226/365 Songs: All I know/The Day has come – Martin Guerre
Today’s song comes from the musical Martin Guerre, written by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil of Les Misérables fame. Based on the real-life historical figure Martin Guerre, the musical was first produced in London in 1996. The young Martin Guerre is forced into an arranged marriage with Bertrande in order to produce a Catholic heir in the anti-Protestant town of Artigat. Martin goes off to fight against the Protestant Huguenots, and befriends Arnaud du Thil. When Martin is wounded and appears to die in battle, Arnaud returns to Artigat to tell Bertrande. He is mistaken for Martin and decides to go along with the story. Bertrande realises he is not Martin, but as she begins to develop feelings for the imposter Arnaud, she does not reveal his deception. Arnaud’s true identity is revealed by the supposed village idiot, and in the ensuing trial the key witness is the real Martin who returns from battle.
The song All I know is a tender Bertrande/Arnaud duet from the original version of the musical. In the 1998 version of the musical it was reworked into The Day has come which features the whole cast, very similar to the song One Day More from Les Misérables. I actually prefer the original version, and it’s this version I’ve based my performance on today!
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