lost love--is always the underlying theme."

The studio recordings in this collection feature some of Portugal's most prominent fado performers of the time, singing stories of unrequited love, national pride, destiny, and homesickness. At times humorous, at other times solemn, the collection presents the breadth and depth of the fado's many forms. Lyrics in Portuguese and English are included in the liner notes.