Music composed by George Fenton
Sony Music proudly announces the release of the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack of The Lady in the Van. The soundtrack features an original score from five-time Academy Award nominee George Fenton and will available on December 11, 2015. Starring Academy Award winner Maggie Smith and Alex Jennings, the film opens nationwide on January 15, 2016.
The Lady in the Van is Alan Bennett’s big screen adaptation of his iconic and celebrated memoir. The film tells the true story of Miss Shepherd, who drove her aging van into Camden Town’s Gloucester Crescent at the end of the 1960s, and lived there – mostly in Bennett’s front garden – until her death in 1989. It tells the story of the story of the relationship between Miss Shepherd, and the two sides of Alan Bennett – the writer trying to speculate about Miss Shepherd’s history and the reluctant landlord, responsible citizen and good neighbour. At the center of it all is Miss Shepherd, as headstrong and particular a character as any in film history.
Of the score, Fenton says: “The Lady in the Van was a unique experience for me, writing a score for a story about someone I actually know (Alan Bennett) and someone I met (Mary Shepherd). The film not only tells an amazing story, but also celebrates an extraordinary character – her triumphs and failings. I’ve tried to show both sides musically.”
Best known for his work in film and television, George Fenton is one of Hollywood’s most successful composers, writing scores for over 100 films and collaborating with many influential filmmakers. His transition from television to film scoring began in 1982 with Richard Attenborough’s biopic Gandhi for which he was nominated, with his collaborator Ravi Shankar, for the Original Music Score Academy Award. Along with his nomination for Gandhi, Fenton has been nominated for four more Oscars and wrote the scores for many iconic movies include The Fisher King, Dangerous Liaisons, Cry Freedom, Groundhog Day and You’ve Got Mail. He has been a long-time collaborator with many film makers including Nora Ephron, Richard Eyre, Stephen Frears, Nicholas Hytner, Ken Loach and Andy Tennant.
TRACKLIST
1. Miss Shepherd’s Waltz
2. Moving In
3. Two Women – Tango
4. Re-parking
5. In Care
6. The Neighbours
7. Special Paint
8. Collision and Confession
9. Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-minor, Op. 11 (arr. Fenton) (excerpt)
10. The New Van
11. Broadstairs
12. Schubert: Impromptu in G flat major, D. 899 (Op. 90) no. 3 (excerpt)
13. Curtain Down
14. Alive and Well
15. Freewheeling
16. The Day Centre
17. A Sepulchre
18. Remembering Miss Shepherd
19. Walk through the Cemetery
20. The Ascension (Miss Shepherd’s Waltz)
21. Schubert: Impromptu No. 3 in G flat major, D. 899 (Op.90) no. 3
22. Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op.11: II. Romanze – Larghetto
23. Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11: III. Rondo: Vivace (excerpt)
