Salvador Sobral conquers the heart of Liceo with music and charisma, the proceedings of the concert in Barcelona

Evening of Miracles at Liceu. Salvador Sobral produced the album Stamp of soundBut what happened went beyond what is expected from a traditional concert. The Portuguese singer did the difficult task of convincing the audience to go home feeling satisfied that he participated in a special event whose heart was music. It will be hard to forget these two hours and twenty minutes of talent, compassion and emotion that also helped explain a few things about the art and business of music.

After winning the Eurovision Song Contest [el 2017]“We paid a lot of money, a stupid amount of money,” he admitted in Liceu, where he expressed himself mainly in Catalan with the Majorcan accent he had retained since his Erasmus in Palma. At the Pedralbes festival, 1,600 people went there. People came to see Those for Eurovision And there were double bass solos. The second time there were 600 people. Then, at a lower cost, we had 900 people in the Palace of Music, and the second time 1,200 people. Today, 1600, let us return to the false beginning. And you are a real audience!” exclaimed Sobral, remembering the poison of Eurovision fame. He could have given up, but he insisted on doing what he wanted to do: music with the freedom of jazz and the colors of the song. In a way, the success of the concert at the Liceu is a well-deserved injection of respect Self, a kind of compensation that rewards the way music is made and felt, which ended with the musicians following Sobral down a musical street to the lobby of the Teatro La Rambla. In other words, an ending in keeping with the celebratory tone that characterizes the songs of Stamp of soundan album born of the joy of the birth of his daughter.

Sobral speaks to the nature of being asked in the arena how skinny your ham and your clothes are with the informality of someone going for a walk without having to make any social commitments. Apparently, he is the antithesis of a music star. But he has enough to take the microphone to reveal himself as a true leader, who knows how to convey confidence to the musicians and make them participate in the applause. Needless to say, he is accompanied by an extraordinary sextet featuring three Catalan artists: pianist Lucia Fumero, singer and flutist Magali Sarri, and saxophonist and singer Eva Fernández. Every musician has room to show off without having to perform protocolized solos, and Sobral makes them feel important. For example, Because I sing He didn't make it as it was on the recording, but mixed it up I can not sing By Magali Sari, who also interpreted it You always come like this “That a Catalan woman has adapted a poem by Pessoa fills me with national pride,” Sobral said. He sang a duet with Lucia Fumero Just a kissTo his sister Luisa Sobral. I Sing your heart It began with double bassist Andrei Rozynia (rewarded with an enthusiastic ovation), and continued with the rest of the instruments entering into joyful harmony, culminating with the audience chirping like birds.

Voice and heart

“He sings I Cor “They are the two words that define me,” explained Sobral, who underwent a heart transplant six years ago. He dedicated one of his songs to the donor. Stamp of sound, The gift you gave me, who was assigned to the Liceu for organ transplantation, which he visited on Wednesday at the Sant Joan de Déu Hospital. “They tell me I'm a two-legged hope,” he said. Despite the emotional burden, doubled by the presence of the Portuguese singer's parents in the audience, Sobral cut through the emotion and let nature prevail thanks to his sense of humor and his ability to draw the audience into the songs.

Throughout the concert organized by ARA, there were wonders of rhythmic coordination and harmonic details of all kinds that floated through the sound without betraying the tuning. Sobral is a very good singer, it is fair to remember that, and he also showed it in Liceo when he invited Silvia Pérez Cruz and Paul Batley on stage. He sang first with an artist from Palafrugell church Intimate Mass I livefrom the disk Age, one day About her, who sang together at Tivoli a few months ago; And then, From the hand of your voiceThe topic that Sobral devoted to Pérez Cruz A Stamp of sound. “[La Sílvia] He is my biggest inspiration. “The mother of all sounds,” he asserted. Later, Sobral and Paul Battle, accompanied by guitarists Dario Barroso and Sebastia Gris, shared a wonderful version of the Apple by Gabriel Hernandez (who Batley usually sings with his partner Rita Pais) and they raised the emotional temperature with their stunning adaptation of life by Lluís Llach, after which all the musicians and audience celebrated the end of the night with rhythmic joy Hot stone. Music and charisma in the dojo.