Fernando Travassos Tordo (Anjos, Lisbon, March 29, 1948) is a Portuguese singer and songwriter. He has been Commander of the Order of Merit since 2003, an honorary degree given to him by the President of the Republic Jorge Sampaio.
He composed some of the most emblematic songs in the Portuguese language songbook, being considered a tutelary figure of Portuguese music for the extent and originality of his work. He is one of the pioneers of intervention music in Portugal and, later, of light music.
His collaboration as a composer of poems by José Carlos Ary dos Santos stands out, among them Tourada, Estrela da Tarde, Lisboa Menina e Moça, Cavalo à Solta , Balada para os Filhos, O Amigo que Eu Canto, Meu Corpo or Novo Fado.
Its themes are sung by interpreters such as Carlos do Carmo , Mariza , Carminho , Amor Electro , Simone de Oliveira , Beatriz da Conceição , Ana Moura , António Zambujo , Ivan Lins and Dulce Pontes , among others.
As a performer, he won the Festival RTP da Canção twice — in 1973 with Tourada and in 1977 with Portugal no Coração.
Biography
Born in Lisbon on March 29, 1948, son of Adelaide Emília Fernanda Travassos Tordo and Fernando Tordo. He has four children: Joana Tordo, João Tordo , Filipe Tordo and Francisco Tordo. The musician began singing at age 16, went through the Deltons and the Sheiks in 1968, where he replaced Carlos Mendes . He participated in the 1969 Festival RTP da Canção where he performed the song Cantiga . At that same festival he met the poet Ary dos Santos. He was one of the winners of the Casa da Imprensa Prize as a songwriter and composer (” for the harmonic, melodic and rhythmic richness of the works recorded on disk “).
The 70s
He returned to the RTP da Canção Festival in 1970, with “Escrevo à Cidades”, and in 1971 with “Cavalo à Solta”, one of his first compositions with the poet José Carlos Ary dos Santos. Also in 1971, the album Festival de Camaradagem was released with Paulo de Carvalho , Fernando Tordo, Duo Orfeu and José Carlos Ary dos Santos.
He returned to the RTP Song Festival, in 1972, with Dentro da Manhã by Yvette Centeno and José Luis Tinoco . In that year, her first album Dela, Tocata was released , with arrangements and direction by Orquestra de Dennis Farnon. It includes the songs “Tocata”, “Dentro da Manhã”, “Canto No Deserto”, “Virgens Que Passais”, “Canto Franciscano”, “Cavalo à Solta”, “Amor Vivo”, “Aconteceu Na Primavera”, “Blood Of Words” and “Tocata”. He starts recording for Tecla . Releases the single “Eu Não Vou Nisso”/”Invenção do Amor”.
“Portugal Ressuscitado”, by Ary dos Santos and Fernando Tordo, (the famous “Now / the united people / will never again be defeated”) is recorded right after the 25th of April .
He won the Casa da Imprensa Prize in 1974 for “O Emprego”/”A Língua Portuguesa”, with music and interpretation by Fernando Tordo, texts by José Carlos Ary dos Santos, orchestration by Pedro Osório and José Calvário: “The Best Simple Record”, for the popularity and “songs from a specifically Portuguese context – the revue theater”.
In 1975 he is one of the founders, along with other authors, including Paulo de Carvalho and Carlos Mendes, the first independent record label, ” Toma Lá Disco “. The first disc is the album Feito Cá Para Nós .
Tordo won the RTP Song Festival again in 1977, this time with “Portugal no Coração “, performed by the group Os Amigos , with Paulo de Carvalho, Luísa Basto , Ana Bola , Edmundo Silva (Sheiks) and Fernanda Piçarra. That year she edited the album Somos Vivos. In 1977, she again won the “Prémio Casa da Imprensa”.
The 80s
In 1980, he released the album Cantigas Cruzadas . The departure of Ary dos Santos, marks a new stage in his career, also becoming the author of the poems. He competes in the first Festival da Canção da Rádio Comercial , held in 1981, where he wins with “Conversa Nova”. It also collects the 2nd and 4th prizes of the event.
In 1982, he edited the album Adeus Tristeza . It is distinguished with the award for the best light music LP . In 1984 he participates again in the Festival RTP da Canção , this time with “Canto de Passagem”. He lived in the Azores between 1982 and 1986. In 1984 he released the album Anticiclone with orchestrations by François Rauber (former collaborator of Jacques Brel ) who collaborated again on the album A Ilha do Canto in 1986.
In 1988 he was one of the winners of the Figueira da Foz Prize , established within the scope of the National Music Prize , intended to finance various recording projects. The prize paid for the edition of Menino Ary dos Santos , a disc with 9 of the 27 poems from the book “Asas” written by José Carlos Ary dos Santos at the age of 15, in a small edition of 1000 copies, which Fernando Tordo only knew , already in Faial , in 1984.
