Portugal: Portuguese Traditional Music

As the liner notes explain and the recordings attest, Portugal’s location on the westernmost coast of continental Europe influenced its folk music in significant ways. In addition to older chants, prayers, lullabies, vocal and instrumental music, the album contains several examples of the well-known fado style. Emotional and melancholy, fado has origins in the Middle Ages and experienced a renaissance in the 18th century; in 2011 it was inscribed in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Liner notes include translated lyrics for each track.

Track Listing

101	The Rendez-vous	Women's choir with adufe accompaniment	02:11
102	Lullaby (Cançao de Embalar)	Elderly female singer	02:43
103	Macelada (Picking Camomile)	Two elderly women with adufe accompaniment	02:03
104	Christmas Carol	A group of women and children	04:14
105	Sao Joao (Saint John)	Woman accompanied on an adufe	02:53
106	Desejos (Wishes)	Male singer accompanied by guitarra	02:21
107	For the Souls in Purgatory	Male and female singers	02:00
108	Aurora teve um menino (Aurora Has Given Birth to a Son)	Solo male voice with choir	05:52
109	Os Teus Olhos (Your Eyes)	Maria Teresa de Noronha, Raul Nery, Joaquim do Vale, Joel Pina	01:28
110	A Nossa Rua (Our Street)	Maria Teresa de Noronha, Raul Nery, Joaquim do Vale, Joel Pina	03:36
111	Fado Corrido	Manuel Vicente, Guilherme Carvalhais, Avelino do Carmo	03:25
112	Meia Noite (Midnight)	Manuel Vicente, Guilherme Carvalhais, Avelino do Carmo	04:12
113	Little Fado	Manuel Vicente, Guilherme Carvalhais, Avelino do Carmo	03:14
114	Tirana (The Wild Woman)	Female singer accompanied by choir and musicians	03:32
115	Um Viva para Toda a Gente (A Vivat for Everyone)	Male singer accompanied by musicians	02:37
116	Misericordia, Meu Deus (Have Mercy, O Lord)	Female singer accompanied by women's chorus	01:25
117	Stone-Cutter's Song	Solo male voice	02:05