The
soundtrack
A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack ...
for the 1968 film ''
Romeo and Juliet'' was composed and conducted by
Nino Rota
Giovanni Rota Rinaldi (; 3 December 1911 – 10 April 1979), better known as Nino Rota (), was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor and academic who is best known for his film scores, notably for the films of Federico Fellini and Luchino Visco ...
. It was originally released as a
vinyl record
A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts nea ...
, containing nine entries, most notably the song "What Is a Youth", composed by Nino Rota, written by
Eugene Walter
Eugene Ferdinand Walter, Jr. (November 30, 1921 – March 29, 1998) was an American screenwriter, poet, short-story author, actor, puppeteer, gourmet chef, cryptographer, translator, editor, costume designer and well-known raconteur. During his y ...
and performed by
Glen Weston. The music score won a Silver Ribbon award of the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists in 1968
and was nominated for two other awards (
BAFTA Award for Best Film Music
This is a list of winners and nominees for the BAFTA Award for Best Original Music, formerly known as the Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music, which is presented to film composers, given out by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts si ...
in 1968 and
Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score
The Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score is a Golden Globe Award presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), an organization of journalists who cover the United States film industry, but are affiliated with publications ...
in 1969).
The soundtrack is referred to as "Original Soundtrack Recording" on the front cover with further credits to the film itself. Several other editions of the soundtrack feature different covers.
Composition
The original track list includes anthems, song snatches, compositions for the
ball and for a strolling
trombone
The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...
player.
The neo-Elizabethan ballad "What Is a Youth" is performed by a
troubadour
A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a ''trobairi ...
character as part of the
diegesis
Diegesis (; from the Greek from , "to narrate") is a style of fiction storytelling that presents an interior view of a world in which:
# Details about the world itself and the experiences of its characters are revealed explicitly through narr ...
during the
Capulets' ball, at which Romeo and Juliet first meet. The original lyrics of "What Is a Youth" are borrowed from songs in other Shakespearean plays, particularly ''
Twelfth Night
''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vi ...
'' and ''
The Merchant of Venice
''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock.
Although classified as ...
''. Although Rota's original manuscript is believed to be lost,
the love theme is known to have an original published key of
G minor
G minor is a minor scale based on G, consisting of the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has two flats. Its relative major is B-flat major and its parallel major is G major.
According to Paolo Pietropaolo, it is the con ...
. Romeo's theme was described as "a slow-paced
minor key
In Western music, the adjectives major and minor may describe a chord, scale, or key. As such, composition, movement, section, or phrase may be referred to by its key, including whether that key is major or minor.
Intervals
Some intervals ...
idea, first played by a solo
English horn with strings".
In the scene, where Romeo sees Juliet dancing with her family, the theme is sounded by a solo
oboe
The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range.
...
over a background of
tremolo strings.
Reception
In 1968 ''
Billboard'' described the score as "brilliant and moving". Contemporary feedback was also provided by John Mahoney from ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...
'', who described the score as "one of the best and strongest components", noting that "a period ballad with lyric by Eugene Walter, 'What Is a Youth', provides the perfect setting for the meeting of the two lovers at the
Capulet party".
Subsequently Professor of English and Shakespearean literature scholar Jill L. Levenson wrote that Rota's score "heightened the sentiment of the lovers' relationship, doing little for their verisimilitude".
According to a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
review, "the suite from Romeo and Juliet is a florid symphony drawing on Rota's classical background for its lush themes – swaggering
for the awakening girl".
On the other hand, critic Jack Jorgens dismissed "What Is a Youth" for being "sickly sweet". On
the soundtrack has a score of 3.89 out of 5, based on 55 ratings as of October 2013.
.
Since 1968 numerous arrangements of "What Is a Youth" have been released, most notably "
" and "Ai Giochi Addio", both performed by various artists. The soundtrack's original label
subsequently released three other soundtrack albums inspired by the original score. The popularity of the first of them led Capitol Records to release a four-record set of the film's entire vocal and music tracks. On June 25, 2002 the
released their own arrangement of the soundtrack on the Silva America label.
(a top ten hit in 1969), Jet Stream Orchestra, and others.
'' contains samples from "What Is a Youth".
" 7:24
# "The Balcony Scene" 9:26
*Side Two
# "Romeo & Juliet Are Wed" 3:00
# "The Death Of Mercutio And Tybalt" 3:35
# "Farewell Love Scene" 4:21
# "The Likeness Of Death" 2:36
# "In Capulet's Tomb" 7:22
# "All Are Punished" 2:07