"And This Is My Beloved" is a popular

Popular music

Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...

 song

Song

In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...

.

It was from the 1953 musical Kismet

Kismet (musical)

Kismet is a musical with lyrics and musical adaptation by Robert Wright and George Forrest, adapted from the music of Alexander Borodin, and a book by Charles Lederer and Luther Davis, based on Kismet, the 1911 play by Edward Knoblock...

and is credited to Robert Wright

Robert Wright (writer)

Robert [Craig] Wright was an American composer-lyricist for Hollywood and the musical theatre best known for the Broadway musical and musical film Kismet, for which he and his professional partner George Forrest adapted themes by Alexander Borodin and added lyrics...

 and George Forrest

George Forrest (author)

George Forrest was a writer of music and lyrics for musical theatre best known for the show Kismet, adapted from the works of Alexander Borodin.-Biography:...

. Like all the music in that show, the melody was in fact based on music composed by Alexander Borodin

Alexander Borodin

Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin was a Russian Romantic composer and chemist of Georgian–Russian parentage. He was a member of the group of composers called The Five , who were dedicated to producing a specifically Russian kind of art music...

, in this case, Borodin's String Quartet in D.

String Quartet No. 2 (Borodin)

The String Quartet No. 2, written in 1881, by Alexander Borodin is a work in four movements:#Allegro moderato in D major and 2/2 time, with 304 bars;#Scherzo...

The same melody had earlier (1946) been used for a song credited to William Engvick

William Engvick

William Engvick is an American lyricist, many of whose compositions appear in films.Engvick graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1937. He is best known for his collaborations with composer Alec Wilder; they produced songs for the Broadway musical Once Over Lightly , and for...

, Bert Reisfeld

Bert Reisfeld

Bert Reisfeld was a lyricist, noted for adapting lyrics to well-known songs either to or from English. The songs he wrote English lyrics for include:...

 and Alec Wilder

Alec Wilder

Alec Wilder was an American composer.-Biography:...

 entitled "Spring Magic," which was recorded by Charlie Spivak

Charlie Spivak

Charlie Spivak was an American trumpeter and bandleader, best known for his big band in the 1940s.-Biography:...

 and his Orchestra.

A version by Mario Lanza

Mario Lanza

right|thumb|[[MGM]] still, circa 1949Mario Lanza was an American tenor and Hollywood movie star of the late 1940s and the 1950s. The son of Italian emigrants, he began studying to be a professional singer at the age of 16....

 became popular in 1956

1956 in music

-Events:*January 26 – Buddy Holly's first recording sessions for Decca Records take place in Nashville, Tennessee*Roy Orbison signs with Sun Records*January 27 – Elvis Presley's single "Heartbreak Hotel" / "I Was the One" is released...

. Sergio Franchi sang this song in 1962 when he was discovered by Norman Luboff singing on Sunday Night at the London Palladium. A favorite guest of Ed Sullivan, Franchi sang it on the February 4, 1968 broadcast by CBS; and recorded on on his 1964 RCA Victor album The Exciting Voice of Sergio Franchi