Final Thoughts On Harry Potter Music
Music is such a powerful force in film. It can help to convey the emotional heart of a scene and sometimes it can express what didnt fit on the script page.
As super fans of Harry Potter, we know that no matter how much we adore the movies, there was a ton of content we wished we could have seen adapted from the books. But because the soundtrack is so powerful and ingrained in my experience of the story, I dont get mad about these things anymore.
I remember I fully cried my eyes out when instead of the main theme, Lilys Theme played over the opening logo and transitioned to Snapes silhouette. I knew what was coming in the story and the music just immediately brought me to that emotional head space.
Recently, after listening to the soundtracks on repeat, I rewatched all the movies and I found myself wondering where certain of my favorite moments were. Turns out, they werent there, they never were I had just imagined them so clearly in my mind. The music can be the soundtrack to the movie or the book for you. It can be what you need it to be. Books, movies, and music live in my head in a beautiful Harry Potter mashup, and I wouldnt have it any other way.
What Is The Harry Potter Theme Song Called
The Harry Potter theme song is called Hedwigs Theme, most recognizable on an instrument called a celesta, which sounds like a music box. John Williams created the iconic theme song, which appears in all the original movies and now also the Fantastic Beasts films.
The first few bars of the theme usually appear at the very beginning of the film over the Warner Bros. Pictures logo and title card.
Dumbledores Army Nicholas Hooper
Appearing in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledores Army is one of the more playful tracks in our list as Movie-wave.net said, its a really charming theme, perhaps something that might feel at home in a Jane Austen adaptation. Its a totally uplifting sequence, where Harry is teaching the army to become powerful wizards, and theyre creating Patronuses.
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Did The Music For Harry Potter Win Any Awards
Incredibly, the Harry Potter score was somewhat snubbed by major awards shows including the Oscars.
Williams, despite being the most Oscar-nominated living person, just missed out on a Best Score Academy Award for his first instalment, being pipped to the post by Howard Shores 2002 soundtrack for Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring .
Between four composers and eight films, the music for Harry Potter was nominated for two Oscars and five Grammys .
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The Magical Music Of Harry Potter, Live in Concert with Percy Weasley!
A one-of-a-kind film and music experience: The Magical Music of Harry Potter – Live in Concert, now with a Weasley – Chris Rankin! The concert features the best music from the films and the play with the London Philharmonic & Symphonic Film Orchestra
The Harry Potter films are some of the most successful films in the history of cinema. The award-winning film music is now touring the world as a unique concert evening for the first time. Original actors, star soloists, a choir and symphony orchestra will bring the magical music of Harry Potter to life. Visitors will experience the most significant musical moments of Harry Potter. The program includes the film soundtracks of four-time Oscar winner John Williams, Patrick Doyle, Nicolas Hooper, and Oscar winner Alexander Desplat as well as the best of the music from Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which has received many awards in London and New York, becoming one of the most successful theatrical shows in the world.
Unique Experience
The Music
Chris Rankin – The Weasley!
Chris is recognised internationally as Percy Weasley, a role he played throughout the Harry Potter film franchise. At the age of 16, Chris wrote a letter applying for an audition for Harry Potter and has never looked back.
Chris is also a keen blogger, traveller, musical theatre buff, fan boy, LGBTQ+ ally, and dog lover.
- Price
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And Patrick Doyle Took Over
Scottish film composer Patrick Doyle took the musical reins for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, composing the particularly memorable Potter Waltz the delightful piece you hear in the Yule Ball scene and Harry in Winter, both of which retain the magical, ballet-like quality of Williams original work.
The fifth and sixth films were scored by Nicholas Hooper , while Alexandre Desplat scored the final two .
Together, Williams, Doyle, Hooper and Desplat composed nearly ten hours of Harry Potter music.
What Is An Underscore In Music
In a musical theater or film and television production, underscoring is the playing of music quietly under spoken dialogue or a visual scene. It is usually done to establish a mood or theme, frequently used to recall and/or foreshadow a musical theme important to the character and/or plot point, onstage or onscreen.
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Who Composed The Music For Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 1
Alexandre DesplatHarry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Pt 1/Music composed by
The score for Deathly Hallows Part 1 is composed by Golden Globe award-winning and Academy Award-winning film composer Alexandre Desplat. Desplat follows John Williams, Patrick Doyle, and Nicholas Hooper in composing music for the Harry Potter series.
Harry Potter And The Half
Nicholas Hoopers second Harry Potter soundtrack was nominated for a Grammy award for Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture. His compositions moved further away from John Williams sound, as youthful optimism gives way to Harry and his friends attempts to overcome the odds and literally battle for the fate of the world.
The action music such as In the Rushes is dark and brooding, with plenty of percussion there are eerie whispers in The Drink of Despair and introspective piano on Malfoys Mission. However, its not all doom and gloom theres also lightness, provided by the Weasley twinsWizard Wheezes and The Weasley Stomp and romantic elements , featuring oboes, harp and acoustic guitars.
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A Magic Beyond: A Guide To Harry Potter Music
The music of Harry Potter and the wider wizarding world movies are an integral part of our experience of these beloved stories. I cant begin to imagine anything Harry Potter without that twinkling music box theme. So, whether youre reliving your favorite storyline, revisiting a beloved character arc , or starting your annual reread, youre going to need a soundtrack! Heres all you need to know about Harry Potter music, including who wrote it, where you can buy it, and where to see it live.
