Bidu Sayão, certainly Brazil's most famous and celebrated opera singer, was also very admired for her promotion of the beautiful and rich repertory of Brazilian folk and classical songs. She performed them often in her recitals and recorded several in studio, including these two poignant songs, which are among her first studio recordings in the mid 1930s.
The two songs were composed by Alberto Costa (1886-1934) and, perhaps not by chance, beautifully convey the same feeling that is so characteristically Luso-Brazilian, that of "saudade", the bittersweet remembrance and the contradictory feelings of sorrow and joy evoked by the longing for someone far away or some time long gone.
(Lyrics of both songs, "Cisnes" and "Canção da Saudade", are available in the original Portuguese language in the subtitles of this video)
