Richard Rodgers always considered Carousel his favorite score, even though it didn't generate the number of popular hits of some of the other shows he produced with lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II. Their adaptation of the Ferenc Molnar play Liliom is marked by three especially sublime moments. "The Carousel Waltz," Rodgers's alternative to the traditional Broadway overture, serves as an orchestral backdrop to the opening scene and is one of the best miniatures ever written for the theater. "If I Loved You," which establishes the romance of carnival barker Billy Bigelow (Gordon MacRae, a late replacement for Frank Sinatra) and nice girl Julie Jordan (Shirley Jones), is a musical minidrama in which the pair's discussion of how they are not in love reveals just how much they are in love. "Soliloquy" is Billy's powerful solo that foreshadows the action to come in Act II. Add the inspirational anthem "You'll Never Walk Alone," and you have Rodgers and Hammerstein's most extraordinary, near-operatic score. On the soundtrack for the 1956 film, MacRae and Jones are in exceptional voice (following their success in 1955's Oklahoma) and the orchestra sounds glorious, but unfortunately some of the numbers were shortened, most notably "If I Loved You." Extensive production notes, an interview with Jones, and a synopsis are included. --David Horiuchi