In the year of the Centenary of Amália Rodrigues, Valentim de Carvalho edits a double disc that reveals a new record environment, moments that will never be repeated and that are an extraordinary sound heritage.
[dropcap]”E[/dropcap]nsaios” is a bold exercise in artistic intimacy, which brings us to moments of creation, which the general public rarely has access to. A record that would only be surpassed by the possibility of having been in those sessions. In these rehearsals, in the studio and at Amália’s house, it is understood that the singer is more than an interpreter. The process of searching and repetition is evident, from almost co-composition with Alain Oulman, to perfection. An essential and necessary journey to the final form of important fates in your career.
The first album of “Ensaios” brings together Amália’s recordings in the studio and his conversations with the musicians and technician Hugo Ribeiro. The second album, recorded at his home, reveals a truly exciting testimony of this creative facet and eternalizes the voice of Alain Oulman singing for Amália.
The edition is complemented by a book that traces the chronology of 1970, a year in which Amália performed all over the world – from Japan to Italy, from the USA to Germany – and also by Portugal. In addition to unpublished photographs of the singer, images of Alain Oulman’s handwritten notebooks with scores and poems experienced in these “Essays” are also reproduced. The book is also enriched with explanatory notes on each of the fados, texts by Frederico Santiago, coordinator of the edition.
As rare as it is intimate, this album will be a fundamental piece to understand not only its legacy but Amália itself.
“Ensaios” arrives on December 11 to stores on double CD and streaming and download services.
