Mariza

I have just watched the DVD of Mariza's Concerto em Lisboa, given to me as a birthday present. Mariza is a Portuguese fado singer. I saw her in concert here in Tallinn last year after she was recommended to me by a friend, and I was blown away.

For anyone who has never heard of Mariza, let alone heard any of her music or seen or heard her live on stage, let me just say that this is what music is meant to be about. I had never been truly moved by music or the power of the voice until I heard Mariza, and by the time the last couple of numbers came around on this DVD I was in tears. People who know me will be aware that this is not something I tend to do: that is how powerful Mariza's music and performance is. You don't have to understand a word of Portuguese to get it. It just hits you.

<-- If you see this DVD in the World Music section of your local HMV, buy it at once. In fact, if you come across any of her CDs or DVDs, buy them. If you flip over to SBS or whatever your country's equivalent of the cultural TV channel is and one of her performances is on, drop the remote control. And if you stumble across an ad for one of her concerts, book tickets. I can't recommend her highly enough.

Here's a YouTube link to the closing number from the concert, Gente de Minha Terra: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeOhPR_0x8E.