The Fountain [Soundtrack]

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Release Date
DescriptionExcerpt

Kronos Quartet collaborates with composer Clint Mansell (Requiem for a Dream) and post-rockers Mogwai on this score to Darren Aronofsky’s time-traveling sci-fi romance. The Boston Globe calls it “a great piece of mood music all on its own.”

Description

Composer Clint Mansell has partnered again with filmmaker Darren Aronofsky to score the soundtrack to Aronofsky’s new film, the sci-fi fantasy, The Fountain. The Fountain, Music from the Motion Picture will be released by Nonesuch Records on November 21 and features music composed by Mansell and performed by San Francisco’s Kronos Quartet and Glasgow’s Mogwai.

Mansell, a musician, composer, and founding member of the band Pop Will Eat Itself, first worked with Aronofsky on the score for his 1998 film ∏. In 2000 Mansell worked with Kronos to record his score for Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream. For The Fountain score, it was Mansell’s idea to tap both Mogwai and Kronos. Not a traditional collaboration, The Fountain began with Mansell traveling to Glasgow to record Mogwai, and then working with Kronos to create the final work.

“It’s difficult for any artist to put their trust, their sound, their identity almost, in the control of another,” said Clint Mansell. “Mogwai, however, gave themselves totally to this project. My respect for them is immense. They have crafted a sonic palette entirely of their own and, without reservation, brought it to The Fountain.

In my opinion,” continues Mansell, “there are no better musicians than Kronos Quartet. I feel so incredibly fortunate to have collaborated with them on two occasions now. It is no coincidence that those two collaborations, in my mind, have produced the best works of my career to date. Kronos’ understanding, interpretation, and performances of my work are nothing short of stellar. They bring the notes to life, make them breathe, make them soar, make them real.”

“As in Requiem for a Dream,” adds David Harrington of Kronos, “the central, decisive role that music can play in film was allowed to extend itself completely in The Fountain. Clint’s potent themes take seed in the imagination and, within the action of Darren’s story, become overpowering and inescapable. Clint’s score to the The Fountain gives Kronos the palette to explore the most personal, intimate musical colors on one side of the spectrum and, on the other, the most explosive.”

The Fountain is an odyssey about one man’s eternal struggle to save the woman he loves. His epic journey begins in sixteenth-century Spain, where conquistador Tomas (HUGH JACKMAN) commences his search for the Fountain of Youth, the legendary entity believed to grant immortality. As modern-day scientist Tommy Creo, he desperately struggles to find a cure for the cancer that is killing his beloved wife, Isabel (RACHEL WEISZ). Traveling through deep space as a 26th-century astronaut, Tom begins to grasp the mysteries that have consumed him for a millennium. The three stories converge into one truth, as the Thomas of all periods—warrior, scientist, and explorer—comes to terms with life, love, death, and rebirth.

The Fountain was written and directed by Darren Aronofsky and will be released by Warner Pictures on November 22. Directed by Darren Aronofsky, from a screenplay by Darren Aronofsky, and a story by Darren Aronofsky & Ari Handel, the film is produced by Eric Watson, Arnon Milchan and Iain Smith.

For more info, visit thefountainmovie.warnerbros.com.

ProductionCredits

PRODUCTION CREDITS
Produced by Clint Mansell
Kronos Quartet recorded January 2006 at Skywalker Sound, Nicasio, CA
Produced and engineered by Scott Fraser
Assistant Engineer: Dann Thompson
Editor: André Zweers
Mogwai recorded December 2005 at The Castle of Doom, Glasgow
Produced and Engineered by Tony Doogan
Choir recorded January 8, 2006, at Right Track Studios, New York, NY
Engineered by Geoff Foster
Randy Kerber recorded February 2006 at Capital Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA
Mixed by Geoff Foster at Right Track Studios, New York, NY
Soundtrack produced and sequenced by Geoff Foster
Score arranged by Justin Skomarovsky
String quartet arrangements by Kronos Quartet
Music Preparation: Ljova and Hank Dutt
Mastered by Robert C. Ludwig at Gateway Mastering Studios, Portland, ME
Mogwai appears courtesy of PIAS Recordings/Matador Records

Music by Clint Mansell

Design by Amoeba Proteus

Nonesuch Selection Number

79901

Number of Discs in Set
1disc
ns_album_artistid
67
ns_album_id
647
ns_album_releasedate
ns_genre_1
0
ns_genre_2
0
Album Status
Artist Name
Clint Mansell
Kronos Quartet
MusicianDetails

MUSICIANS
Randy Kerber, piano

Kronos Quartet:
David Harrington, violin; John Sherba, violin; Hank Dutt, viola; Jeffrey Ziegler, cello

Mogwai:
Stuart Braithwaite, guitar; John Cummings, guitar; Dominic Aitchison, bass; Barry Burns, piano; Martin Bulloch, drums

Choir: Sandra Park, contractor; Kathy Theil, Melissa Kelly, sopranos; Karen Krueger, Misa Iwama, altos; Drew Martin, Martin Doner, tenors; Charles Sprawls, Christopher Roselli, basses; James Bagwell, piano

Cover Art
UPC/Price
Label
CD+MP3
UPC
075597990126BUN
Label
MP3
Price
9.00
UPC
075597990164
  • 79901

News & Reviews

  • Following Kronos Quartet’s historic 50th-anniversary season, longtime members John Sherba (violin) and Hank Dutt (viola) will retire from the ensemble at the end of June. Dutt joined Kronos in 1977; he and founder David Harrington (violin) recruited Sherba to join the group in 1978. Between now and the end of June, Sherba and Dutt will perform more than 20 shows with Harrington and cellist Paul Wiancko, who joined the quartet in 2023, culminating at the ninth annual Kronos Festival at the SFJAZZ Center. Kronos will enter its sixth decade with two new members: violinist Gabriela Díaz and violist Ayane Kozasa will join Harrington and Wiancko.

