Diante do Trono

Brazilian contemporary Christian group

Diante do Trono (dʒiˈɐ̃tʃi du ˈtɾonu; lit. : Before the Throne) is a Brazilian contemporary Christian music band formed in 1997 as a ministry of Lagoinha Church in Belo Horizonte. It is led by singer, songwriter and pastor Ana Paula Valadão. The group became popular in Brazil since the release of their first album in 1998: Diante do Trono. However, it was from the Águas Purificadoras and Preciso de Ti albums that it acquired international recognition, becoming the largest worship ministry in Latin America and one of the world's largest ministries of praise, worship and mission. It is also considered one of the most successful bands in Brazilian music. In a single presentation, held on 10 July 2003, during the recording of the album, Quero Me Apaixonar, Diante do Trono gathered about 2 million people at Campo de Marte Airport, in São Paulo, being the largest public of a Christian event already registered in the world, and the second largest public of Brazil, losing only to the festival Rock In Rio. The band has also been a winner of Talent and Promises Awards, and was nominated for the Latin Grammy in 2012 with the album Sol da Justiça. The group has sold over 15 million albums, one of the record holders for music sales in Brazil. For its first decade and a half, the band had brass and string sections. It has had several instrumental changes throughout its career, especially the period of the years 2011 and 2012, when the only members that remained from the initial group were lead vocalist Ana Paula Valadão and rhythm guitarist Elias Fernandes. The band's sound became noticeably more pop rock with the removal of its brass and string sections, and is characterized by congregational singing, with influences of pop rock, progressive rock and folk. Diante do Trono, in partnership with the Lagoinha Church, has promoted over the years several social, humanitarian and missionary actions, having part of its profits from the sales of CDs and DVDs destined for initiatives such as India Project, which combats human trafficking, collecting and helping Indian girls in prostitution, as well as other occasional actions promoted during some of its live album recordings in Brazil and the Middle East. The group also has part of its discography entirely aimed at children, the Crianças Diante do Trono. The group also created the Ministerial Training Center Diante do Trono (CTMDT), a preparatory center for musicians and singers in the area of missions, as well as the Arts Factory, which is a partnership with Lagoinha Church, to train professionals in various areas such as singing, theater and dance. The songs would be composed or versioned by Ana Paula Valadão herself, who would also take the lead in praise, while Sérgio Gomes would be responsible for the instrumental arrangement. The musicians responsible for this recording were Lagoinha praise ministers. To this end, rehearsals began later that year and the material for the album was recorded live on 31 January 1998, at a worship service at the Lagoinha Church in Belo Horizonte. Along with Ana Paula, the vocals were formed by other singers such as André Valadão, his brother, Nívea Soares and Soraya Gomes, wife of Sérgio Gomes. A few months after the recording, the musical work was released, having an initial print run only for members of the local church, but was later distributed throughout Brazil independently. The name of the album was called Diante do Trono. Many songs from that recording began to be performed on radio stations and churches in various parts of Brazil, especially "Aclame ao Senhor", "Deus de Amor", "Manancial" and "Te Agradeço". With the positive repercussion and commercial success of the album, the ministry of praise decided to continue, taking the name of the first release: "Diante do Trono". In the following months, the members of the group began to consolidate, with the entrance of the couple Helena Tannure and João Lúcio Tannure, besides the vocal arranger Maximiliano Moraes. Thus, on 13 February 1999, again at Lagoinha Church, was recorded the second album of the series, entitled Exaltado, highlighting the songs "A Ele a Gloria", "Quero Ser" and "Amigo Fiel". From Exaltado, the Diante do Trono began to perform throughout Brazil and the band's popularity began to grow among evangelicals, the name of the group was consolidating with their trips to Brazilian states and their expressive sale of records. In 2000, the First Conference of Praise and Worship Diante do Trono was held, also at the Lagoinha Church. This has undergone some name changes over the years, but continues to be held annually on Holy Week holiday in Belo Horizonte. For the recording of the group's third album, the Lagoinha temple no longer held the