Rachel Portman's score for Only You (starring Marisa Tomei, going to Italy to find the man her destiny has chosen for her) is one of the most romantic scores I have ever heard, and it's without doubt one of the best in that genre too.
The music for Only You hasn't got a particulary sweeping sound, that many scores for romantic films do. Instead Portman uses a rather small orchestra, with a lot of solo instruments, especially woodwinds, but also the violin, the guitar and other instruments. But there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. And Portman proves that romantic music doesn't have to be sweeping and lush to melt your heart. What makes her score so wonderful is the fantastic mood the music creates. I don't know if it is because the film takes place in Italy, and Portman therefore uses a lot of Italian sounding music ("Arriving at Damon's Restaurant" is the best example. With accordion and clarinet this cue will make you all warm inside, and turn on the romantic centre of your brain.).
Another important ingredient is the wonderfully romantic main theme, heard at its best in "Theme from 'Only You'" (which is a concert arrangement of the theme). This is a rather nostalgic and very beautiful theme, that is just perfect.
To make the score a little more varied, and therefore better, is also some more upbeat music. "I'm Coming With You" is a superb cue with light strings, bouncing bassoon and clarinet that is some of the scores' many highlights.
Also on the album are a couple of non-score cues. There are, for instance, "Some Enchanted Evening", performed by Ezio Pinza, "O Sole Mio", the famous, and superb "Libiamo Ne' Lieti Calici" from Verdi's La Traviata and a movement from a quartet by Johann Sebastian Bach. All these are wonderful, especially the two classic cues, and are in the tone of the score, which makes them welcome additions to Portman's music. And then there is this song ("Once in a Lifetime") performed by Michael Bolton, that is... well terrible. But I can live with that, as the rest of the album is just wonderful.