Article index
Dulce Pontes A's extrasal history is a fascinating portrait of one of the greatest voices of contemporary Portuguese music.
With an eclectic career that ranges between Fado, World Music and classical music, Dulce Pontes is leaving an indelible imprint day in the international music scene day.
This story will explore his path from the year 1991, when he came to life his career as a singer, up to the collaboration with the greatest composer of our times, Ennio Morricone.
Born in 1969 in Montijo, Dulce Pontes was already approaching the tender age to the traditional Portuguese song (Fado) thanks to Uncle Carlos Pontes.
Until the age of 18, Dulce Pontes lived a period of extreme crisis, during which he had to choose to abandon dance in favor of singing.
In the following years, this choice played in his favor, and in 1991 he placed himself in eighth place at the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Lusitana Paixão".
Since that 1991, the Portuguese singer has made a journey that I could call transversal, with a unique and warrior soul, capable of moving with her singing between different musical styles.
Power and sweetness are the timbre characteristics of her voice, which have allowed her to explore new sounds in her songs and to merge with extreme sensitivity the tradition of Portuguese singing with innovation.
Among his publications, I would like to mention " O Prime Canto ", released in 1999, a masterpiece in my opinion.
Among the songs stands out "Alma Guerreira", a celebration, a meticulous research of the value of sound and its energy. The complete listening to this work allows us to explore little known instrumental sounds, from Moraharpa to Valiha del Madagascar, passing from the Indian percussion masterfully played by Trilok Gurtu.
The main idea of "O Primeo Canto" is to bring to light the power of the sound that lives within the four universal elements, thus making it clear the force dictated by the harmony of a planet earth which, thanks to the sound, allows us to understand how much we still have to walk to let us live on mystery.
The story continues with the meeting by Dulce Pontes with the composer Ennio Morricone.
It was the distant 1995 when the composer Ennio Morricone fell in love with the voice of Dulce Pontes, calling it unique for his versatility and power, to the point of wanting to participate in one of his song entitled "A Brisa Do Curacao", part of the soundtrack of the Film "says Pereira".
After eight long years of waiting, the moment comes when the two souls meet in a unique work as "focus". The double CD "Focus" is published in October 2003 by the Universal Record label.
A bet, a will of the master to carry out something unique, where Dulce Pontes' voice becomes an instrument of beauty, in which Ennio Morricone's compositions become powerful and overwhelming.
At this point I would like to mention "Cinema Paradiso", intimate and touching, the decidedly customized version on the voice of Dulce of the "Ballad of Sacco & Vanzetti", to end with the theme of "Mission", where the power and singing qualities of Dulce Pontes invade the music scene, making this version wild and disruptive.
In this precise moment, while I am telling you this story, Dulce Pontes is experiencing his life in a decidedly intimate way, almost as if he wanted to stay out of the music scene.
I think this is probably dictated by how music is moving today, by how art is losing the value of uniqueness and how artists are engulfed in something based exclusively on numbers.
It remains to be wondered what will be of the future of Dulce? What will be his next sound stages?
I hope that it can find that spirit of free soul that I perceived in "or Primeo Canto", where everything was traced back to the essentials and value of Mother Earth.
Read also the article: a free song to live our emotions
