Customer Reviews

O Primeiro Canto

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
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This is an extraordinary work! My first Dulce Pontes album was Caminhos and I fell in love with it almost immediately. Most of the people who I've played it for have rushed out and bought it. I have since bought all of the others and am constantly amazed at her ability to interpret music. I know very little Portuguese and, until I found her website, had no idea what she was singing about. But the beauty of her voice and the passion with which she sings overshadow any need for a 'literal translation'. My basic feeling was that Dulce Pontes could do no wrong.

But I was just not prepared for 'O Primiero Canto'! This album really does take her work (and my appreciation for the power of the human voice) to a whole new level. She's one of those singers who will make you believe that she sings every note directly to you. And the acoustic nature of this album enhances that effect even further. As with practically all of her prior work, she pours her heart and soul into this album and one can't help but be drawn in.

For those who might be intimidated by the fact that she's not singing in English, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. Dulce Pontes is living proof that music is a universal language. Anyone who's truly a lover of music will love this album and will soon be out buying more of her work. She will enthrall you!

P. S. Those of you who haven't heard 'Brisa Do Coracao' (her live album) MUST drop everything at this very moment and run out and get it (Well? What are you waiting for? Go!!). For one thing, her performance at this concert is stunning, and the fact that it's a live recording further demonstrates her incredible talent. Secondly, the love that pours from the audience gives you chills!

A little of both. Ms. Pontes continues to draw her energy from the roots of portuguese folk music and fado. But she experiments, she sets herself higher goals. Swedish bagpipes and a typicall all-male Alentejano choir join Dulce Pontes in one unforgettable version of a traditional song. In "Ondeia" her vocal range is remarkably present - yet she doesn't artificially belch songs out at you. There's soul in there. For the first time she has also composed most of the songs and has brought her pianist's virtuoso to help her along. Africa, Portugal, Scandinavia, The Azores, incursions into almost classical arrangements of folk songs. And the 4 elements as focal point of this album. 3 years was a long gestation, but the new album is definitely her best thus far, and an awe-inspiring glimpse of songs to come. One hopes... No matter what 'your' type of music is, you should check out "O Primeiro Canto". Regardlesss of where you're coming from, I very much doubt that you'll be disappointed.

None of the cookie cutter approach to modern music in this CD. Pontes is an innovator in terms of vocal range, rythms, orchestrations. Mostly self written and composed these songs find their roots from folk to fado to neo-classical, all highly melodical they reach the heart as well as the head. Impressive presence and performance at that. One of the leading European solo singers on the rise!

I've been waiting to hear this recording for over a year and a half -- it's been available in Europe since 1999, but has only now been released in the US. The long wait is over -- and it was worthwhile.

This album is quite simply stunning in many ways. Dulce's voice is an incredibly beautiful, expressive instrument -- and the arrangements on this outing, using a diverse array of only acoustic instruments drawn from all over the world, offer a perfectly complementary backdrop. The musicianship is superb throughout -- thanks not only to notable contributors such as Wayne Shorter, Jacques Morlenbaum and Trilok Gurtu, but to all the participants. The tapestries woven are not 'simple' -- to call anything about this album simple would do disservice to its depth and intricacies. The pieces are so sensitively written and arranged that they never overshadow Dulce's voice -- they frame it and offer their own pieces of the puzzle that make this recording so special.

On the first track, 'Alma guerreira (fogo)', her voice weaves in and out of the other instruments in such a way that it becomes like a golden thread passing through a brilliant tapestry -- the glints we catch from time to time are promises of wonders to come. The English translations of most of the songs (sung in Portuguese) are included in the handsomely designed booklet, and they are stirring in their beauty and spirituality. Pontes wrote several of these songs, and had a hand in most of them -- the growth she has experienced over the last few years as both a person and an artist is blindingly apparent here. She has taken in the beauty of her land, its spirit, its soul, and that of its people -- she has loved it and has grown in her own spirit in the firelight of that love -- and she has transmuted it in a marvelous way, as the sorceress to which she refers in a couple of places, into the music on this disc. She shares it with us -- and I for one stand amazed at its power and beauty.

The selections are all wonderful -- I would be hard pressed to name only a few as favorites. Especially stunning in their primality as well as in their refinement, they contain the best of both of those seemingly separate portions of the creative and spiritual spectra. Dulce sings of love, of loss, of family, of work, of play, of music, of dance, of sheer wonder, of God. Her words and her music and her voice enter my soul when I listen to this album in a way that few recordings in my lifetime have managed to do.

I own two of her previous albums -- LAGRIMAS (1993) and CAMINHOS (1996) -- and I have enjoyed them immensely. Her talent -- her voice, her creativity -- have always been impressive. With O PRIMEIRO CANTO (THE FIRST CANTO), she has quite literally and breathtakingly reinvented herself and her art. I can't wait to see/hear where she goes from here -- I can't wait to go along for the ride.

I learned about her when listened to one of the song that she sang with Bocelli at a friend's house. I since have all her works. This one and Caminhos are the favorites of all my albums. The 5th track "O Que For, Ha-De Ser (Ar)" is breathtaking. It started with the Cello, then her beautiful voice and the piano and violins together just take your breath away. I've been listening to this song at least 10 times a day. If you like a lot of drums & bass that will rock your house, put in something else. If you enjoy wonderful music & beautiful voice, this is IT.

This album is simply the best I've heard in years. Dulce is an amazing artist. She is profound and has a rare and beautiful soul which is obvious when listening to her music and lyrics. A performer as deep as the ocean, as beautiful as the sky and as fresh as the air - Dulce is the salt of the earth! GET THIS ALBUM, open a bottle of your favorite wine, light a candle and drift away into a musical reverie. She will enrich your life. Thank you Dulce for bringing 'music' back to the music world. Simply, THE BEST!

Nice to hear a new voice from Portugal who isn't singing Fados. Pontes draws on a wide spectrum of music, giving this CD a more jazzy feel. There is nothing mournful about these selections, she celebrates life in all its vigor as depicted in her yoga pose on the cover. In fact, one could say there is more a Brazilian quality to her music, although she apparently draws on Portuguese popular music themes, bringing in such eclectic items as Swedish bagpipes and the Madagascar Valiha. She makes a very pleasant alternative to the current wave of Portuguese Fado singers who are currently dominating the World Music scene.

All I can say is, Portugal has a lot to feel proud about. What with Madredeus' Teresa Salgueiro, Misia and the musically adventureous Dulce Pontes...WOW!!!!!!"O Primeiro Canto", is by far Pontes' most daring CD...and I say this having ALL her work.

I was on a holiday in Portugal and went to one of her concerts. Never heard of her before, but the concert was so amazing that I bought her CD the day after. Now 3 months later I still listen to this cd every day.

The music really relaxes you and you start floating away on the music.

REALLY A MUST HAVE !!

If you like Dulce, you certainly love this album. If you don't know this amazing singer/composer/performer, just go ahead and listen.... She's at her best in this album. She's wonderfully inspired. Don't miss the experience!