Track Listing

1. The Painted Veil
2. Gnossienne No 1 (Erik Satie 1866-1925)
3. Colony Club
4. River Waltz
5. Kitty's Theme
6. Death Convoy
7. The Water Wheel
8. The Lovers
9. Promenade
10. Kitty's Journey
11. The Deal
12. Walter's Mission
13. The Convent
14. River Waltz
15. Morning Tears
16. Cholera
17. The End of Love
18. The Funeral
19. From Shanghai to London

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16687 in Music
• Brand: Score
• Released on: 2007-01-09
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

Album Description
Music Composed and Conducted by ALEXANDRE DESPLAT Featuring World-Renowned Piano Virtuoso LANG LANG "Prodigiously gifted" (Gramophone) pianist Lang Lang is featured in Golden Globe nominee (Girl With A Pearl Earring) Alexandre Desplat's evocative score for the new film version of W. Somerset Maugham's celebrated novel, The Painted Veil. A turbulent romantic drama set in the 1920s, THE PAINTED VEIL, directed by John Curran and Caroline Link, follows a young English couple, a conservative doctor (Edward Norton) and a restless society girl (Naomi Watts), who marry hastily, relocate to Shanghai where they betray each other, and find an unexpected chance at redemption and happiness while on a deadly journey into the heart of ancient China.

The Deutsche Grammophon soundtrack will be released on January 9 and features music composed and conducted by Alexandre Desplat, the Prague Symphony Orchestra as well as solos by world-renowned pianist, Lang Lang. Lang Lang's solo album, DRAGON SONGS (CD+DVD) will also be released on January 9; the DRAGON SONGS full length DVD will be released on February 13.

Amazon.com
While this soundtrack is very solid overall, it's also rather subdued and perhaps not as immediately likable as composer Alexandre Desplat's previous offerings (most notably The Queen and Syriana), so it could disappoint fans of the immensely gifted Frenchman. But a certain old-fashioned charm does operate after a while, which, after all, is exactly what you'd expect of the music for a movie based on a Somerset Maugham novel. Desplat set out to evoke 1920s romanticism with a series of brief vignettes, usually greatly enhanced by the sensitive playing of pianist Lang Lang. And considering that most of the movie takes place in China, Desplat has refrained from easy orientalism: "Walter's Mission" is one of the few tracks to allude to Asian sounds. The only non-original tracks on the CD is Erik Satie's well-known "Gnossienne No. 1," a slow piece that evidently served as inspiration for Desplat's own "River Waltz." But who's complaining? There are worse people to emulate than Satie. --Elisabeth Vincentelli

Customer Reviews

Thought provoking
The music makes the movie linger and the movie is even better than the book. Too bad the CD does not include the children's A La Claire Fontaine sung near the end of the movie. It has been in my head for days. How could they leave that off? I would have bought the CD just for that little haunting song.

Sheer beauty...
Yes, it was certainly a disappointment that 'A la claire fontaine' was not included on this soundtrack. Still, the CD showcases Alexandre Desplat's beautiful and creative score. It is so subtle, surreal, and lush. I listen to it anytime I am writing or going to sleep. Lang Lang is a brilliant pianist and his rendition of Erik Satie's first Gnossienne is marvelous. Funny thing is, I also thought that the movie was better than the book. It's a shame that it wasn't made very public. It seems like a select group of little theatres played it and then it was gone. I thought that it would certainly have scored several nominations (although it did win the Golden Globe for best score). I highly recommend this exquisite, elaborate collection of music.

Veil lifted
I think this is a beautiful score. The music is full, complex and evocative. It may not be loud and boastful, but that was not the character of the movie. There are some asian instruments used, which provide a nice accent. I'd recommend this to someone looking for instrumental music which doesn't sound like the same classics over and over.