Madredeus

Madredeus is a Portuguese music group, which originated in the neighborhood around the Madre de Deus church, east of Lisbon's Alfama. Their music is a mix of fado, folk, classical music and contemporary popular music (mostly Brazilian, notably bossa nova). In the words of Pedro Ayres Magalhães: "The band was created to put Portuguese into music, by bringing the language back to its musical format, this through the use of many nouns and vowels. The songs are very short because each word has a certain atmosphere. It's a world of intuition. "(The Azores of Madredeus).
History:
The founding members of the group are Pedro Ayres Magalhães (guitar), Francisco Ribeiro (cello), Rodrigo Leão (keyboard), Gabriel Gomes (accordion) and Teresa Salgueiro (vocals). Magalhães and Leão created the group in 1985, which Ribeiro and Gomes joined in 1986. While they were looking for a singer, they discovered Teresa Salgueiro one night in a Lisbon club; she sang fado songs at an informal meeting with friends. Their music pleased Teresa who joined the band.
Their first album, Os dias da MadreDeus, was released in 1987, and was a great success in Portugal. The album Existir of 1990, led by the title O Pastor, will make them known to the French-speaking public. After making the soundtrack for Lisbon Story in 1994 (at the request of Wim Wenders) they began to experience international fame.
In 1995, two musicians also joined the group: Carlos Maria Trindade (who replaced Rodrigo Leão) and José Peixoto. In 1997, Francisco Ribeiro and Gabriel Gomes left the group, while the band's musical style moved away from the fado of its origins, especially with the release of the album O paraíso. On November 28, 2007, the band's iconic singer, Teresa Salgueiro, left Madredeus to devote herself entirely to her personal artistic projects. His departure was accompanied by those of Fernando Judice and José Peixoto. Pedro Ayres Magalhães said at the time that the future of the group was uncertain and that, in his opinion, it would be more difficult to think of a return without the presence of Teresa Salgueiro, whose voice has become emblematic for Madredeus.
In 2008, the band released a new album, Metafonia. After the departure of the three members of the group, Pedro Ayres Magalhães and Carlos Maria Trindade, decided not to replace these musicians, but to create a new ensemble that they called "A Banda cósmica", formed by the singers Rita Damasio and Mariana, Ana Isabel Dias on the harp, Rebordão Ruca on percussion, Sérgio Zurawski on electric guitar, Gustavo Roriz on bass and double bass, Babi Bergamini on drums, and Jorge Varrecoso as guest violinist. The latter was then replaced by Antonio Barbosa, who is part of the current group. The band released its second album in 2009, A nova aurora, keeping the same band, then Castelos na areia in 2010. The same year, the group announces the end of the cycle of Madredeus & Banda cósmica.
At the end of 2011, the founding member announces a new life for Madredeus. The new band retains Pedro Ayres Magalhães (classical guitar) and Carlos Maria Trindade (synthesizers), joining Jorge Varrecoso (violin), António Figueiredo (violin), Luís Clode (cello) and Beatriz Nunes (vocals). On April 2, 2012, the group publishes Essência for the 25th anniversary of the band's career with new classical arrangements.