John Madden’s Elizabethan comedy drama follows William Shakespeare as a new love affair inspires the creation of Romeo and Juliet, and won seven Oscars, including best soundtrack.
Stephen Warbeck’s score is as light, fleet-footed and optimistic as the movie itself. Though his orchestration is more contemporary than period-specific, it occasionally evokes the work of Elizabethan composers like William Byrd and the more baroque Henry Purcell, while the romantic themes are carried by the lute, the key stringed instrument of the era. Organized around recurring motifs - chipper and bouncy full orchestrations ("The Beginning of the Partnership"), lute-based romantic interludes ("Greenwich") and somber strings ("The Prologue") - the result is heady and spiritedly romantic.
The Beginning of The PartnershipStephen WarbeckShakespeare In Love
Sentimental strings sustain before growing slightly behind light accents from harp and flutes. Strings gain momentum at 0:59 and joined by pointed trumpets.
Tender piano creates delicate repetitive motion over legato strings. Flute enters at 0:27. Strings gradually build towards 2:58. A grand trumpet arrival at 3:39.