public interested in participating, so, on 15 July 2000, the album Águas Purificadoras was recorded at Parque da Gameleira, Belo Horizonte, gathering about of seventy thousand people and had the arrival of new band members, such as Graziela Santos and Mariana Valadão. This album had even more impact among the congregational praises of several Brazilian churches, with special success of the title song. That same year, the group had partnership with the American label Hosanna! Music, recorded two musical works: Aclame ao Senhor, Portuguese version of the album Shout to the Lord, by Hillsong Church, and Shalom Jerusalém, consisting of songs with Jewish rhythm featuring Paul Wilbur. In 2000, the group founded a house for young girls in India to combat prostitution. In 2001, the group released the fourth album of the Diante do Trono's series: Preciso de Ti, recorded on 14 July of that year at the Mineirão Stadium in Belo Horizonte, bringing together about two hundred and ten thousand people, this was the record of public in the history of the Minas Gerais stadium. The work sold four hundred thousand copies in the week of release and subsequently surpassed the two million mark sold, making it an unprecedented success in the history of Brazilian Christian music, with all of its songs being performed on likes radios and churches all over Brazil. In addition to their commercial success, the band gained media recognition and criticism, winning the Talent Awards in 2002 in the Best Music category for "Preciso de Ti" and Best Group. Still in 2001, the first album of the collection Crianças Diante do Trono was released, with its works directed to children. The eponymous work would become the first in a series of children's albums, and the song "Aos Olhos do Pai" became one of the group's biggest hits, also among the adult audience.

In late 2001, Ana Paula Valadão said she received a vision from God that showed that the Diante do Trono should hold gatherings for Brazil, so that the nation in unity would pray and intercede for the country. To this end, the group, which had hitherto concentrated in Belo Horizonte for their live recordings, began to hold gatherings throughout all regions of Brazil, and as the beginning of this project, on 1 December 2001, in Maracanã Stadium, in Rio de Janeiro, with an audience of more than 180,000 people, was recorded the album Brasil Diante do Trono, which was a collection with recordings of songs released by the group in the first four albums. On 13 July 2002, in continuation of the "Brasil Diante do Trono" project, it was recorded at the Ministries Esplanade in Brasília, Federal District, attended by over one million two hundred thousand people, from caravans from all over Brazil, the fifth album of the Diante do Trono's series, called Nos Braços do Pai. It was the first time that a musical event was held at that venue and to this day it was the largest stage ever built for the Diante do Trono's recordings, which brought together vocalists, band, orchestra, choir and dancers. The album contained songs with the theme of divine fatherhood and again was commercial and critical success. In 2006, the album also gained versions of the Diante do Trono itself in English and Spanish, but as of 2002, the group began making international trips showing their work in other countries, performing as in Guatemala and Japan. In 2003, Nívea Soares decided to start a solo career and recorded her first album, Reina Sobre Mim, but without leaving the group. On 12 July 2003, the group recorded the sixth album of the Diante do Trono's series and the third of the "Brasil Diante do Trono" project: Quero Me Apaixonar, which featured a theme of love for God and repentance, as well as a remix version of the song "Manancial". The recording took place at Campo de Marte Airport, in the north of São Paulo, and had an audience of over two million people, a record for the group. In this event the band collected 35 tons of food, which were distributed in the north of Minas Gerais. At that year's Talent Awards, the band took two of their three nominations. In 2004, André Valadão followed in the footsteps of Nívea Soares and began his solo career with the work Mais Que Abundante parallel to the group's work. That same year, the seventh work, Esperança, was recorded at the Bahia Administrative Center in Salvador, on 10 July 2004, bringing together about one million two hundred thousand people, according to data from the Bahia Military Police, and had the sound of the Bahian group Tambores Ungidos in the song "Quem é Deus Como o Nosso Deus?". In the recording Ana Paula shared with the audience her difficulty getting pregnant and brought a message of encouragement, faith and hope. At the Talent Awards, the band was the highlight, winning