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If you do, and it's the "Carousel Waltz", it should sound better than ever! R&H Director of Music, Bruce Pomahac, discusses the newly restored musical materials for Rodgers & Hammerstein's CAROUSEL.

You may have begun to notice that some of our most popular titles have been spruced up for the millenium. ONCE UPON A MATTRESS, THE SOUND OF MUSIC, ALLEGRO, STATE FAIR and now CAROUSEL are available in sparkling new restorations.

We've gone back to the original manuscripts, orchestra scores, pit parts and other early production materials in order to create editions which more carefully than ever reflect the original Broadway productions of these remarkable musicals.

When CAROUSEL first became available for licensing, the scores, parts and scripts were created from the most available materials. Some of these materials had been transformed, trimmed and otherwise adapted from the original Broadway production for the many touring productions that followed. Sometimes there were cuts made, keys changed or orchestrations thinned out to facilitate particular productions or performers. As different parts were copied and recopied over the years mistakes crept in and inconsistencies abounded. We tried to keep you abreast of these, but finally we decided to utilize computer technology and bring out a clean, clear, complete and correct version of this Rodgers & Hammerstein masterpiece.

Consequently, we have put back pieces of the puzzle that have been missing for years. For example, a musical introduction to "Soliloquy" that had been omitted long ago has been reinstated. An interior portion of this number that had also been removed is again available. According to John Raitt, Rodgers & Hammerstein had him record this portion (the "When I have a daughter" portion) of "Soliloquy" on the original cast album of CAROUSEL. Later, although R&H seem to have eliminated this section with Raitt's departure from the Broadway company, he continued to include it in almost all of his subsequent stage and concert performances of CAROUSEL. (You now have the option to decide for yourself whether or not to include this long lost R&H nugget.)

With Trude Rittmann, the original dance arranger, and Joseph Littau's orginal conductor's score we were able to unlock secrets that lay hidden in our archives and the Library of Congress for decades. The Trombone III and Bass Clarinet parts have been restored along with many of the Harp and Violin I parts that had been removed accidentally in an early recopying of the musical parts. The script has been reedited to carefully portray the musical play as Oscar Hammerstein intended it to be performed. There is a full orchestral and choral score (Partitur) available to give your musical director control of every note and nuance of Richard Rodgers' music. The partitur also contains an appendix that documents the entire restoration note by note and word by word.

In addition we have created Synth Strings I & II books to augment your string section should you wish to do so. (The original Broadway production of CAROUSEL boasted an orchestra of 40, including a string section of 22 players!) The Harp book has been formatted so that it can be performed on a keyboard (Synth with Harp patch or Acoustic Piano). And finally there is a new completely cued piano/vocal/conductor score that will give you all the support you need to meet and master the musical challenges of this R&H classic.

Send for a perusal today and see the difference for yourself. In coming seasons we will be adding OKLAHOMA!, SOUTH PACIFIC and THE KING AND I to our roster of superb restorations. These new editions are guaranteed to help your production make the same stunning impact with audiences that CAROUSEL first did.