TERESA SALGUEIRO live at Teatro Bonci, Cesena, italy 25th March 2012.
In 2006, before leaving the acclaimed Portuguese band Madredeus, Teresa Salgueiro began her solo career with the release of Obrigado (Thank You).
Since then, she has released five more albums, with O Mistério (The Mistery) being her latest and her first of all original compositions.
This show offered an early chance to hear the songs from this new record which, with 15 tracks and a running time of 75 minutes, is practically a double album.
Its calm, spiritual quality can partly be explained by the fact that it was recorded in a specially built studio in the mountain monastery of Arrábida.
On record and in concert she has assembled a band of four accomplished musicians : Carisa Marcelino on the accordion, Óscar Torres on double bass, André Santos on guitar and Rui Lobato on drums, percussion and occasional guitar.
The most prominent instrument we hear is the accordion which is particularly suited to the overriding mood which is plaintive and melancholy. This makes you think of traditional styles of fado or bossa nova although Salgueiro’s music is a very sophisticated and modern updating of these genres.
She speaks very good Italian so she was able to give expansive introductions and explanations of the background to the songs. It should have come as a surprise to no-one that the title refers to the mysteries of life and love – topics that will never be exhausted and which offer constantly fascinating themes to explore.
Ando Entre Portas (I Walk Between Doors) is a good example of the cautious optimism of her message . She sings of needing to be constantly searching for the strength within in order to overcome sadness and doubt. and to move forward both creatively and emotionally. Other highlights of the 90 minute show were a song called A Máscara (The Mask) and Lisboa (Lisbon), a celebration of the city of her birth and her home.
Salgueiro is an elegant performer who dances slowly and seductively for the more up-tempo songs but otherwise stands motionless letting the purity of her voice alone establish the atmosphere. Ethereal is a common adjective used to describe her exquisitely refined singing. Her voice is so beautiful that at times her languid music is almost too perfectly poised. What’s often missing is the harsher, earthier aspects that are just as essential a part of life’s ‘mystery’.
