Vive (‘Life’) is the new cd of the Belgian singer Elly Aerden. Her debut album Erros (2014) was sung completely in Latin, on her new cd there is also room for lyrics in other languages. A large part of Vive is still dedicated to Latin poems, with the addition of a song in Spanish as well as in Portuguese. The latter is a poem by Fernando Pessoa, sung by Elly together with the Portuguese fado singer Helder Moutinho.

The theme of the cd is ‘life’ in all aspects. The poems Elly uses span a periode of 2100 years, dating from the 1st century BP until the 21st century. ‘Cras’ (1e Cent.) tells the story of a person who postpones to live. Tomorrow he will start... ‘Wise is he who lived yesterday!’

The title song ‘Vive’ tells us: ‘Let there be softness, love, passion and longing. Live! Let it flow!’; ‘Ver laetum’ and ‘De vere’ are about spring, life starting all over again and the energy this creates. A stunning clip was made to go with the song. ‘Odi et amo’ (‘I hate you and I love you’) shows us the beauty as well as the complexity of love.

‘Pauper’ is a song with a strong message. Although the lyrics are over 2000 years old, the subject could not be more fitting for out present day: poor people getting poorer all the time whilst the rich acquire more and more wealth. The cd closes with the quiet song ‘De sole lunaque’ (the sun and the moon). Elly: “People usually prefer the sun, to work, to enjoy, to be busy. I rather choose the moon... to put the hectic of the day to rest in my soul.”

When hearing Eléonor, you’ll recognise the echos of Madredeus. The sound is unmistakably Southern European, though approached from a whole other tradition. Which one?

She blends folk, roots, jazz, neo-classical music and fado into a winding road across different traditions, cultures and genres. Her warm, sensitive and malleable voice weaves it all together into a very subtle and poetic style of world music.