Happy Valentine's Day
Once again, we offer up a bouquet of lesser-known love songs and even some comedy just for the occasion. To start off, here are two of the most beautiful that I know -- but particularly from musicals, which has more than its share of love songs.
This first is probably my favorite of the two, "When Did I Fall in Love?" from Fiorello! with a score by Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock, which won both the Pulitzer Prize and also Tony Award for Best Musical (tying, of all things, that year with The Sound of Music). What I most admire about the song is the simplicity of the words, almost conversational, yet that bring out rich emotion.
Usually when I've posted this in the past, I've used the Original Cast Recording, which is wonderful. But I just found a new version which is terrific. As it happens, it's from a live production of the musical, done in 2013 at the New York City Center Encores!, which annually has put on pared-down productions for brief runs of lesser-known, deserving shows. (Fiorello! was the first revival they ever presented -- and became the first they ever repeated for their 10th anniversary.) It's performed here by Kate Baldwin, who knows a thing or two about how to sing Harnick, having released an album of his songs. She soars here.
By the way, some may recognize Keith Michell's name. He most-famously played the lead in the PBS Masterpiece Theatre mini-series, The Six Wives of Henry VIII. And also had a recurring role as insurance investigator (and former jewel thief) 'Dennis Stanton' on Murder, She Wrote. He also had the lead in the London West End production of Man of La Mancha. June Bronhill was an Australian opera singer who also performed in several musicals, including as 'Maria' in the original Australian production of The Sound of Music.
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