Coimbra Fado is a genre of
fadoFado is a music genre which can be traced to the 1820s in Portugal, but probably with much earlier origins. Fado historian and scholar, Rui Vieira Nery, states that "the only reliable information on the history of Fado was orally transmitted and goes back to the 1820s and 1830s at best...
originating in the city of
CoimbraCoimbra is a city in the municipality of Coimbra in Portugal. Although it served as the nation's capital during the High Middle Ages, it is better-known for its university, the University of Coimbra, which is one of the oldest in Europe and the oldest academic institution in the...
,
PortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
. It was adopted as the music of the university students of this city, also known as Student Fado (
Fado de Estudante), but is usually considered the typical music of Coimbra itself.
It is performed with the traditional
Guitarra de Coimbra (a kind of
Portuguese guitarThe Portuguese guitar or Portuguese guitarra is a plucked string instrument with twelve steel strings, strung in six courses comprising two strings each. It is one of the few musical instruments to use Preston tuners. It is most notably associated with fado.-History:The origin of the Portuguese...
originating in Coimbra), a modified version of Lisbon's fado guitar allegedly created by
Artur ParedesArtur Paredes was a Portuguese guitar player in the city of Coimbra. Much of today's Coimbra guitar features can be traced back to his contact with local luthiers. His son Carlos Paredes was a virtuoso and attained popularity, becoming the most internationally known Portuguese guitar player...
, and usually accompanied by classic acoustic guitar and male voices.
Guitarists Artur Paredes and his son
Carlos ParedesCarlos Paredes, ComSE, was a virtuoso Portuguese guitar player, born in Coimbra, son of the equally famous Artur Paredes. He is credited with popularising the medium internationally during the 20th century, being frequently considered to be the most talented Portuguese musician in the 20th century...
are considered the pioneers and masters of this musical genre. Among its most renowned singers were Edmundo Bettencourt and António Menano, in the 1930s and 40s, and José Afonso,
Adriano Correia de OliveiraAdriano Maria Correia Gomes de Oliveira, GCIH, ComL, or just Adriano was a Portuguese musician, born to a conservative Roman Catholic family in Porto. His family moved to Avintes after his birth...
, Luís Goes and
João Maria TudelaJoão Maria Tudela was a Portuguese singer, musician and entertainer.-History:...
, in the 1950s and 60s, the two so called "golden ages" of the genre.
The University of Coimbra's students' union (
Associação Académica de CoimbraThe Coimbra Academic Association is the students' union of the University of Coimbra . Founded in Coimbra on November 3, 1887, it is the oldest students' union in Portugal...
) has a fado section, teaching the genre to musically inclined students and promoting musical projects and events related to it. Its fame throughout Portugal has led to the creation of similar structures in other cities, such as Lisbon and Porto, where there are also
Fado de Coimbra groups organized by students and local people.
See also
- Fado
Fado is a music genre which can be traced to the 1820s in Portugal, but probably with much earlier origins. Fado historian and scholar, Rui Vieira Nery, states that "the only reliable information on the history of Fado was orally transmitted and goes back to the 1820s and 1830s at best...
- University of Coimbra
- Associação Académica de Coimbra
The Coimbra Academic Association is the students' union of the University of Coimbra . Founded in Coimbra on November 3, 1887, it is the oldest students' union in Portugal...
- Orfeon Académico de Coimbra
Orfeon Académico de Coimbra is the oldest and one of the most famous academic choirs in Portugal. It was established in 1880 by the then University of Coimbra's law student João Arroio, with the name Sociedade Choral do Orpheon Académico....