relaxing sunday - Gente da Minha Terra

I once talked about Peter KAM in one of my gallery’s posts earlier.

To recap, Peter Kam, 金培達, is a renouned Hong Kong film scoring musician.  He is the award winner of the Silver Bear For Best Film Music kudos at the 56th Berlin International Film Festival by the Hong Kong film “Isabella” in 2006.  

The film Isalbella is one of my favourite movies last year. The film takes place in Macau (I have introduced this little town next to Hong Kong in these two weeks’ travelling posts here: Macau - the good old days and Las Vegas of the East - Macau).  It gives us a very artisitc account of the change of governance of Macau from Protugal to China in 1999, through a story of a local Macau Police.

Today, I am not going to go deep into the movie, Isabella, but I would like sharing with you a beautiful music piece chosen by Peter Kam for the movie, the Gente da Minha Terra.    

The song, Gente da Minha Terra, is originally performed by the Portugual Fado singer, Mariza Reis Nunes and included in Mariza’s album Fado em Mim in 2001. 

Fado (translated as destiny or fate) is a music genre which can be traced from the 1820s in Portugal, but probably with much earlier origins. It is characterized by mournful tunes and lyrics, often about the sea or the life of the poor. The music is usually linked to the Portuguese word saudade, … (Home-sickness has an approximate meaning. It is a kind of longing, and conveys a complex mixture of mainly nostalgia, but also sadness, pain, happiness and love).  - Wikipedia

This beautiful Portugual Fado song, Gente da Minha Terra, is full of nostalgic emotions with a sense of sadness.  No wonder that Peter Kam has won the Best Film Music kudos, this song matches with the film Isabella perfectly, for its nostalgic feelings, the sadness and its origin in the Portugual. 

Let’s also appreciate the original version performed by the Portugual Fado singer, Mariza.

O Gente da minha Terra
Lyrics by Amalia Rodrigues
Music by Tiago Machado

O Gente da minha Terra Agora e que eu percebi Esta tristeza que trago Foi de vos que recebi E meu e vosso este fado Destino que nos amarra Por mais que seja negado As cordas de uma guitarra Sempre que se ouve um gemido Duma guitarra a cantar Fica-se logo perdido Com vontade de chorar E pareceria ternura Se eu me deixasse embalar Era maior a amargura Menos triste o meu cantar

Oh people of my land It’s only now that I perceive This sadness which I carry Was from you received This ballad is both yours and mine United by our destiny No matter how much is denied By the strings of a guitar Whenever we hear a lament Of a guitar playing We are soon filled With a longing to weep It would seem a kindness If I were able to soothe it And by releasing the sorrow Make my song less melancholy

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Related post:

• sophie’s gallery

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