First rule: Always get the OBCs. The revival CDs are almost invariably disappointments.
My holy quintet:
Company- Sondheim's breakout show, this is an extremely 70's score and a witty, if cynical, look at relationships and marriage.
A Little Night Music- A really gorgeous, percussion-free score of waltzes and other 3/4 and 6/8 time signatures. The
lieder singers alone make this worth getting.
Sweeney Todd- Widely considered to be Sondheim's best work, this is a sung-through masterpiece. Combine the gore of
grand guignol with opera and you get this funny, scary, and tragic show, with an epic and beautiful score to match. Angela Lansbury is amazing in this one.
Follies- Combining Sondheim's own style with 1930s
pastiche numbers, this show is all about the collision between past and present, nostalgia, and the distortion of memory over time. It's also the only time I'd really recommend getting another CD to suplemment the OBC- the vibrant concert recording adds whole other dimensions to the score.
Sunday in the Park With George- This one's my favorite, but I wouldn't try it first, as it's one of Sondheim's more "extreme" scores. The songs aren't really free-standing- they're pointillist "dots" that finally add up to something magnificent in the Act I finale, which is one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard. Bernadette Peters blows me away every time I listen to this one.
Okay, that's the big five. Afterwards I'd go for
Into the Woods, one of his most accessible scores, and
Pacific Overtures and
Passion, which are lovely, if more difficult. If you're still hanging on then, get
Merrily We Roll Along,
Anyone Can Whistle,
The Frogs/Evening Primrose, etc. With Sondheim you're guaranteed something interesting at the very least. :) Have fun.
Updated On: 1/11/05 at 09:42 PM
