Pedro Caldeira Cabral - The Fado of the Portuguese Cittern | Fado on the Waterfront

“Fate decreed that, in the course of my visits to libraries, second-hand bookshops and antiques markets all around the country, I would gather together a reasonable number of musical manuscripts containing old pieces from the repertoire of the Portuguese zither, many of them composed by unknown authors and dating from the last few decades of the eighteenth century until the early twentieth century. The music that we find in these scores reveals a mixture of genres: salon fado and different varieties of dance music – fofa, fandango, sarambeque, waltz, mazurka, maxixe and chula.

The Portuguese zither has aroused growing interest from audiences keen to enjoy different musical genres from those more traditionally linked to this instrument. It is increasingly found at classical and pop music festivals. Accordingly, we have contributed with the creation of a new and broader solo repertoire, comprising both original compositions and transcriptions of music from the past.

In choosing this programme, I have signalled a clear interest in making full use of the expressive resources of the Portuguese zither, with interpretations that enhance the various aesthetic options that it offers, based on historically informed performances.” - Pedro Caldeira Cabral

Coproduction | CCB/EGEAC-Museu do Fado