This is one of my favorite passages of Shakespeare, but The Bard never intended it to be a song. The text is actually a Sonnet (a 14 line poem in iambic pentameter, for those of you who forget your high school English), spoken by Romeo & Juliet to each other on their initial meeting at the masked ball (1:5:104-117). Since Shakespeare seemed to enjoy the challenge of making a poem into a dialogue between two people, I enjoyed the challenge of making it into a musical duet. I am especially pleased with the “through composed” nature of this song, which never repeats any previous material but keeps inventing new ideas until its conclusion. I was joined here once again by my good friend Jennie Emery, who lent her vocals to this arrangement. I also arranged this song as a choral piece for my students, and it has become a favorite of my school choir.