With an unparalleled passion for traditional fado, Cristina Branco pays a heartfelt tribute to this iconic genre of Portuguese culture in her highly anticipated 18th original album, ‘Mãe’ (Mother).

‘Mãe’ is a unique musical creation in which Cristina Branco lends her distinctive and expressive voice to a variety of authors, as has been her artistic tradition. In both recording and live performances, ‘Mãe’ offers the audience an original repertoire that takes us on an immersive journey of rediscovering fado, exploring its emotional depths and nuances.

Since ‘Post Scriptum’ (2000), Cristina Branco’s second album, that pianist João Paulo Esteves da Silva and the Portuguese singer have been gathering unique live performances, seen and heard by distant different audiences. Thus emerged the genesis of ‘Amoras numa Tarde de Outono’, an album that seeks to register, like a photograph, the duo’s live work of the last 20 years.

Eva is an unpredictable record, rich in filigree and details that reveal Cristina’s intimacy and human depth. The album emerges in the form of a question: “what is freedom for me?”. We find the answer in the diary of Eva Haussman, an alter-ego of the singer. Eva personifies the freedom that Cristina pursues. Through the delicate firmness of Cristina Branco’s voice, we open the doors to this which is Cristina’s most personal and intimate work to date.

Just like its predecessor, “Branco” plays with unusual collaborations that cross styles, cultures and geographies, from renowned names like Mário Laginha and Sérgio Godinho, to artists like Jorge Cruz (Diabo na Cruz), André Henriques (Linda Martini), Filho da Mãe, Kalaf (Buraka Som Sistema), Beatriz Pessoa, Nuno Prata, Peixe, among others.

First chapter of a trilogy which includes the jovial and kaleidoscopic ‘Branco’ (2018) and ‘Eva’ (2020). ‘Menina’ is an album full of unexpected partnerships with authors of the new Portuguese music such as Jorge Cruz (Diabo na Cruz), Filho da Mãe, André Henriques (Linda Martini), Cachupa Psicadélica, the ex-Ornatos Violeta Peixe and Nuno Prata, Kalaf, Luís Severo and elements of Deolinda. Considered the Best Album of the Year by Portuguese author society SPA.

‘Idealist’ summarizes the 17 years of Cristina Branco’s career. A compilation that contains three albuns, with a total of 58 tracks, thematically divided by Fado, Poems and Ideal, and also includes three new songs, two of them originals: “Fado da Partilha” and “Se Fores, Não Chores por Mim”, with music by Ricardo Dias and lyrics by Mário Claudino. The third song is the traditional Estoril Fado, “Na Rua do Silêncio”.

‘Alegria’, Cristina Branco’s 12th album, turns nine this month. The album, released in February 2013, brings together the words of Sérgio Godinho, Chico Buarque, Joni Mitchell, Manuela de Freitas, Pedro da Silva Martins, Jorge Palma, Miguel Farias and Gonçalo M. Tavares in a cry against the Portuguese social-political context of the time. In this decidedly protesting work, Cristina Branco plays a series of female characters in extreme situations and its epigraph is a quote from the Brazilian writer Clarice Lispector: “I want joy, melancholy kills me little by little”.

Cristina Branco wanted to make an album of memories or simply flashes of her life. She thought of the Buenos Aires-Paris-Lisbon triangle and set out for her new record. The title track ‘Não há só Tangos em Paris’ was composed by Pedro da Silva Martins (Deolinda) and the list of poets and composers is vast: António Lobo Antunes, Mário Laginha, Vasco Graça Moura, among others. 

Cristina Branco’s first album without the collaboration of long-time partner Custódio Castelo. The unifying theme of the album is Time and it is composed of unpublished songs composed by a dozen creators. ‘Kronos’ presents fourteen themes by musicians such as Mário Laginha, Janita Salomé, Rui Veloso, José Mário Branco, Sérgio Godinho, Carlos Bica, and Amélia Muge. 

This album is dedicated to one of the greatest figures of Portuguese music: José Afonso. For this tribute, Cristina worked with Ricardo Dias (piano), Bernardo Moreira (double bass), Alexandre Frazão (drums), Mário Delgado (guitars), João Moreira (trumpet) and Coimbra’s University Choir.

‘Live’ is a coherent concert, with polished images, where Cristina Branco is discovered exploring a repertoire that she had never approached before. ‘Live’ is a testimony of the emotion and versatility of the Cristina’s voice and shows she can go far beyond the walls of a concert hall.

In ‘Ulisses’ (2005) Cristina Branco sings in Spanish, French and English and brings together, among others, the names of José Afonso, Joni Mitchell, Vitorino, Júlio Pomar and Fausto. About ‘Ulisses’ Cristina Branco writes “it was a challenge, full of arrivals and departures, stories of lives, distant journeys, sometimes inside ourselves, journeys of love and paths taken again.”

In ‘Sensus’, Cristina Branco sings great poets like Vinícius de Moraes, William Shakespeare, Vasco Graça Moura, Maria Teresa Horta, among others, set to music composed by Custódio Castelo. This alliance between voice, music and poetry constitutes at the same time a renewal and a confirmation of Cristina Branco as one of the most innovative interpreters of the Portuguese musical panorama.

With texts by the Dutch poet J. J. Slauerhoff, translation by Mila Vidal Paletti and music by Custódio Castelo, ‘O Descobridor’ is a token of Cristina Branco’s gratitude to the country that opened the doors to her success, the Netherlands. The album contains three unreleased songs and goes double platinum.

Released in 2001, ‘Corpo Iluminado’ is Cristina Branco’s third studio album. Here, Cristina pays tribute to great Portuguese poets, such as Fernando Pessoa, as well as to traditional fado. The album gathers the attention of the Portuguese press and public, who seem to have finally discovered Cristina Branco’s voice. 

The album ‘Post-Scriptum’ was released in February 2000. It borrows the title from a poem by Maria Teresa Horta. With special guests Jorge Fernando, Miguel Carvalhinho and João Paulo Esteves da Silva, Cristina Branco sings Amália once again as well as seminal portuguese poets such as David Mourão-Ferreira, Miguel Torga and Maria Teresa Horta. Following the success of ‘Murmúrios’, ‘Post-Scriptum’, also ends up winning the Prix Choc award.

Published by the Dutch label Music & Words, ‘Murmúrios’ brings together 14 songs, from traditional fados such as ‘Abandono’ (immortalized by Amália), to versions by renowned Portuguese artists like Sérgio Godinho and José Afonso. Most of the songs are signed by Maria Duarte, author of the texts, and composed by Custódio Castelo. The album received the prestigious Prix Choc award from Le Monde de la Musique magazine.

While participating in a television program, Cristina Branco is discovered by José Melo, who invites her to sing in Amsterdam. The concerts take place on April 25th, 1996, and result in ‘Cristina Branco In Holland’. The album becomes a real success in Holland and in the following years Cristina Branco’s name resounds all over Europe, with sold out dates in countless cities.