Track Listing

1. Dor Di Mor - Simentera
2. Falso Testemunho - Maria Alice
3. Danca Ma Mi Criola - Tito Paris
4. Papa Joachin Paris - Cesaria Evora
5. Toy - Bau
6. Africa Um Dia - Bana
7. Nha Fidjo - Agusto Cego
8. Cornologia - Grupo De Nilsa Silva
9. Grito Magoada - Djurumani
10. Chapeu Di Palha - Vasco Martins & Voginha
11. Filosofia - Herminia
12. Rabecadai - Finacon
13. Fundo Baxo - Grupo Ferro Gaita
14. CPLP - Grupo De Batuque Da Cidade Velha
15. Cor Di Rosa - Mendes Brothers
16. Sarapilhera - Travadinha
17. Dor Di Nh' Alma - Ildo Lobo

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17249 in Music
• Released on: 2001-04-23
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 61 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
With the Rough Guide to the Music of Cape Verde, we at last have an answer to the perennial question: what music do those rocky islands have besides that of Cesaria Evora? And if nobody's in her class, there are some very individual voices on display in this beguiling compilation. The styles employed are the African-derived funana, the percussion-based batuque which is primarily heard at weddings, and that quintessence of the Cape Verdean spirit, morna. Mornas are ballads, almost always expressing nostalgia, which go at a languid pace: a Lusophone answer to the American blues. They're often compared to Portuguese fado, but the two have relatively little in common apart from their dark harmonies, and their use of the delicately expressive 12-stringed Portuguese guitar. Where fadistas belt out their laments in tightly-structured bursts of feeling, the morna-singer tends to meander. Cesaria makes just one appearance here, singing her trademark song "Sodade", but it's a pleasure to encounter Maria Alice's delicate timbre, and Herminia's kittenish tones; the sweetly weathered voice of Bana and the operatic tenor of Djurumani are both great discoveries. All these singers were born around 1940; the younger performers on this album are somewhat smoother and internationalised. But it all adds up to a great 76 minutes. --Michael Church

Album Description
This Rough Guide explores the unique sounds of the Cape Verde islands, although a small archipelago, their diverse musical heritage has become internationally acclaimed. Music is the essential form of cultural expression in Cape Verde ranging from the sweet melancholy of morna to the dance rhythms of funana and batuco, with influences from the waltz and contre-dances of Europe and the rhythms of Africa, Brazil and the Caribbean. This indispensable collection features, amongst others, Cesaria Evora, the international superstar of Cape Verdean music; the magnificent vocals of Bana and the innovative musical collective Simentera.