"When you know the notes to sing,
You can sing most anything!"
The film is called The Sound of Music, so naturally, there's going to be certain music that really stands out. There's a reason the soundtrack made it into the National Recording Registry.You can sing most anything!"
- The title song (or "Prelude" as it's known in the score) in the opening is one of the most iconic (and widely referenced) scenes in cinema. The golden pipes of Julie Andrews at her peak, Irwin Kostal's majestic orchestration of Richard Rodgers' score, the sheer grandeur of the mountain scenery, all make for an absolutely unforgettable introduction. If you know the scene at all, you're probably hearing it right now: "The hills are alive with the sound of music... with songs they have sung for a thousand years..."
- The morning hymn and "Alleluia" sung in the convent at the beginning of the film can raise the hairs on the back of your neck.
- "Doe: a deer, a female deer..." Seriously, that song is one of the most iconic in English culture. Everyone has heard it. Rodgers and Hammerstein knew what they were doing. It even works as an educational tool since it provides a crash-course in the basics of music theory and notation.
- "Climb Every Mountain" is generally considered this for the Abbess, and can also qualify as a Tear Jerker.
- The reprise at the end of the film puts it into a literal context and possibly magnifies the greatness of the song, since it's set to the Von Trapp family literally climbing mountains to escape Nazi-domniated Austria, captured by one of the greatest aerial landscape shots in cinema history.
- Even those who hated pretty much everything else about The Sound of Music Live! admit without hesitation that the chance to see Audra McDonald — a six-time Tony winner and one of the greatest stars in Broadway history — perform this song in character made the entire show worth it. Made even better by the occasional cuts to Carrie Underwood completely breaking character and just staring at her utterly awestruck.
- Captain von Trapp's defiant rendition of "Edelweiss" in the face of Nazis who probably wouldn't have been too pleased that the Austrians were being reminded that they weren't technically Austria anymore (and woudn't be for almost 10 years). His choking up mid-song and Maria's taking over to lead him into a duet also qualifies as a Heartwarming Moment. Furthermore, one of the Nazi commandants is shown singing too, revealing that he cares more for Austria than the Reich.
- The family singing "So Long, Farewell, auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye" as they literally vanish under the noses of the Nazis sent to take the Captain to Bremerhaven qualifies. Doubly awesome because of how effortlessly they just sauntered out of the building, and they were telling the Nazis they were fleeing the country nearly the entire time!
- Kara Tointon and Julian Ovenden's rendition
of "Something Good" in the 2015 UK live production is absolutely adorable, and their voices blend beautifully. Likewise, their duet reprise of "The Sound of Music" earlier in the play, right after he asks her to stay on, is absolutely gorgeous and shows how much they're coming to fall in love with each other.
