The Navhind Times Fado workshop with fadista Sonia Shirsat was held on Sunday, March 18 at Dempo house. The 3-hour workshop aimed at introducing the participants to the traditional Portuguese music genre and art form that can be traced back to the early 1800s and which has been a part of Goa’s art and music for over a century.
Sonia began with the origin of Fado and explained briefly its history and the various influences that make the genre unique. “Fado cannot be mentioned without Maria Severa’s name,” she said and went on to speak about the young fadista who fell in love with a viscount and died of a broken heart according to Fado legend. With video clips and her in-depth knowledge of the subject, Sonia had the participants completely engaged.
She then spoke about the queen of Fado, Amalia Rodrigez. “Fado music was brought to the mainstream music world, by the queen of fado, Amalia Rodrigues who was born in 1920. We do not know if it is just a coincidence or a mystery that Amalia was born exactly 100 years after Maria Severa’s birth,” she informed.
In the final session, Sonia sang two Fados and even taught the participants a number. Most of the participants were non-Portuguese speaking however with her skill and keen understanding, she had all of them singing with the right pronunciation and zest! It was truly a Sunday to remember for those present.
Feedback
Mesmerising! I fell in love with Fado. It was magical to see Sonia performing. Thanks Sonia for teaching us to sing and thanks Navhind Times for organising this workshop.
It was an amazing session and so much fun to learn something new.
Got to learn a lot in this workshop. Would love to learn more and sing fado.
It was a really great experience and I am now very eager to learn more about Fado. All thanks to Sonia Shirsat.
Thank you Sonia and team. It was really an experience of a kind. Enjoyed every moment.
The workshop was so enlightening. We learnt a lot of the history of Fado and also learnt to sing a Fado. I absolutely loved the workshop and am looking forward to another one.
Have been listening to Sonia since a long time and am a big fan. It was wonderful singing along with her and looking forward to learning more with her. Great workshop! Thank you for organising it.
Excellent!
It was a great session and got to learn about Fado. Thank you for the great session.
It was a very lively and attention-capturing workshop. Very interactive!
It was an amazing experience and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
A good learning experience. Loved the way it was conducted.
It was an awesome experience. Totally different genre of music for me. Thanks to Sonia ma’am and Navhind Times. Hope Navhind Times has many more of this kind of workshops in future.
Nice workshop. Enjoyed learning to sing a Fado and also listening to the magical voice of fadista Sonia Shirsat.
The workshop was amazing. Learnt a lot about Fado and even learn to sing a Fado.
The session was absolutely amazing. Had a wonderful experience listening and learning from Sonia.
Excellent!
It was an excellent experience and great to know that one does not necessarily need to know Portuguese to learn or sing Fado. Sonia was simply amazing and made the experience memorable.
It was absolutely wonderful! I learnt a lot from the origins to singing Fado and enjoyed every moment.
A very beautiful session. Learnt something new about a different style of music. Had come out of curiosity but am taking back something amazing. I am also now filled with zeal to learn about singing and music.