seven out of eight nominations. On 9 July 2005, the Diante do Trono recorded the album Ainda Existe Uma Cruz in Porto Alegre, on the banks of the Guaíba River, attended by over three hundred thousand people and marked by Ana Paula Valadão being pregnant with her first child, a year after she shared her difficulty getting pregnant. The theme of the album came against the Brazilian Christian market, bringing a message that the gospel of Christ brings responsibilities and that it is an arduous path, as in the title song, in addition to "Quero Seguir Te" and "Coração Todo Teu". The work maintained its excellence of compositions and productions. During the Talent Awards, the group won in three categories. The following year, on the night of 15 July 2006, the band went to Belém do Pará, a city the group called the "Gateway of the Amazon", for the recording of the album Por Amor de Ti, Oh Brasil, the ninth from the Diante do Trono's series, recorded live at the Yamada Arena, which was attended by over eighty thousand people. The album received mixed reception from the public and critics, and kept songs of praise and worship to God, and a theme of intercession for the nation, with emphasis on "Na Terra Seca", "Rei dos Reis" and "Tu Reinas", the latter that marked much of the audience in the arena, as well as the band itself, spontaneously bending their knees in worship of God. Also that year was released Sem Palavras, the first instrumental album of the group. In the Talent Awards, the group won mostly in the children's album categories.

In 2007, the ministry of praise completed 10 years of its formation. In celebration of the group's first decade, Diante do Throne recorded the album Tempo de Festa live at Via Funchal in São Paulo, which was a commemorative double CD and DVD featuring the theme songs from each of the first nine albums from Diante do Trono's series, as well as hits such as "Manancial", "Tempo de Festa" and the unreleased song "Amado Salvador", composed by the band leader especially for this work. In addition to the show, the DVD contained a documentary telling the group's story and messages from girls who were rescued by the missionary project in India, which originated the album recordings. It was also the last project that featured pastor Renata Valadão on vocals, which after this album, definitely left the group for health reasons. According to expert critics, the weak point of the event was the lack of innovation. At the International Conference of Praise and Worship that year, the group recorded a second CD and DVD in celebration of 10 years: Com Intensidade, which features only the celebration songs recorded by the group so far. After the commemorative recordings, the group began preparations for the recording of their tenth album of the Diante do Trono's series. Having fulfilled the call to hold strategic gatherings in all regions of Brazil, the group felt inspired to end the cycle in the city of the first recording of the vision "Brasil Diante do Trono", Rio de Janeiro, but this time with an album of songs unpublished. The group scheduled the event to take place on 7 July 2007. Initially, the group wanted to record in Praça da Apoteose, but there was no authorization from the local government, because the same day would happen in Rio the event "Live Earth", which would require a great attention from the security of the city. The work clomplted the Brasil Diante do Trono collection, with recordings in all regions of Brazil. However, there was a prior authorization to hold the event at Aterro do Flamengo, so the group even announced the venue of the event, however, the Rio de Janeiro authorities did not grant all the necessary authorizations for recording at that location and the event was transferred exactly to Praça da Apoteose, place where the Samba Schools Parade of Rio de Janeiro is traditionally held during Carnival. The change was celebrated by the group, who for years pray and prophesy for the end of Carnival in Brazil, so that place was strategic and representative for them. The purpose of the partnership was to strengthen both groups against piracy. In May 2008, the Diante do Trono first went to a nationally screened TV show and was honored on the Raul Gil Program on BAND channel. The program told the story of the band and other Christian musicians, such as David Quinlan, Marina de Oliveira, Aline Barros, Trazendo a Arca and Adhemar de Campos, paid tribute to the group. On 4 and 5 July, at the Chevrolet Hall in Recife, the group recorded the eleventh album of the Diante do Trono's series: A Canção do Amor. The album took up the concept of the album Quero Me Apaixonar released in 2003, but with a more explicit focus, being all about the love of God towards his children and children with God, as in