Sondheim at 90 Songs: 3 - 'Johanna' (Quartet Version)
Sublime ensemble number from Act Two of 'Sweeney Todd' Along with many others, my first exposure to Stephen Sondheim's art was through watching the film of Bernstein's West Side Story as a child. The song which still floors me is the Quintet near the end of Act 1. Bernstein's ecstatic, dynamic music is splendid in itself, but the number's perfection is sealed by Sondheim's lyrics, each character distinctly voi…