Romeo's theme was described as "a slow-paced minor key idea, first played by a solo English horn with strings". Although Rota's original manuscript is believed to be lost, the love theme is known to have an original published key of G minor. The original lyrics of "What Is a Youth" are borrowed from songs in other Shakespearean plays, particularly Twelfth Night and The Merchant of Venice. 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. Retrieved 28 October 2013.The original track list includes anthems, song snatches, compositions for the ball and for a strolling trombone player. Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" in the movies: Comparing Franco Zeffirelli's (1968) and Baz Luhrmann's (1996) film versions. "The Essential Film Music of Nino Rota Review". The Invisible Art of Film Music: A Comprehensive History.
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^ The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare and Popular Culture.Archived from the original on 6 October 2013. ^ a b "Nino Rota Awards & nominations"."The Death Of Mercutio And Tybalt" 3:35.Lana Del Rey's song "Old Money" from her 2014 album Ultraviolence contains samples from "What Is a Youth". Other arrangements were made by André Rieu, Henry Mancini (a top ten hit in 1969), Jet Stream Orchestra, and others.
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On Jthe City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra released their own arrangement of the soundtrack on the Silva America label.
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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. The soundtrack's original label Capitol Records subsequently released three other soundtrack albums inspired by the original score. 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 Love Theme provides the background to the narrative of Our Tune, a long-standing feature on British radio hosted by Simon Bates. On Rate Your Music the soundtrack has a score of 3.89 out of 5, based on 55 ratings as of October 2013. On the other hand, critic Jack Jorgens dismissed "What Is a Youth" for being "sickly sweet". According to a BBC review, "the suite from Romeo and Juliet is a florid symphony drawing on Rota's classical background for its lush themes – swaggering hunting horn for the amorous swain, mournful lute for the awakening girl".
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Levenson wrote that Rota's score "heightened the sentiment of the lovers' relationship, doing little for their verisimilitude". Subsequently Professor of English and Shakespearean literature scholar Jill L. 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". In 1968 Billboard described the score as "brilliant and moving". In the scene, where Romeo sees Juliet dancing with her family, the theme is sounded by a solo oboe over a background of tremolo strings. The original track list includes anthems, song snatches, compositions for the ball and for a strolling trombone player.