‘Testament of Ann Lee’ Composer Daniel Blumberg Wrote ‘Clothed by the Sun’ on His First Attempt
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Source: Variety
Category: Entertainment
Originally Published: 2025-12-03
Curated: 2025-12-03 16:19
Composer Daniel Blumberg says if anyone was right to tell the story of Ann Lee, it was Mona Fastvold. The historical drama, “The Testament of Ann Lee,” opening Dec. 25, stars Amanda Seyfried as the 18th-century religious leader who founded the Shakers and brought her followers from England to America. Fastvold uses music and dance from the Shaker movement to tell the story, with Blumberg on board as the film’s composer.
Speaking with Variety, Blumberg says, “I really related to her as an artist and a person, in terms of reading it. I thought it’s great that she’s going to tell this story. She’s very fluent with dance and music as well.”
Fastvold discovered the story while working on her 2020 feature, “The World to Come.” She was looking for old hymns from the area “50-100 years before the film took place, and that took me down a rabbit hole.” She discovered the Shaker hymn “Pretty Mother’s Home” by Patsy Roberts Williamson and fell in love with it, but she never ended up using the song. As she looked into the history behind the song, she stumbled upon the Shaker community, which eventually led her to Ann Lee.
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Fastvold was fascinated not only by the feminine aspect of Lee’s story but also by the rich artistic and musical history of the community. “There is a lot of music. There are 1,000 hymns,” Fastvold says. Over 12 Shaker hymns were used in the film, as well as Blumberg’s compositions. Fastvold says she and the composer worked together to map out as much as they could in advance. “In certain places, we knew that this was a moment where we wanted a song, but we didn’t find anything that was right. So then it felt right for Daniel to write it.”
One song Blumberg wrote was the film’s end song, “Clothed By the Sun,” with Seyfried singing lead vocals. Fastvold was in post-production, working on the sound mix, when she realized she wanted an end-credits song. She wanted a song dedicated to Ann Lee, “a gift of sorts,” Fastvold says. She also knew she wanted Seyfried to sing, not as Ann Lee, but as herself. She envisioned something “that was its own piece, very much sort of in dialogue with the film, and less from the perspective of the characters.”
Blumberg went into the studio and decided to try writing something. “It literally just came out in one go. I had my electric guitar and started playing, and this song came out with all the words and everything.” He adds that the faster process makes the best songs for him. “If it comes out very quickly, it tends to be a good sign.”
On hearing the song, Fastvold says, “It felt like a very poetic conclusion of all of our work together.” She adds that hearing Seyfried sing was exciting. “It was such a year of singing and singing and finding that voice, and then all of a sudden, the way she was singing ‘Clothed By the Sun’ was completely different again. I saw this incredible journey of her voice and how it changed throughout that year.”
Watch the music video for “Clothed By the Sun” below.
This article was curated from Variety. All rights belong to the original publisher.