''Children of Men'' had two soundtracks for the film, a

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...

by British composer

John Tavener Sir John Kenneth Tavener (28 January 1944 – 12 November 2013) was an English composer, known for his extensive output of choral religious music, religious works. Among his best known works are ''The Lamb (Tavener), The Lamb'' (1982), ''The ...

, and a

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

with various popular music acts.

Soundtrack

Several songs that are heard during the movie, such as "Total State Machine" by

Test Dept Test Dept, sometimes credited as Test Department is a British industrial music group from London, England, that was one of the most important and influential early industrial music acts. Their approach was marked by the use of "found" materia ...

, "Omgyjya Switch7" by

Aphex Twin Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), known professionally as Aphex Twin, is a British musician, composer and DJ active in electronic music since 1988. His idiosyncratic work has drawn on many styles, including techno, ambient music, ambi ...

, "Anti War Dub" by

Digital Mystikz Digital Mystikz are a dubstep production duo consisting of Mala (born Mark Lawrence), and Coki (born Dean Harris, 26 August 1980) from the South London suburb of Norwood. Along with Loefah and SGT Pokes, who make up the group ASBO (All Soundbw ...

, "War Dub" by Pinch and " Life in a Glasshouse" by

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...

are not included on the soundtrack. Furthermore, the tracks "

Map of the Problematique "Map of the Problematique" is a song by English rock band Muse, released as the fifth and final single from their fourth studio album ''Black Holes and Revelations'' on 18 June 2007 as a download. The release date followed the two concerts the b ...

" by

Muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

, "

Gimme Shelter "Gimme Shelter" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. Written by Jagger–Richards, it is the opening track of the band's 1969 album '' Let It Bleed''. The song covers the brutal realities of war, including murder, rape and f ...

" by

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

, and "

Hoppípolla "Hoppípolla" () is a song by Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós from their 2005 album '' Takk...''. It was released as the album's second single on 28 November 2005. The song title is a univerbation of (the ''-a'' in ''hoppa'' is not prono ...

" by

Sigur Rós Sigur Rós () is an Icelandic post-rock band that formed in 1994 in Reykjavík. It comprises lead vocalist and guitarist Jónsi, Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson, bassist Georg Hólm, and keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson. Known for their ethereal soun ...

were used in TV spots and trailers but were not featured in the film.

Pulp Pulp may refer to: * Pulp (fruit), the inner flesh of fruit * Pulp (band), an English rock band Engineering * Pulp (paper), the fibrous material used to make paper * Dissolving pulp, highly purified cellulose used in fibre and film manufacture ...

frontman

Jarvis Cocker Jarvis Branson Cocker (born 19 September 1963) is an English musician. As the founder, frontman, lyricist and only consistent member of the band Pulp (band), Pulp, he became a reluctant figurehead of the Britpop genre of the mid-1990s. Cocker h ...

's song "Running the World" is played in the credits of the film.

Track listing

''Fragments of a Prayer from the Motion Picture "Children of Men"''

The

, Fragments of a Prayer, was composed by

and released on

Varèse Sarabande Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, owned by Concord Music Group and distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and cast recording, original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums, as ...

. Director Alfonso Cuarón describes Tavener's "Fragments of a Prayer," as "a spiritual comment rather than a narrative support." The track features mezzo-soprano

Sarah Connolly Dame Sarah Patricia Connolly (born 13 June 1963) is an English mezzo-soprano. Although best known for her baroque and classical roles, Connolly has a wide-ranging repertoire which has included works by Wagner as well as various 20th-century ...

and is used as a powerful motif. Unlike most composers, Tavener chose not to score the piece to the film, but to the screenplay instead. The poetry of

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of the Roma ...

is featured in the lyrics to "Eternity's Sunrise", a work Tavener had previously written and dedicated to Princess Diana after her death.

Gustav Holst Gustav Theodore Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite ''The Planets'', he composed many other works across a range ...

's "Mars" is used in the film although it is not on the album. "Eternity's Sunrise" is featured Oliver Stone's movie "Savages".

Track listing

Notes

External links

''Children of Men Soundtrack Review'' at Tracksounds
{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Children of Men'' soundtracks Compositions by John Tavener Action film soundtracks Film scores 2006 soundtrack albums Science fiction film soundtracks