the title song and "Porque Te Amo". Also that year, Mariana Valadão started her solo career, released an eponymous album, and decided to leave the group. In 2009, during the International Conference of Praise and Worship Diante do Trono, the group even announced that the traditional recording of that year would take place in Manaus, but the group again had difficulties with bureaucratic issues to make the recording possible. With this, after eight years, the group went back to recording an album of the Diante do Trono's series in their hometown, Belo Horizonte, and so occurred on 1 August 2009, at Praça da Estação. This twelfth album was called Tua Visão and carried a message of confidence in God's will. The album marked the entrance of a new generation of musicians coming from CTMDT, especially vocalists Ana Nóbrega and Israel Salazar. It was also the first to feature a participation of another name known in the Brazilian Christian milieu, Fernanda Brum, in a vocal trio along with Ana Paula Valadão and Nívea Soares in the song "Encontro das Águas". According to expert critics, the work confirmed the need for a musical renewal in the group. Soon after the album was recorded, a partnership was announced between Diante do Trono and Som Livre record label, which would distribute the group's CDs and DVDs throughout Brazil, in addition to opening the doors for regional and national disclosures by Rede Globo and its affiliates. That year, Ana Paula Valadão, along with her family, moved to Dallas, in the United States, which made the group's ministrations at Lagoinha Church happen under the vocal leadership of Ana Nóbrega and Israel Salazar, and Ana Paula returned to Brazil whenever needed for ministry throughout Brazil. In 2010, during the International Conference of Praise and Worship Diante do Trono, the group announced that that year would be the thirteenth album of the Diante do Trono's series in the city of Barretos. The event was supported by a council of pastors of the city and would take place at the Arena do Peão, a place where traditional festivals in the Brazilian countryside traditionally take place. On the day of the recording, the band did a social work in partnership with Barretos Cancer Hospital, promoting a bone marrow donation campaign. The album recorded there was called Aleluia and was, at the time, the most pop rock of the band, joining the sound of guitars with the brass of the orchestra, in addition to the re recording of "Este é o Dia" in country rhythm and the participation of the singer Ludmila Ferber in the re recording of the song "Eis me Aqui". The song "Canção do Apocalipse" was very successful among the churches of the country, being performed on likes radios around Brazil, the album became the best selling Christian work of 2010 in Brazil. After the release of Aleluia, the group performed for the first time on a Rede Globo TV show, Domingão do Faustão, where they sang "Preciso de Ti" and "Tempo de Festa", in addition to talking with Fausto Silva, participation raised the audience of the program on that date.

The ministry of praise Diante do Trono began in 2011 with a significantly different formation, because the brass orchestra, conductor Sérgio Gomes and some vocals such as Helena and João Lúcio Tannure couples, Clay Peterson and Graziela Santos, as well as Soraya Gomes officially left the group, accompanying others who were already pursuing solo careers, such as Nívea Soares, André Valadão and Mariana Valadão. The only members of the group's initial formation that remained were Ana Paula Valadão and Elias Fernandes, other band members were former CTMDT students, some of them had been joining the Diante do Trono since 2007 and 2009, others joined the group as the drummer Tiago Gaúcho. With this new formation, besides the return of Ana Paula Valadão's residence to Brazil, it allowed the group to increase the number of live musical performances in Brazil and abroad, besides bringing significant sound changes to the group's songs. These changes were announced to the public during the 12th International Conference of Praise and Worship, which also marked the beginning of a musical and ministerial exchange with the American group Gateway Worship, from the recording of the album Glória a Deus, a Portuguese version of one of Gateway's works. In addition, the band continued with the distribution of their productions by Som Livre, making their administrative area leaner. Still in 2011, the Diante do Trono was the hometown of Natal for the recording of the fourteenth album of Diante do Trono's series: Sol da Justiça. The group gathered an audience of more than 120,000 people on 16 July 2011, in Praia do Meio, but the bad weather conditions hindered the completion of the stage assembly, making the event was