Leonard Bernstein: Life Is Happiness Indeed (from Candide): Mixed Choir and

One Hand One Heart is a duet from the hit musical West Side Story. It is sung by the two main protagonists Maria and Tony as they dream about their wedding and their life together. It is a bittersweet song as it marks the sole moment of happiness for the couple before reality returns and fear and violence are restored. West Side Story is possibly the most famous musical ever. Inspired by Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet it is set in 1950s New York City and chronicles the life love and losses of two rival gangs. Written in 1957 with music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by StephenSondheim the original setting was highly topical as gang violence was rife at the time but it is often seen as a metaphor for many areas of conflict - one of the reasons the production has remained popular to this day.