Transparente (album)

Transparente is the third studio album by Portuguese fado singer Mariza, released on 25 April 2005 by EMI Music Portugal. It was recorded in Brazil and produced by Brazilian musician Jaques Morelenbaum.

Transparente
Studio album by
Mariza
Released25 April 2005 (25 April 2005)
GenreFado, World Music
Length41:25
LabelWorld Connection, EMI Music
ProducerJaques Morelenbaum
Mariza chronology
Fado Curvo
(2003)		 Transparente
(2005)		 Concerto em Lisboa
(2006)
Singles from Transparente
  1. "Meu Fado Meu"

Background and development

Transparente was recorded in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,[1] under the direction of Brazilian cellist, arranger and Grammy-winning[2] music producer Jaques Morelenbaum.[3][4] Mariza has claimed to be a long time fan of Morelenbaum's work, and wished to create at least a song with him.[5]

When invited by Mariza to arrange her new album, Morelenbaum could not recuse himself, stating that despite fado being a foreign genre to him, it reminded him "that Brazil is steeped in Portuguese culture".[4]

Composition

For Transparente, Mariza once again chose to feature both original songs and adaptations to traditional fados,[6] a practice she follows since the release of her first studio album, Fado em Mim. The song "Malmequer" is an adaptation by Aldina Duarte to the traditional Fado Menor, whereas "Toada do desengano" is a work by Vasco Graça Moura based on Fado Franklin. Mário Raínho also contributed with his "Recusa", having developed the song from Fado Magala.[6] The singer has stated that since she does not know how to write songs, she feels the need "to resort to the great poets and ask for help from composers and singer-songwriters" when working on new projects.[3] This album follows this trend, once again featuring content by Fernando Pessoa, Florbela Espanca and Artur Ribeiro.[7]

The album's homonymous song "Transparente" was written for Mariza by poet Paulo Abreu Lima, and with the idea of accentuating the singer's mixed heritage.[2] It would feature in the 2011 album The Rough Guide to World Playtime, being described as having a "delicate beauty that is instantly infectious".[8]

Transparente breaks with the fado tradition of accompanying the vocals only with a 12-string Portuguese guitar, by featuring instruments like the flute, the cello or the accordion.[2]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
BBCPositive[10]
The Guardian[11]
RascunhoPositive[12]
Rolling Stone[13]
The Times[14]

Transparente received positive reviews from music critics, both in Portugal and internationally. Between 2005 and 2006, Mariza embarked on a world tour to promote the album.[15]

When writing about a live concert in Lisbon following the release of Transparente, Nuno Galopim of Diário de Notícias considered the album to be "magnificent", with a "discreet and engaging" sound.[16] Covering a performance at the Teatro Albéniz in Madrid, Carlos Galilea of El País pointed out the unusual instruments that featured in the album, arguing that they contributed to create a new, "extremely beautiful" sound. The critic asserted that although this approach to the genre may seem like a deviation from the roots of fado itself, Mariza was closer to fado than ever. In his review of the event, Galilea also praised the reference to the work of Fernando Pessoa, the "greatest poet born in Portugal", in the song "Há uma Música do Povo".[17]

Clive Davis gave a very complimentary review of the album's music when covering Mariza's 2006 concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London.[18]

In June 2017, the album was included in Blitz's list of the 30 best Portuguese albums of the last 30 years.[19]

Commercial performance

The album had sold more than 15.000 copies in the Netherlands as of February 2006, becoming a golden record in the country. By that time, Transparente was already a double platinum record in Portugal, selling more than 40.000 copies since its release[20] and, by December 2010, the album was a triple platinum record with more than 60.000 copies sold.[21] Transparente also featured for four weeks in France's top albums chart, having peaked at number 126 on April 2005.[22]

Transparente became Mariza's second album to feature on Billboard's World Albums chart, where it peaked at number 7 in October 2005.[23] In June 2005, the album had also ranked number 7 in the World Music Charts Europe, compiled monthly by the European Broadcasting Union, by then the highest position ever achieved by a Portuguese album.[24] The album ranked number 28 in the 2005 overall list by the same organization.[25]

Track listing
Transparente – Standard edition[26]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Há uma Música do Povo"
3:10
2."Meu Fado Meu"
3:26
3."Recusa"
  • Mário Raínho
  • José Magala
2:16
4."Quando Me Sinto Só"
  • Artur Ribeiro
  • Joaquim Campos
2:57
5."Montras"
  • Pedro Campos
3:34
6."Há Palavras Que Nos Beijam"
2:52
7."Transparente"
2:31
8."Fado Português de Nós"
  • Paulo de Carvalho
2:23
9."Malmequer" (traditional)
  • Aldina Duarte
3:11
10."Medo"
3:10
11."Toada do Desengano"
3:35
12."Fado Tordo"
  • Fernando Tordo
2:13
13."Duas Lágrimas de Orvalho"
  • DR
  • Pedro Rodrigues
2:36
14."Desejos Vãos"
3:31
Total length:41:25
gollark: Not THOSE, syl.
gollark: Nope.
gollark: Bee you, heavpoot, I will initiate the Omega contingency.
gollark: >daily
gollark: ++remind 1d >daily

References
  1. Hudson, Mark (28 April 2005). "Pop CDs of the week: Mariza, Nitin Sawhney, José Gonzales, Cassetteboy and Teenage Fanclub". The Telegraph. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  2. Wiltz, Teresa (7 August 2005). "Mariza's Fado Accompli". The Washington Post. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  3. Galilea, Carlos (2 May 2005). "Mariza apunta a la raíz del fado con un disco grabado en Río". El País (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 31 August 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  4. Mortaigne, Véronique (28 November 2005). "Mariza, des rives du Zambèze à celles du Tage". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  5. Galopim, Nuno (22 April 2005). "O desafio da Transparência". Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  6. ""Transparente" de Mariza lançado nos Estados Unidos e Canadá" (in Portuguese). RTP. 31 July 2005. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  7. Elliott, pp. 152-153
  8. Valdivia, Victor (18 October 2011). "The Rough Guide to World Playtime - Review". PopMatters. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  9. Nickson, Chris. "Transparente Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  10. Lusk, Jon. "Transparente: Review". BBC. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  11. Denselow, Robin (22 April 2005). "Mariza, Transparente". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  12. Torres, Hugo. "Transparente - Mariza, 2005". Rascunho (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 9 August 2010. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  13. Fine, Jason (3 November 2005). "Mariza - Transparente". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 8 May 2006. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  14. Davis, Clive (1 May 2005). "World Music: New Releases: Mariza: Transparente". The Times. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  15. "Mariza apresenta Transparente 2006". RTP (in Portuguese). 10 July 2006. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  16. Galopim, Nuno (6 September 2005). "Fado 'transparente' em Belém". Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  17. Galilea, Carlos (19 June 2005). "Esencia". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  18. Davis, Clive (24 November 2006). "Mariza". Times Online. Archived from the original on 10 March 2007. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  19. "Os 30 melhores álbuns portugueses dos últimos 30 anos". Blitz (in Portuguese). 17 June 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  20. "Mariza recebe disco de ouro na Holanda". RTP (in Portuguese). 2 February 2006. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  21. Bonifácio, João (3 December 2010). "Crítica - Mariza". Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  22. "Transparente" (in French). Charts in France. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  23. "Mariza Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  24. ""Transparente" de Mariza atinge 7/o lugar no top europeu de World Music". RTP (in Portuguese). 6 June 2005. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  25. "2005 Chart" (in German). giftmusic.de. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  26. "Transparente". Mariza official website. Retrieved 4 November 2017.

Sources
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