held again at the Riachuelo Theater, on 18 July, but this time with the planned scenographic structure. The album was a new milestone in the group's history, achieving great commercial success. The song "Me Ama" was one of the most performed on radio stations and churches throughout Brazil. In just one day of release the album sold over fifty thousand copies. During the Promises Awards ceremony in 2011, the group was the most awarded, winning in the Best Ministry of Praise and Best DVD categories. On 10 December, Diante do Throno was at Aterro do Flamengo, in Rio de Janeiro, to participate in the Promises Festival, an event organized and broadcast by Rede Globo, which brought together, in addition to the group, eight more Christian singers: Davi Sacer, Fernanda Brum, Fernandinho, Damares, Preacher Luo, Ludmila Ferber, Regis Danese and Eyshila. On 9 June 2012, the band can finally fulfill their wish to record an album of the Diante do Trono's series in the city of Manaus. The recording was the fifteenth of the series, and was supported by pastors and churches in the city, with an audience of 350,000 people in the Manaus Sambadrome. The album, entitled Creio , was directed by Alex Passos, who chose to do a different work than most audio visual projects produced at the time, especially in the Christian environment. The event also featured the special appearances of Ludmila Ferber, Thomas Miller, Mariana Valadão, Felippe Valadão, among other musicians. The work received positive reviews from the specialized media, and received considerable acclaim from the public, selling 50,000 copies in just one day. The same work in DVD format became platinum in fifteen days. Also in 2012, Diante do Trono also recorded the album Suomi Valtaistuimen Edessä, an international project in Finnish, featuring re recordings of the albums Aleluia and Sol da Justiça, as well as participation in the Hillsong Global Project, recording the Portuguese version of the project. In partnership with Hillsong, released by the CanZion label, it sold 40,000 copies, reaching gold disk. In 2013, in celebration of 15 years of ministry, the band recorded during the 14th Conference of Praise and Worship the album Renovo, which is a rereading of older songs that marked the history of the group in new arrangements and were voted by the public in a poll of a commemorative hotsite launched by the band and created by Quartel Design, which also contained testimonials, stories, photos, polls, among other special materials, mostly of exclusive origin. At the same conference, Ana Paula Valadão announced at an annual event held in Tubarão that annual conferences would focus more on Intercession and Missions, in addition to Praise and Worship. In May of that year, the Diante do Trono was featured on Billboard Brasil with the songs "Creio", "Canta Minh'alma" and "Me Ama". In the same year, the vocalist Ana Nóbrega signed a contract with Som Livre record label to release her second solo career, being the first since joining the band, titled Nada Temerei. The release of the album also marked the departure of Ana Nóbrega from Diante do Trono. Shortly after, Ana Paula Valadão announced the departure of other vocals of the band, such as the couple Rodrigo and Saara Campos, Guilherme Fares, Sebastião Batista and Roberta Izabel. On 6 July 2013, the Diante do Trono gathered about 30,000 people at the Padre Cicero Event Park in Juazeiro do Norte, for the recording of the sixteenth album of the Diante do Trono's series, entitled Tu Reinas. In addition to the main gathering, the group toured small communities in the northeastern backlands and recorded the same songs more intimately in an unprecedented initiative, as an incentive for social and missionary actions in one of the poorest regions of Brazil that suffered that year with one of the worst droughts ever recorded in the region. The album's repertoire contains re readings of some of the band's hits and three unreleased tracks, including "Rasga os Céus", which was marked by a light rain in the Northeast drought, and was much celebrated by the group members. The album featured guest appearances by Juliano Son of the band Livres para Adorar, André Valadão and Mariana Valadão, and the visual direction of Alex Passos. At the same time, the band released a custom clothing shop, "DT Wear", containing books, accessories, footwear and clothing with messages of songs of the band. The recording of the project marked the end of the partnership between Diante do Trono and Som Livre, which for reasons never disclosed by either party, decided that the label would not distribute the new album, causing the Diante do Trono to just release the album the following year, after the end of the contract with the parties, returning to the independent format.