Unheard Fiddler?

My wife is a huge fan of Fiddler on the Roof and at one point, I had purchased several versions of the record to pique her interest in record collecting. Recently, I hooked up my record player to my computer and attempted to digitize some of these records.

One particularly interesting version of the album was sung entirely by Herschel Bernardi. I found his voice to be particularly interesting and different. He's got a slightly whimsical tone to his voice that seems to suit my impression of Tevye. You can find it on Amazon here.

On this album, were two songs that were written by lyricist Sheldon Harnick and composer Jerry Bock for the original production but were eventually cut from the stage play. I actually found these two songs instantly catchy and likable. When Messiah Comes actually was released in the 30th Anniversary edition of the album of the Broadway Cast Recording. The other, Fiddler on the Roof may also be on the re-released album as a bonus track, but I'm not sure.

So, for my first post, here's a link to MP3s of these two songs from Herschel Bernardi's presentation of songs from Fiddler on the Roof. Note that these were transferred from the original vinyl record so contain all the crackling and hiss of vinyl recordings.

1. When Messiah Comes - Herschel Bernardi (3.63 MB; 192 kbps MP3)
2. Fiddler on the Roof - Herschel Bernardi (4.39 MB; 192 kbps MP3)