AT 35 SECONDS

The Brilliance of Barbara Cook

Barbara Cook, the Broadway star who became a peerless concert and cabaret singer, died this week at 89. Ms. Cook taught us what really matters in singing. Listen, for example, to “I Got Lost in His Arms” from Irving Berlin’s “Annie Get Your Gun.” In the show, feisty Annie Oakley describes the moment she realizes she was in love. The way Ms. Cook sings it here, you realize that getting “lost” in this man’s arms is exciting, yes, but also terrifying. Ms. Cook makes the next line, “It was dark in his arms and I lost my way,” seem almost a cry for help. Then there is an extraordinary video of Ms. Cook in concert singing Sondheim’s “Anyone Can Whistle,” a reflection on why it’s so difficult to let go and trust someone. When Ms. Cook first sings the lines “What’s hard is simple/What’s natural comes hard,” the phrase offers a bittersweet observation on life and love. To me, it could also be a comment on the art of singing. No one practiced it better. ANTHONY TOMMASINI