Amélie (soundtrack)

Amélie is the soundtrack to the 2001 French film Amélie.

Amélie
Soundtrack album by Yann Tiersen
Released	April 23, 2001
Genre	Avant-garde, bal-musette, contemporary classical
Length	53:03
Label	Virgin Records
Producer	Yann Tiersen
Yann Tiersen chronology
Black Session: Yann Tiersen (1999) Amélie (2001) L'Absente (2001)

Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet chanced upon the accordion- and piano-driven music of Yann Tiersen while driving with his production assistant who put on a CD he had not heard before. Greatly impressed, he immediately bought Tiersen's entire catalogue and eventually commissioned him to compose pieces for the film.[1] The soundtrack features both compositions from Tiersen's first three albums, as well as new items, variants of which can be found on his fourth album, L'Absente, which he was writing at the same time.[2]

Besides the accordion and piano, the music features parts played with harpsichord, banjo, bass guitar, vibraphone, and even a bicycle wheel at the end of "La Dispute" (which plays over the opening titles in the motion picture).

Before discovering Tiersen, Jeunet wanted composer Michael Nyman to score the film.[3]

"Les Jours tristes" was co-written with Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy. The track later received English lyrics, and was released by The Divine Comedy as a b-side to the Regeneration single "Perfect Lovesong." The English-language version also appeared on Tiersen's L'Absente.

Track listing

All music is composed by Yann Tiersen,[4] except where noted.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"J'y suis jamais allé"	1:34
2.	"Les Jours tristes" (Instrumental) (written by Tiersen and Neil Hannon)	3:03
3.	"La Valse d'Amélie"	2:15
4.	"Comptine d'un autre été : L'Après-Midi"	2:20
5.	"La Noyée"	2:03
6.	"L'Autre Valse d'Amélie"	1:33
7.	"Guilty" (performed by Al Bowlly; written by Gus Kahn; composed by Richard A. Whiting and Harry Akst)	3:13
8.	"À quai"	3:32
9.	"Le Moulin"	4:27
10.	"Pas si simple"	1:52
11.	"La Valse d'Amélie" (Version orchestre)	2:00
12.	"La Valse des vieux os"	2:20
13.	"La Dispute"	4:15
14.	"Si tu n'étais pas là" (performed by Fréhel; written by Gaston Claret and Pierre Bayle)	3:29
15.	"Soir de fête"	2:55
16.	"La Redécouverte"	1:13
17.	"Sur le fil"	4:23
18.	"Le Banquet"	1:31
19.	"La Valse d'Amélie" (Version piano)	2:38
20.	"La Valse des monstres"	3:39

French CD bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
21.	"L'Autre Valse d'Amélie" (Version quatuor à cordes et piano)	1:43
22.	"Les Deux Pianos"	2:00
23.	"Comptine d'un autre été : La Démarche"	2:03
24.	"La Maison"	2:03

Personnel

Musicians Yann Tiersen – piano, toy piano, carillon, banjo, mandolin, guitar, harpsichord, vibraphone, accordion, bass, melodica Ensemble Orchestral Synaxis – orchestra on "Les Jours tristes" and "À quai" Christine Ott – ondes Martenot on "À quai" Christian Quermalet – drums on "Les Jours tristes"

Production Uwe Teichert – mastering Fabrice Laureau – mixing Marc Bruckert – artwork Laurent Lufroy – film poster

Awards and nominations

The list is made with information from IMDb.[5]

Awards

• 2001 — World Soundtrack Award for Best Original Score of the Year
• 2002 — César Award for Best Music Written for a Film

Nominations

• 2001 — BAFTA Award for Best Film Music
• 2001 — World Soundtrack Award for Soundtrack Composer of the Year
• 2001 — Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Original Soundtrack of the Year

Charts

Soundtrack album Charts (2001)[6] Peak position Austrian Albums Chart 35 Belgian Albums Chart (Vl) 3 Belgian Albums Chart (Wa) 2 Dutch Albums Chart 31 French Albums Chart 1 Swiss Albums Chart 28 US Billboard Top World Music Albums[7] 2

"Comptine d'un autre été : L'après-midi" Chart (2001) Peak position Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[8] 41 Germany (Official German Charts)[9] 47 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[10] 34

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Belgium (BEA)[11]	2× Platinum	100,000^*
Canada (Music Canada)[12]	Platinum	100,000^^
France (SNEP)[13]	3× Platinum	900,000^*
Germany (BVMI)[14]	Gold	150,000^^
Greece (IFPI Greece)[15]	Gold	15,000^^
Italy (FIMI)[16]	Gold	30,000^*
Netherlands (NVPI)[17]	Gold	40,000^^
Poland (ZPAV)[18]	Platinum	100,000^*
United Kingdom (BPI)[19]	Gold	100,000^^
United States	—	195,000[20]
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[21]	Platinum	1,000,000^*
Worldwide	N/A	1,500,000 [22]
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Covers

The band New Found Glory covered "J'y suis jamais allé" on their second covers album From the Screen to Your Stereo Part II. The song was also used by Expression Crew in their dance act Marionette.

Pianist, composer Dmytro Morykit arranged and plays a cover version of "Comptine d'un autre été : L'après-midi".

References

1. "JEUNET, JEAN-PIERRE: FABULOUS DESTINY OF AMÉLIE". Urban Cinefile. December 13, 2001. Retrieved 2009-06-05.
2. Michael Hubbard (24 February 2002). "Composer Tiersen serenades Amelie". BBC News. Retrieved 2009-06-05.
3. https://soundtrackbeat.com/2017/04/10/amelie_soundtrack_review/
4. Amélie at Discogs (list of releases)
5. "Awards for Yann Tiersen". IMDb. Retrieved 2013-07-29.
6. Steffen Hung. "Soundtrack / Yann Tiersen - Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain". lescharts.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-14. Retrieved 2011-09-02.
7. "Amélie - Yann Tiersen". Charts & Awards. AllMusic.
8. "Austriancharts.at – Yann Tiersen – Comptine d'un autre été: L'après-midi)" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
9. "Offiziellecharts.de – Yann Tiersen – Comptine d'un autre été: L'après-midi)". GfK Entertainment Charts.
10. "Swisscharts.com – Yann Tiersen – Comptine d'un autre été: L'après-midi)". Swiss Singles Chart.
11. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 2006". Ultratop. Hung Medien.
12. "Canadian album certifications – Various Artists – Amelie - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". Music Canada. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
13. "French album certifications – Yann Tiersen – Le Fabuleux Destin D'Amelie Poulain" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
14. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (O.S.T. - Yann Tiersen; 'Die fabelhafte Welt der Amélie')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
15. "Greek album certifications – Yann Tiersen – Amelie From Montmarte" (in Greek). IFPI Greece. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
16. "Italian album certifications – Yann Tiersen – Amelie From Montmarte" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 11 December 2018. Select "2013" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "Amelie From Montmarte" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Album e Compilation" under "Sezione".
17. "Dutch album certifications – Diverse artiesten – OST Amelie" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Enter OST Amelie in the "Artiest of titel" box.
18. "Polish album certifications – Yann Tiersen – Amelie OST" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry.
19. "British album certifications – Yann Tiersen – Amelie - Ost". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
20. "World's greatest". Billboard. 16 June 2007. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
21. "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 2002". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
22. Hubbard, Michael (28 July 2003). "Yann Tiersen – Goodbye Lenin!". musicomh. Retrieved 17 May 2018.