A Single Man (soundtrack)

A Single Man (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Film score by
Abel Korzeniowski, Shigeru Umebayashi and various artists
ReleasedDecember 22, 2009
Recorded2009
StudioEastwood Scoring Stage, Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank
GenreFilm score
Length51:52
LabelRelativity Music Group
Producer
  • Abel Korzeniowski
  • Bryan Elliott Lawson
Abel Korzeniowski chronology
Battle for Terra
(2009) 		A Single Man
(2009) 		Copernicus' Star
(2011)
Shigeru Umebayashi chronology
Murderer
(2009) 		A Single Man
(2009) 		True Legend
(2010)

A Single Man (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack album to the 2009 film A Single Man directed by fashion designer Tom Ford in his directorial debut. The album was released by Relativity Music Group on December 22, 2009, and consisted of original music composed by Abel Korzeniowski, operatic arias by Shigeru Umebayashi, as well as songs featured in the film.

Development

Tom Ford initially wanted Japanese composer Shigeru Umebayashi to write the score, after being impressed by his work for In the Mood for Love (2000). Umebayashi, was however not free to compose the entire film due to scheduling conflicts and instead agree to write few pieces.[1] He watched the film with Ford at Los Angeles and afterwards went to Japan to write some pieces for the score, two of them incorporates Bernard Herrmann's cues. The rest of the score is written by Abel Korzeniowski, who worked on few independent films and composed the animated films Battle for Terra (2007) and Copernicus' Star (2009).[2]

"My main goal is to give music an additional identity within a film, but the music must always help the film maintain its structure [...] Other times, it’s more important to concentrate on the characters, as was the case in The Single Man. I wanted to cover his transformation as a person—his emotional collapse after losing his love and how he goes about achieving life again."

— Abel Korzeniowski, on his score for The Single Man[2]

Korzeniowski noted that Ford has given space in the film for the music, with the musical element being there.[3] He noted the expansion of the score with respect to its script and characters and accompanied a broader soundscape. Ford wanted the principal instrument to be violin as "it the most human of all instruments. It can be sad and sound like it's crying."[1] He wanted the score to be more emotional, lush as well as beautiful.[3]

Reception

Michael Rechtshaffen of The Hollywood Reporter wrote "The film score written by Abel Korzeniowski and Shigeru Umebayashi is variegated and full of lush orchestral themes that salute Hitchcock and Bernard Hermann, among others."[4] Dave Calhoun of Time Out called it "an increasingly affecting score by Abel Korzeniowski".[5] Dylan Chester of The Film Stage called it a "wonderful score".[6] Mark Deming of AllMusic wrote "The original soundtrack album to A Single Man includes the original orchestral score composed for the film by Abel Korzeniowski, as well as a few vintage pop tunes and operatic arias used in the film."[7]

Matt Goldberg of Collider called it a "beautiful score" reminiscent of Clint Mansell's work for The Fountain (2006).[8] James Croot of Stuff wrote "a multinational composing team of Poland's Abel Korzeniowski and Japan's Shigeru Umebayashi (In the Mood For Love) combine to create a string-infused soundtrack that brings back memories of Bernard Hermann's work for Alfred Hitchcock on the likes of Psycho (1960) and Vertigo (1958)."[9]

Track listing

No.TitleArtist(s)Length
1."Stillness of the Mind"Abel Korzeniowski3:54
2."Drowning"Abel Korzeniowski1:48
3."Snow"Abel Korzeniowski1:15
4."Becoming George"Abel Korzeniowski3:51
5."George's Waltz"Shigeru Umebayashi1:40
6."Daydreams"Abel Korzeniowski2:16
7."Mescaline"Abel Korzeniowski3:10
8."Going Somewhere"Abel Korzeniowski1:59
9."(Variation On) Scotty Tails Madeleine"
1:52
10."Carlos"
  • Shigeru Umebayashi
  • Bernard Herrmann
1:01
11."La Wally, Act I: Ebben? / Ne Andro Lontana"Miriam Gauci3:29
12."Stormy Weather"Etta James3:10
13."Green Onions"Booker T. & the M.G.'s2:54
14."Blue Moon"Jo Stafford4:39
15."Swimming"Abel Korzeniowski1:39
16."And Just Like That"Abel Korzeniowski4:53
17."George's Waltz"Shigeru Umebayashi3:18
18."Sunset"Abel Korzeniowski2:59
19."Clock Tick"Abel Korzeniowski2:06

