"Sacred Heart of Earth", the 6th album of Sagrado is an anthology that celebrates the 20 years of the band and its return to the recording world and live shows. With all lyrics and texts in English, in a retribution to the success of the band in foreign countries, the Cd represents a musical synthesis of Sagrado Coração da Terra's history, remixing and fusing tracks from different periods, with changes in the arrangements and in the harmonic, rhythmic and melodic structures.

Remastered in 24 bits, "Sacred Heart of Earth" brings many novelties as instrumental tracks from anterior albums transformed to songs, with Marcus Viana's lyrics and also adaptations of Emily Dickinson's poems, showing the composer's deepest appreciation to the top female American writer of the 19th century.

The CD includes pieces composed and produced in 2001 with the new members of the group and presents Malu Aires, the new vocal female leader.

As they did with the old audio material, they also modified the graphic projects with new technology. The graphic art shows photos of all Sagrado's musicians from its formation till now in a "design celebration" of the band.

After seven years, Sagrado Coração da Terra releases the so long expected "East of the Sun, West of the Moon", fifth CD of the group that presents in this work, a larger number of songs if compared to the former CDs. These are succesfull songs recorded by Marcus Viana for TV series such as "Canção dos Viajantes" and "Serras Azuis" for the Bandeirantes TV and "Clair de Lune", "Madame Butterfly" and "Aquarela do Brasil" for Globo TV. This CD also brings a pop-symphonic version of the great song "Terra" by Caetano Veloso.

Marcus Viana, author of the lyrics and all the music of the group became known to the public by the several sound tracks and overtures for television like "Pantanal", "Chiquinha Gonzaga", "Xica da Silva", "Ana Raio e Zé Trovão", "Serras Azuis", "Terra Nostra" and "Aquarela do Brasil".

Having completed 20 years since it was founded (1979-99) "Sagrado" has gone through a number of phases. Some of its members have gained national recognition performing with other groups and artist.

1979

              Photos of Sagrado's group in the past twenty years:

DISCOGRAPHY:

SAGRADO (1985)
FLECHA (1987)
FAROL DA LIBERDADE (1991)
GRANDE ESPÍRITO (1994)
A LESTE DO SOL, OESTE DA LUA (2000)
SACRED HEART OF HEART
COLETÂNEA I - CANÇÕES
COLETÂNEA II - INSTRUMENTAL

Participação em coletâneas:
7 DAYS OF LIFE - MUSEA (FRANÇA)
TALES OF BRAZILIAN ROCK - RECORD RUNNER (BRASIL)

International Albumsl:
SAGRADO - KING RECORDS, JAPÃO
FLECHA - KING RECORDS, JAPÃO
FAROL DA LIBERDADE - KING RECORDS, JAPÃO
GRANDE ESPÍRITO - KING RECORDS, JAPÃO

The Holistic Meaning of "Sacred Heart of Earth"

    Using electric-acoustic instruments, and an heir of a strong classical tradition, the music of the "Sagrado Coração da Terra" brings forth the baroque atmosphere of the mountains of Minas Gerais. However, it would not be possible to classify it as "regional music". It is a journey through time and space to the origins and the future of all human musical experience.

      The instruments are those used in the classic tradition: the guitar, piano and violin, but used electronically: a new language, the sound of our times.

       The effect that an orchestra caused on an audience in the XIX Century does not reach us in the same manner; our hearing is highly impaired by the noise of the big cities.

       For this reason, we use an electronic clothing in the music. It is the combination of all the experience of the subconscious mind kept in the spirit: these memories are oriental, gipsy, hindu and arab. And iberic! How could we deny this? The "Sagrado" of course had the influence of the classic masters due to the academic background of Marcus Viana - as violinist in a symphonic orchestra - especially influenced by the music of Wagner, Debussy, Ravel, Stravinsky and Villa Lobos. There is also a strong afro-ameridian root that increasingly reveals itself in our work; including the introduction of music with lyrics translated to the tupi-guarani and indian dialects such as Krenak and Yanomane.

       Our purpose is to establish a bridge between instrumental and vocal music; thus there are "song-symphonies", tales to be told.

        As in the lyrics, the music is linked to an ecological philosophy: ecology of the earth, ecology of the mind, of the heart and of the body.

        "Sagrado Coração da Terra" is more than a project; it is almost a philosophic movement, including visual, graphic and sound messages whose basic theme is the regeneration of man and the planet.

Why "Sagrado Coração da Terra"?

     The archetype of Sagrado Coração comes from na ancient religious tradition found in the folk-lore of the state of Minas Gerais: a shining heart in flames surrounded by a crown of thorns. The "real" man enjailed by the fury of our times. A picture of love in our times: a heart that shines even though hurt and emprisioned in the cells of the big cities. A life that no one crown of thorns is going to suffocate, a love that oppression whatsoever will prevent, from becoming a big fire that will bring warmth to the cold nights of our times. Epic and intense!

       We sing the joy and the love of the anxiously awaited Aquarius Era. We cannot see clearly, of course; it is not exactly the morning sun of aquario! It would be the twilight time between night and day which was called "silencium" by the romans; the hour of the dead and new birth. It is the time to wake up.

       The man of our times has developed his technical, intelectual side and forgot the ethic and spiritual. What do we have? The monkey-genius, the primate-astronaute, playing with sophisticated machines of destruction, harming the planet and endangering its own species, degrading and poisoning the air and the waters. This is the crown of thorns of the heart. We are not prepared for the megalopolis, but here they are, and brutally real. Selfishness is the gear of this jump into the abyss from which we participate in spite of crying that we are inocent. How could we then make music by regionalist standards, indifferent to these tremendous pressures? And how to feel the "real music" if the spirit has become insensible by pain and hate of daily urban madness?

        Our compromise is with art. And by art we mean science, spirit, understanding. Our aim: the precision in transmiting the living conscience of the universe codified in a sonic message. The music acts as the most powerful pacifying energy of the human nervous system. To live and to transmit music becomes more than a necessity; it is a responsibility in a civilization that lives a vertical process of self-anihilation. In order to start the ascentional process, it is necessary to perfect the senses, to refine the steel of mind, preparing the spirit to receive and assimilate a new energy that becomes more and more present while our world submerges.

         Natural intelligences, criative and powerful are manifesting in the more advanced nervous systems. Music opens a channel that leads to the outer ocean of harmony and life of the universe. This channel cannot be reached by any form of thinking or reasoning but intuition knows the way. Art feeds intuition. Through this sensibilization the energy is free to circulate through new circuits of the nervous system (which are, so far unknown). As a part of the collective and genetic cosmic conscience they bear information from the "higher minds".

        The archetype of Sagrado Coração has manifested itself in this way and we came to understand the crown of thorns as the real dual process of nature. In a simple vision it would be good and evil, mind and matter, ignorance and wisdom. However when we go deeper, beyond the natural attachments to the rational forms, we see the "all" and the "nothing"; "electricity" and "magnetism", the "positive" and the "negative", the "yang and ying", "night and day", man and woman, mother and father. In the midst of all, the fruit of love of the two entwined forces of the universe. "The son", "the neutral force", "the creation". "The heart".