Post-Scriptum [Import]

Cristina Branco | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 13, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: L'empreinte Digitale/Nocturne
• ASIN: B000056B7T
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #192,955 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #51 in Music > World Music > Europe > Continental Europe > Portugal

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com's Best of 2001

When Cristina Branco sings, she makes the pleasures of heartbreak and the aching beauty of desperation seem like something to long for. Her smooth alto has a timeless, haunted quality, marked by a vibrato that sounds like it's stifling a torrent of grief. Her emotive reading of fado classics has brought new life to the genre, a ballad form often called the Portuguese blues. Fado, like the blues, was born when African workers in Portugal adapted the guitar to their own music. The term probably comes from the Portuguese fadiado--"tired"--because this mournful, minor-key music was usually heard in the ghetto after sundown. When Europeans adopted fado they added elaborate lyrics to a style already full of unfulfilled passion. Branco's yearning vocals here are complemented by the melancholic work of guitarists Alexandre Silva and Custódio Castelo, who add unbearable tension to songs already dripping with overwrought emotion. --j. poet

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Profound with literary depth and passion, April 8, 2002

By 

A.Trendl HungarianBookstore.com "What should ... (Glen Ellyn, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Post-Scriptum (Audio CD)

"Post-Scriptum" gives us an almost literary depth and passion to what might seem on the front-side a delicate collection of mere Portuguese ballads. I am glad to have found this CD.

This is best listened to in summer-time, with open windows so that Branco's beautiful serenedical voice wafts out toward your neighbors. You might've heard on her on NPR, but the CD's crisp-clean freshness does what radio cannot do, and that is to bring the artist into your living room.

Delightful, and yet there is a sobriety in her voice. Romantic -- she might be the woman you fell in love with years ago, and all you have now is her songs charming you in your head. Fans of Pablo Neruda's or Victor Hugo's love poetry might find "Post-Scriptum" a fine choice.

My personal favorite is "Preludio." There is some which reminds me of Django Reinhardt in the guitar.

I regret I know no Portuguese, and for those who do know the language, I expect the CD to be that much more valuable.

I fully recommend "Post-Scriptum" by Cristina Branco.

Anthony Trendl

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A singer who sings from the soul to the soul, April 5, 2001

By 

Cheryl L. Dieter (Alden, Iowa USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Post-Scriptum (Audio CD)

This is by far my favorite CD.Branco has a golden voice which soars, dips and weaves its magic throughout every track.Do I know Portuguese? No! Do I need to? Not with this talented singer and the wonderful guitars that accompany her as they speak an international language that can be understood by all.As you stroll through these intricate songs you will feel as if you have been transported to the streets of the mystical land that is Portugal.Buy this CD and I promise you will not be disappointed!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars latin music of my dreams, March 16, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Post-Scriptum (Audio CD)

I am not a fado connoiseur, nor a wold-music junkie. But I truly love this CD. Cristina's voice is expressive and moving. The guitar enhances the evocative feel of the lyrics. While the music is very emotional, I disagree with amazon's characterization of "overwrought."

What I really appreciate is the minimalist quality the music has. The songs are really rather simple, stunning only by Cristina's presentation. A fabulous contrast to the overproduction many female vocalists offer.

I would recommend it to anyone interested in exploration of latin music who is looking for something romantic and sophisticated. I hope that you enjoy it as much as I do.