One more 'South Pacific' item: The absolute ultimate version of a great song
OK, I know I should stop with the 'South Pacific' stuff, but I just couldn't resist one more post.
As I said previously, the songs from this show have been stuck in my head since Tuesday night's opening performance of the production at the Hippodrome -- just as those songs were stuck for ages after I saw the original Broadway revival.
To tell the truth, my tastes were always a little more Rodgers and Hart than Rodgers and Hammerstein, but I have found, over the years, a greater and greater appreciation for the musical scores by the latter duo.
The song from "South Pacific" that really, really moves me is "This Nearly Was Mine." The melody, with its elegant harmony, is top-drawer; the words are exceptionally effective. The structure is terrific, too.
I have admired how this song was delivered by Paulo Szot in the 2008 New York staging; in Washington last year by David Pittsinger in the first national tour of the wonderful Bartlett Sher revival; and this week in Baltimore by Marcelo Guzzo in the second national tour. And, of course, I love the classic performances by Ezio Pinza and others who starred as Emil de Becque.
But there's a version of this song, removed from its theatrical context (and from the original bass/baritone realm), that's in a class by itself. The first time I heard ...
Barbara Cook sing this in concert some years ago, I got shamelessly teary-eyed. I had rarely been so unexpectedly touched by a singer and a song.
So, with thoughts, images and, above all, sounds, of "South Pacific" still swimming around in my head, I just had to relive the experience of this transcendent interpretation, and I hope you enjoy it, too. Here, then, Barbara Cook and "This Nearly Was Mine":
Categories: Clef Notes, Drama Queens, Hippodrome
Comments
Nope. Doesn't do it for me.
Too mannered, too slow, and the pinao is distracting without adding the emotion that strings could.
I went to Lincoln Center mainly because I was so impressed with the perfromance of the tenor at the Tonys, but unfortunately saw a vedry good substitute, but not the same, and especially would not have been the same on this song.
The strength of this song is it is sung by a strong man who usually can grasp what he wants. This sounds more like a spinster fantasy.
Plus, it is a waltz, and the slow tempo totally loses the waltz lilt. Maybe that is what you like about it.
Posted by: Chuck | October 7, 2011 11:08 AM
Try this version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQmxLr5IYLk
Thanks very much for reminding me of that absolutely fabulous performance. For an in-context interpretation, I'd call that pretty much unbeatable. And for an example of song-styling out of that context, I still find Barbara Cook's version sublime. TIM
Posted by: OldPhil | October 7, 2011 12:20 PM
The indelible performance of "This Nearly Was Mine" for me was the one sung by Brian Stokes-Mitchell in a semi-staged benefit concert of "South Pacific" several years ago in Carnegie Hall. I have played the DVD many times and am brought to tears each time. Great stuff!
Posted by: Bob Thomas | October 7, 2011 11:54 PM
This version of "This Nearly was Mine" is fine for a piano bar or a cocktail lounge. It is performed out of context.
Rodgers and Hammerstein composed this powerful song for a strong male basso who is love, yet tormented by his past and his future in a time of war.
Posted by: Kevin Peter | October 8, 2011 8:36 AM