THE dark clouds gathering over Harrogate on Saturday seemed an appropriate welcome for fado singer Mariza.

Fado, the melancholic music that emerged in 19th century Portugal, is seen by many purists as an expression of the country's soul, like flamenco in Spain.

That can be a considerable weight for artists to carry, but Mariza makes light of it. Tall and strikingly blonde, the Mozambique-born singer holds nothing back.

There's a clarity and delicacy to her voice in the quiet moments, then suddenly, in the same song, we are into overdrive and she is belting it out like Edith Piaf.

Mariza, accompanied by two guitarists and an acoustic bass, made it clear that she respects the traditions of the music without feeling that she has to be put into a straitjacket.

The arrangements were fuller than you

associate with fado, and were both melodically and rhythmically complex, as revealed in bass player Fernando de Sousa's extraordinary solo.

However, in a nod to tradition, one encore featured "unplugged" fado, as it might be heard in a smoky Lisbon nightclub, singer and musicians performing from one of the aisles without microphones.

An audience around the 1,000 mark really warmed to her engaging personality and Mariza received three standing ovations.

Fado was a candidate for "Saddest Music In The World" in the recent film written by Kazuo Ishiguro. But like the English weather, the sunny Mariza gave us four seasons in one day - and Harrogate's threatened thunderstorm never materialised.

Updated: 09:42 Monday, August 02, 2004