Search - Bévinda :: Pessoa Em Pessoas

Poetry put to music.

Larry L. Looney | 12/10/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album is a highly artistic mixture of the words of Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa, cello music of Vasco Martins, and voice of Bévinda. Each track is delight to the ears, mind, and soul. Some of the pieces are so penetrating that they come close to bringing tears. English translations of Pessoa's poems are available from Amazon.com books. Enjoy!"

An angelical voice accompagnied by melancolic music

Larry L. Looney | 06/14/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Bevinda is one of the few artist who can take Fado out of it's strict rules and get away with it. She chose a single cello to accompagny her on her journey through the poems of Pessoa. And what a journey it is. It sends shivers up your spine and goosebumps up your arms."

Beleza revelando no coração do enigma

Larry L. Looney | Austin, Texas USA | 05/20/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"...the enigma in this case being the amazing Fernando Pessoa ? a poet who is a treasured by many in his native Portugal and by those in the rest of the world who have been lucky enough to read him. Pessoa ? who lived from 1888-1935 ? was an amazingly diverse (within himself) individual. In his lifetime, he published not only under his own name, but under three (main) ?heteronyms? or alter egos ? and 60-70 ?minor? ones. These heteronyms each had their own unique style and personality ? even individual physiques, when they were described. They even wrote critques of each other?s work ? as well as articles of support and admiration ? in literary journals of the day. On his death, Pessoa left over 25,000 manuscripts ? many of which were bordering on illegibility, by some accounts ? a bibliophile?s dream and nightmare at the same time. It?s my unscholarly guess that he was simply bursting with too much creativity for one personality to handle. Whatever the origins of his thought processes and methods, the world has been gifted an incredible ? and timeless ? body of work.On this recording, Bévinda performs settings of Pessoa?s poems (these being from ?The keeper of sheep? by his Alberto Caeiro heteronym) accompanied by two cellos ? the settings are by Vasco Martins and are executed skillfully by Jean-François Ott and Vincent Segal ? and the effect is simply stunning. Bévinda?s voice and the two cellos create beautiful musical landscapes ? combined with Pessoa?s wordpaintings, the totality of the project is breathtaking. There are only eight pieces here ? track 5 being an instrumental ? so the album is over far too soon (its brevity being my ONLY complaint) ? but it?s something that can easily be experienced again and again, revealing heretofore unnoticed nuances and textures.This recording is certainly different from the other releases in Bévinda?s catalogue ? but it?s an essential component of this wonderful singer?s creativity and expression. To further explore the works of Pessoa (et al), check out Richard Zenith?s anthology FERNANDO PESSOA & CO: SELECTED POEMS, which includes some very informative biographical material on this fascinating writer (this book is available through Amazon)."