Terra Nostra

Because the telenovela Terra Nostra deals with the plight of Italian immigrants in preindustrial Brazil, the soundtrack CD consists mostly of Italian standards and classics performed by Brazilian artists. This is a change from most Brazilian telenovela soundtracks, which usually focus on Brazilian music. There is still some Brazilian music, such as Caetano Veloso's "Luna Rosa," but for the most part this is a set of Italian-flavored music, from the operatic soloing (such as "Non Ti Scordar De Me" and a cameo by Charlotte Church) to versions of "O Sole Mio," "Comme Facette Mammeta," and "Funiculi Funicula," with only a few Brazilian touches. In fact, the heavy concentration of Italian music makes it a disappointment, since many Italian music collections exist that would do a better job than this one. Other Brazilian TV soundtracks (such as Uga Uga) can serve as a useful intro to modern and classic Brazilian artists, but here, the fact that so many of the cuts are unexceptional versions of Italian songs or Italian artists (with only minimal Brazilian touches) makes this rather pointless to anyone who is not already a fan of the show, or anyone who is not already a fan of the artists themselves. Fans of the TV show will be pleased with Terra Nostra, but anyone looking for Brazilian music would do better to start with other soundtracks.