  • As part of Kronos: Five Decades, the year-long celebration of Kronos Quartet’s 50th anniversary, the group is publishing five decade-spanning playlists curated by its founder and violinist David Harrington. The fifth and final playlist, featuring music Kronos performed in its fifth decade, 2013–2022, is out now. It includes music from their album A Thousand Thoughts; Folk Songs, with vocals by Sam Amidon, Olivia Chaney, Natalie Merchant, and Rhiannon Giddens; their Grammy-winning collaboration with Laurie Anderson, Landfall; and Terry Riley's Sun Rings. You can hear it here.

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  • About This Album

    Composer Clint Mansell has partnered again with filmmaker Darren Aronofsky to score the soundtrack to Aronofsky’s new film, the sci-fi fantasy, The Fountain. The Fountain, Music from the Motion Picture will be released by Nonesuch Records on November 21 and features music composed by Mansell and performed by San Francisco’s Kronos Quartet and Glasgow’s Mogwai.

    Mansell, a musician, composer, and founding member of the band Pop Will Eat Itself, first worked with Aronofsky on the score for his 1998 film ∏. In 2000 Mansell worked with Kronos to record his score for Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream. For The Fountain score, it was Mansell’s idea to tap both Mogwai and Kronos. Not a traditional collaboration, The Fountain began with Mansell traveling to Glasgow to record Mogwai, and then working with Kronos to create the final work.

    “It’s difficult for any artist to put their trust, their sound, their identity almost, in the control of another,” said Clint Mansell. “Mogwai, however, gave themselves totally to this project. My respect for them is immense. They have crafted a sonic palette entirely of their own and, without reservation, brought it to The Fountain.

    In my opinion,” continues Mansell, “there are no better musicians than Kronos Quartet. I feel so incredibly fortunate to have collaborated with them on two occasions now. It is no coincidence that those two collaborations, in my mind, have produced the best works of my career to date. Kronos’ understanding, interpretation, and performances of my work are nothing short of stellar. They bring the notes to life, make them breathe, make them soar, make them real.”

    “As in Requiem for a Dream,” adds David Harrington of Kronos, “the central, decisive role that music can play in film was allowed to extend itself completely in The Fountain. Clint’s potent themes take seed in the imagination and, within the action of Darren’s story, become overpowering and inescapable. Clint’s score to the The Fountain gives Kronos the palette to explore the most personal, intimate musical colors on one side of the spectrum and, on the other, the most explosive.”

    The Fountain is an odyssey about one man’s eternal struggle to save the woman he loves. His epic journey begins in sixteenth-century Spain, where conquistador Tomas (HUGH JACKMAN) commences his search for the Fountain of Youth, the legendary entity believed to grant immortality. As modern-day scientist Tommy Creo, he desperately struggles to find a cure for the cancer that is killing his beloved wife, Isabel (RACHEL WEISZ). Traveling through deep space as a 26th-century astronaut, Tom begins to grasp the mysteries that have consumed him for a millennium. The three stories converge into one truth, as the Thomas of all periods—warrior, scientist, and explorer—comes to terms with life, love, death, and rebirth.

    The Fountain was written and directed by Darren Aronofsky and will be released by Warner Pictures on November 22. Directed by Darren Aronofsky, from a screenplay by Darren Aronofsky, and a story by Darren Aronofsky & Ari Handel, the film is produced by Eric Watson, Arnon Milchan and Iain Smith.

    For more info, visit thefountainmovie.warnerbros.com.

    Credits

    MUSICIANS
    Randy Kerber, piano

    Kronos Quartet:
    David Harrington, violin; John Sherba, violin; Hank Dutt, viola; Jeffrey Ziegler, cello

    Mogwai:
    Stuart Braithwaite, guitar; John Cummings, guitar; Dominic Aitchison, bass; Barry Burns, piano; Martin Bulloch, drums

    Choir: Sandra Park, contractor; Kathy Theil, Melissa Kelly, sopranos; Karen Krueger, Misa Iwama, altos; Drew Martin, Martin Doner, tenors; Charles Sprawls, Christopher Roselli, basses; James Bagwell, piano

    PRODUCTION CREDITS
    Produced by Clint Mansell
    Kronos Quartet recorded January 2006 at Skywalker Sound, Nicasio, CA
    Produced and engineered by Scott Fraser
    Assistant Engineer: Dann Thompson
    Editor: André Zweers
    Mogwai recorded December 2005 at The Castle of Doom, Glasgow
    Produced and Engineered by Tony Doogan
    Choir recorded January 8, 2006, at Right Track Studios, New York, NY
    Engineered by Geoff Foster
    Randy Kerber recorded February 2006 at Capital Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA
    Mixed by Geoff Foster at Right Track Studios, New York, NY
    Soundtrack produced and sequenced by Geoff Foster
    Score arranged by Justin Skomarovsky
    String quartet arrangements by Kronos Quartet
    Music Preparation: Ljova and Hank Dutt
    Mastered by Robert C. Ludwig at Gateway Mastering Studios, Portland, ME
    Mogwai appears courtesy of PIAS Recordings/Matador Records

    Music by Clint Mansell

    Design by Amoeba Proteus

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