If you don't know about Portuguese Fado music, or even if you do, Ana Moura is someone you must not miss. Her voice has the full yet tender sound equal to some of the greatest Fado singers, which means that the singing is just unbelievably beautiful.
The Fado tradition goes back many centuries and has a quality that must be heard to appreciate. The minimal ensemble consists of an acoustic guitar, nylon or steel stringed, and the Portuguese guitarra, which has 12 strings tuned in a particular way. That's true of the music on Ana Moura's new album Leva-Me Aos Fados (World Village), though it sounds as if there are two guitarras in the ensemble, most of the time, plus a bass instrument, sounds like an upright at least part of the time.
The point however, is that the kind of exquisite melanchology that Fado portrays so poetically is ever present in Ana's vocal style that one does not have to understand Portuguese (I don't) to hear the passion in her voice. Like the blues, Fado should be expressive!! Well, Ana Moura is the best thing I've heard in a long time. What a voice!! Need I say more? Wow!
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