Shakespeare On Vinyl

There are two big passions in my life (other than the people I love): music and Shakespeare. I have fairly decent collections related to each. Sometimes the two overlap. Whenever I find a Shakespeare record (assuming it's not scratched or too expensive), I purchase it. And I decided today would be a day dedicated to enjoying some of those purchases.

I started the day with Sir William Walton's Music From Shakespearean Films, which contains portions of the scores from three Shakespeare films, all Laurence Olivier movies. I had picked up this record at Freakbeat Records for only a dollar (which makes me think not a lot of folks share my passion for Shakespeare records, all the better for me). All the music on the first side comes from Richard III, and the second side contains music from both Hamlet and Henry V. I should revisit all three films at some point. I didn't find those films nearly as impressive as I'd been led to believe they were, but this music is making me want to give them another viewing. This record was released in 1964, and contains liner notes by Muir Mathieson.

I moved then to Julius Caesar, a record of highlights from the MGM film. It contains scenes from the film, dialogue and music, with some narration by John Houseman, who helps set the scene when it is determined necessary. The cast includes James Mason as Brutus, John Gielgud as Cassius, Deborah Kerr as Portia and Marlon Brando as Mark Antony. My copy is from the 1986 pressing. If I recall correctly, I got this record at Permanent Records Roadhouse. There are no liner notes. 

There are probably more records dedicated to Romeo And Juliet than to any of Shakespeare's other plays, and I've managed to pick up a few of them. I listened to the soundtrack to Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo & Juliet, with music composed and conducted by Nino Rota. This is the record without the dialogue, the one focusing on the music (it was released after the soundtrack containing dialogue). Beautiful stuff, as most people are aware. Has anyone not heard the gorgeous love theme from this soundtrack? I don't recall where I picked up this record. It was released in 1969, and contains liner notes by Neely Plumb.

Then I listened to an odd record that contains a mix of music and speeches from Romeo And Juliet. It begins with a version of the love theme from Nino Rota's score, with Romeo's speech about Juliet when he first sees her, and then the dialogue between Romeo and Juliet at the feast. The next track is "Greensleeves," and then the beginning of the balcony scene, with "Greensleeves" beginning again under Romeo's speech. In Juliet's speech the actor delivers the Q1 reading "rose by any other name" rather than the preferred Q2 and Folio reading "rose by any other word." The second side also opens with a bit of the love theme from the Zeffirelli film. The record also includes some of the song "Love Is Blue," a song I love. All the speeches are by Romeo and Juliet, no other characters, though the liner notes on the back contains the Prince's final speech of the play. The liner notes are by Lee Polk. The album was produced and directed by Herb Davison and Charlotte Sanders, and the group is called The Young Shakespeareans, but there is not much more information on this record. I don't know what year it was released, and have no idea where I bought my copy.

Hector Berlioz composed music inspired by Romeo And Juliet in 1839. The recording I have is by the Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra Of New York, conducted by Dimitri Mitropoulos. I found this record for fifty cents at a used book store in Burlington, Massachusetts a month ago. I don't know what year it was released. There are liner notes on the back of the record jacket, with information about Berlioz and the tracks, but no date for this recording. The music is dramatic, often exciting, and sometimes beautiful.