Many of you may be familiar with the musical Sweeney Todd, which debuted on Broadway in March 1979, either from the actual show or its recent movie adaptation with Johnny Depp. Sweeney Todd is perhaps Sondheim's most difficult score - there's not much in the way of traditional Broadway melody. In fact, the show is being performed more and more by opera houses due to the complexity of the music and the small amount of spoken dialogue. In my eyes (or ears), "Johanna" is the most melodic bit and the part that makes the best stand-alone song.
Why do I like it? I love Sondheim - he's my favorite Broadway composer by far, and perhaps the most successful of the last half-century. I like where this song lies in my voice, not too low and not too high (although my 8:00 AM voice disagrees!) and I like the almost-sinister stalker-ish lyrics.
About my version - A grown up song calls for grown up clothes! This was my first take and I would have done it over except my camera battery died, so that sucked. There's a higher note toward the end that slips out of my grasp, so to speak, but I pull it back into control pretty quickly. It's a risk any time you sing an "e" vowel in the area where your voice naturally breaks. Also, I had the computer speakers as loud as I could get them, but I still had trouble hearing the music (my deaf ear is on that side, and I am loud in my own head LOL) so I got a bit lost once or twice. I found my way back quickly, so it's not too bad. I will sing this again for sure - it's exactly the kind of thing that is perfect for auditions. This one is not as amusing as some of the others, but it's my favorite so far musically - 8.5 out of 10.
Tomorrow - we leave the 70's behind and meet 1980. I have 15 (!) songs listed as possibilities, so why not add some to the list - leave me a comment with your pick!
Michael, dedicate this performance to JoHanna Broome, won't you please?
ReplyDeleteOooooooh, Jason, keep those cards and letters coming!
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