Credits

Credits adapted from liner notes:[10]

  • Music composer and orchestrator – Abel Korzeniowski
  • Producer – Bryan Elliot Lawson, Abel Korzeniowski
  • Additional music – Shigeru Umebayashi
  • Orchestra – Arigat Orchestra
  • Conductor – Michael Nowak
  • Recording – Minoru Tanaka
  • Mixing – Minoru Tanaka, Joel Iwataki
  • Mastering – Patricia Sullivan
  • Music editor – Bryan Elliott Lawson, Julie Pearce
  • Music supervisor – Julia Michels
  • Executive producer – Tom Ford
  • Artwork and design – Stuart Ford

Accolades

Accolades received by Avatar (2009 film)
Award / Film festival Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Golden Globe Awards January 17, 2010 Best Original Score Abel Korzeniowski Nominated [11]
[12]
International Film Music Critics Association Awards February 26, 2010 Best Original Score for a Drama Film Abel Korzeniowski Won [13]
[14]
[15]
San Diego Film Critics Society December 15, 2009 Best Score Abel Korzeniowski Won [16]
World Soundtrack Awards October 23, 2010 Best Original Score of the Year Abel Korzeniowski Nominated [17]
Discovery of the Year Abel Korzeniowski Won
Public Choice Abel Korzeniowski Won

References

  1. ^ a b "The Mourning After". Filmmaker. January 2010. Archived from the original on September 25, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  2. ^ a b Kennedy, Drew (December 17, 2009). "Abel Korzeniowski Soars with 'A Single Man'". Broadcast Music, Inc. Archived from the original on August 22, 2020. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  3. ^ a b Abrams, Bryan (August 20, 2015). "Listen to Abel Korzeniowski's Music for Penny Dreadful & More". Motion Picture Association. Archived from the original on September 26, 2020. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  4. ^ Rechtshaffen, Michael (September 13, 2009). "A Single Man — Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Associated Press. Archived from the original on July 9, 2025. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  5. ^ Calhoun, Dave (February 9, 2010). "A Single Man". Time Out. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  6. ^ Chester, Dylan (December 25, 2009). "[Review] A Single Man". The Film Stage. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  7. ^ Deming, Mark. "Review: A Single Man [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]". AllMusic. Archived from the original on December 25, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  8. ^ Goldberg, Matt (December 11, 2009). "A SINGLE MAN Review". Collider. Archived from the original on December 16, 2013. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  9. ^ Croot, James (May 21, 2023). "A Single Man: Colin Firth's expertly crafted, emotionally powerful drama comes to TVNZ+". Stuff. Archived from the original on May 21, 2023. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  10. ^ Abel Korzeniowski. A Single Man (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (Media notes). Relativity Music Group.
  11. ^ "Golden Globes nominations: the 2010 list in full". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited. December 15, 2009. Archived from the original on April 21, 2014. Retrieved January 31, 2010.
  12. ^ "Golden Globes: Here are the nominations!". Entertainment Weekly. December 15, 2009. Archived from the original on January 18, 2010. Retrieved December 15, 2009.
  13. ^ "IFMCA announces winners of 2009 awards". International Film Music Critics Association. March 1, 2010. Archived from the original on March 15, 2010. Retrieved March 1, 2010.
  14. ^ IFMCA (2010). "2009 IFMCA Awards". IFMCA. Archived from the original on January 13, 2011. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  15. ^ Pond, Steve (January 29, 2010). "Michael Giacchino Leads Film Score Nominations". TheWrap. The Wrap News Inc. Archived from the original on May 15, 2021. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  16. ^ "2009 Awards". San Diego Film Critics Society. Archived from the original on June 30, 2012. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
  17. ^ "World Soundtrack Academy 2010". World Soundtrack Awards. Archived from the original on June 19, 2013. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
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