Orfeu [17 Tracks]

1	O Enredo de Orfeu (Historia Do Carnaval Carioca) 4:24
2	Sou Voce 3:18
3	Valso de Euridice 3:10
4	Cantico À Natureza (Primavera) 3:06
5	Manha de Carnaval 1:47
6	Os Cinco Bailes Da Historia Do Rio 3:41
7	A Felicidade 3:13
8	Se Todos Fossem Iguais a Você 5:21
9	Sou Voce (Asa Delta) 2:52
10	A Policia Sobe O Morro 1:47
11	Valsa de Euridice/Lua, Lua, Lua (Santa Lua) 1:22
12	Alucinacao 1:04
13	Eu E O Meu Amor (Carmem No Desfile) 1:08
14	Orfeu Leva Euridice 1:45
15	Batuque Final 1:14
16	Mira Mata Orfeu 2:13
17	Orfeu Dorme 3:10

Barnes & Noble

"Black Orpheus," the 1959 Marcel Camus film, transplanted the Greek tale to the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, and by way of the soundtrack, which included songs by Tom Jobim and Luis Bonfá, introduced the delicate magic of bossa nova to audiences in Europe and the U.S. For his own cinematic adaptation of Vinicius de Moraes's play, acclaimed Brazilian director Carlos Diegues has invited the brilliant singer-songwriter Caetano Veloso to supervise the soundtrack, which includes rerecordings of classics from the Camus film like "A Felicidade" and "Manhã de Carnaval," as well as original Veloso compositions. ORFEU's contemporary setting hits you from the first track, a hard-driving samba with hip-hop interludes tailor-made for the film's star, Toni Garrido (lead singer of the Brazilian rock band Cidade Negra). At the heart of the score is Veloso's gorgeous ballad "Sou Vocé," which Garrido sings with touching simplicity and tenderness. "Sou Vocé" returns throughout the film in various guises, including the finale, where the tune is stripped away and just the harmony remains -- a poignant expression of the tale's tragic ending. Veloso's suave singing can be savored on two tracks, "Os Cinco Bailes da Hist&oactue;ria do Rio" (Five Dances of the History of Rio), a new composition, and his sumptuous new arrangement of Tom Jobim's "Se Todos Fossem Iguais a Vocé" (If Everyone Were Like You). ORFEU's music reflects the lush diversity of Brazilian popular music -- past and present -- as well as the seemingly boundless creativity of one of its greatest artists. --Andrew Farach-Colton

All Music Guide

Orfeu is the soundtrack to Cacá Diegues' remake of 1959's Black Orpheus, an award-winning movie that introduced contemporary Rio de Janeiro composers like Antonio Carlos Jobim, Luiz Bonfá, and Vinícius de Moraes to mainstream Americans. As such, it's fitting that Brazil's most famous musical export during the last few decades of the century, Caetano Veloso, was chosen to compose the soundtrack. Alternately reliant on orchestral strings and Carnaval percussion, Orfeu is a delightful soundtrack that merges Veloso's recent take on Brazilian pop with more traditional rhythms. He has no qualms about taking chances, such as adding a rapper (in Portuguese, of course) to the percussion-heavy opening track. Accompanying him on "A Felicidade" is Maria Luíza Jobim, the teenage daugter of Antonio Carlos Jobim. John Bush