Original released on LP Capitol ST-2993
(UK/US, 1968)
The
soundtrack for the 1968 film "Romeo and Juliet" was composed and conducted by
Nino Rota. It was originally released as a vinyl record, containing nine
entries, most notably the song "What Is a Youth", composed by Nino
Rota, written by Eugene Walter 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
in 1968 and Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score 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.
The
neo-Elizabethan ballad "What Is a Youth" is performed by a troubadour
character as part of the diegesis during the Capulets' ball, at which Romeo and
Juliet first meet. The original lyrics of the song are
borrowed from songs in other Shakespearean plays, particularly Twelfth Night
and The Merchant of Venice. In 1968
Billboard described the score as "brilliant and moving". Contemporary
feedback was also provided by John Mahoney from The Hollywood Reporter, 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». Since 1968 numerous arrangements of "What Is a
Youth" have been released, most notably "A Time for Us" and
"Ai Giochi Addio", both performed by various artists. The
soundtrack's original label Capitol Records subsequently released three other
soundtrack albums inspired by 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.
