The yuckiest part about getting older is finding out about the passing of people you adore. I just learned of the passing of my FAVORITE composer & lyricist, Stephen Sondheim.
My first exposure to his lyrical magic was West Side Story when I was in high school. Later in high school, I discovered Barbra Streisand singing his song “Everybody Says Don’t” and was instantly in love.
The reason he is my favorite is that his music isn’t just a collection of catchy tunes; he writes for the actor – not just lyrically, but also musically and emotionally. His writing is the perfect vehicle for expressing emotion. If the melody or rhythms in his songs feel wonky or not instinctive, it’s because there’s something emotionally going on that’s driving that decision. Everything he writes is on purpose – it has a reason. As a performer who LOVES expressing myself through singing and who LOATHES any kind of vocal show-off just for the sake of showing off, Sondheim is my kind of songwriter.
A good example of the OPPOSITE of this would be the song, “Lovin, Touchin’, Squeezin'” by Journey, a band I also adore. I’ve always thought that song was very sexy with a cool groove and vibe, and then I finally paid attention to the lyrics. Do you know how challenging it is to get behind the emotion of that song when it has that kind of vibe?
But take one listen to my fave Sondheim song, “Not A Day Goes By” and you can feel every emotion in the piece vividly expressed through the music and the lyrics. Or, his “On the Steps of the Palace” (which I got the pleasure of getting to perform the first time I did Into the Woods) is another example of emotion perfectly lining up with the lyrics and the music he brilliantly composed.
My favorite Sondheim performance I’ve ever watched would have to be the three times I got to see Mandy Patinkin perform live in concert. Besides the fact that I freaking LOVE him, I can tell he truly GETS Sondheim and he performs his music expertly.
I’m thankful Sondheim left behind such a gorgeous array of work for the world to enjoy performing, watching, and listening to. I hope my clients and I can continue to bring his work to life in his absence.
Thank you, Sondheim, for enriching my life.
Here’s a great version of my fave song sung by Bernadette Peters:
And this one by Mandy Patinkin (where the lyrics are different, but the emotion is TOTALLY there):