Ah, music, he said, wiping his eyes. A magic beyond all we do here!
Harrys Wondrous World John Williams
Played by a full orchestra, this is the track that opens Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone. Magical and majestic, it really sets the tone for the audiences entrance into a world of wonders. It features Hedwigs Theme in the first few bars, before diverging into a new theme created just for Harry. The theme is used in the closing credits of both The Philosophers Stone and The Chamber of Secrets. Its both lyrical and hopeful, and full of excitement, joy and triumph, with a heroic feel.
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Leaving Hogwarts John Williams
Leaving Hogwarts appears at the end of the first film, The Philosophers Stone, and is also in the final moments of Deathly Hallows: Part 2. The first time the track appears, Harry is at Hogwarts station, leaving for the summer holidays and saying an emotional goodbye to Hagrid. The track brings in various themes from the soundtrack, including Harrys Theme and Hedwigs Theme, suggesting that Harry will return to his magical world soon. Coming full circle at the end of Deathly Hallows: Part 2, it marks a poignant end to the series, as Harry and his friends send their own children off to Hogwarts
Which Other Themes Did John Williams Write
We hear Hedwigs Theme everywhere throughout the score even in moments without the owl himself. But there are a number of other brilliant themes swirling through the franchise that deserve mention.
Leaving Hogwarts is a particularly beautiful motif that frequently appears to remind us of Harrys connection to Hogwarts the home where the young wizard has found he truly belongs .
The third instalment , and the final scored by John Williams, took on a darker feel under new director Alfonso Cuaron.
A Window to the Past is particularly poignant, while Double Trouble, performed at the Hogwarts Welcoming Feast, uses lyrics from Shakespeares Macbeth and sounds straight out of an early Purcell opera.
Instantly, the Juilliard-trained composers themes became radio hits, and the basis for the next six films in the series. But after number three, Williams himself dropped out of overall responsibility for the scores.
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The Music Of ‘harry Potter’: A Glockenspiel And E Minor Make For An Iconic Theme Song
First composed by John Williams, Hedwigs Theme is the music associated with Harry Potter. Just like the ‘Harry Potter’ franchise itself, Hedwigs Theme will probably be one of those immortal pieces off a movie magic in the twenty-first century.
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Thursday night, or, technically, Friday morning, I felt like my childhood was over. Melodramatically, of course. No, I didnt turn 18 or go through some Salinger-esque loss of innocence. I saw the last Harry Potter movie.
I may not be a die-hard, spell-casting Potter fan, but I did feel a large era of my life come to a close when that movie ended. I used to play Harry Potter on the playground in kindergarten. The Chamber of Secrets was my first midnight premiere of a movie. The Prisoner of Azkaban was the first book I read in a day. Due to these deeply planted roots, these following words could easily spin out of control into a phonetic scrapbook that 99% of the world most likely doesnt want to hear.
So Ive decided to focus on something that is probably a major reason we all love those movies, and it goes like this:
After the last shot of Daniel Radcliffes face faded off the screen, I just knew that I was surrounded by crying audience members. Yes, they will miss Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They will miss the rush of going to the next premiere. But they will definitely miss hearing that familiar B E, G G flat E, B A, G flat in a new setting for the first time. They just might not know it.
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 1
Trivia Questions
1. What are the three Deathly Hallows?
Answer: The Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone, and the Invisibility Cloak.
2. How many people impersonate Harry when he leaves Privet Drive for the last time?
Answer: Six.
3. Where is the real Sword of Gryffindor finally found?
Answer: At the bottom of a frozen lake.
4. Who does Hermione disguise herself as when the trio breaks into Gringotts?
Answer: Bellatrix Lestrange.
5. Which Horcrux is destroyed in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1?
Answer: Salazar Slytherins Locket.
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Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2
Trivia Questions
1. Sybill Trelawneys first prophecy speaks of a boy born at the end of which month?
Answer: July.
2. What form does Professor Snapes Patronus take?
Answer: A doe.
3. Who told Voldemort the prophecy of his downfall?
Answer: Severus Snape.
4. What is used to destroy the Horcrux cup?
Answer: A Basilisk fang.
5. Who destroys the final Horcrux?
Answer: Neville Longbottom
Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets In Concert
1. Which track accentuates the sword strikes on screen with Brass and Symbols?
Answer: Dueling the Basilisk
2. What creature from this film is famous for its singing?
Answer: Fawkes the Phoenix
3. Gilderoy Lockharts Theme is inspired by what type of dance?
Answer: The Tango
4. Who composed the score for this film?
Answer: John Williams
Difficulty: Easy
5. True or False: This film has the least amount of tracks for the score in the Harry Potter Film Series.
Answer: False the film with the least amount of tracks in it is Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix , with 18 tracks.
Difficulty: Hard
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John Williams Writes The Immortal Hedwigs Theme
By the turn of the millennium, John Williams was already regarded as one of the greatest film composers in history, with five Oscars and a slew of enduring soundtracks under his belt, including Star Wars, E.T. and Indiana Jones.
But before hiring him for Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, Warner Bros and director Chris Columbus tested out Williams wizarding chops by asking him to write some promotional material for the film.
Williams came back with a piece of music that would later become Hedwigs Theme thats the leitmotif we hear interpolated through all eight instalments of the film franchise, as well as in spinoff Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them .
In Hedwigs Theme, the wonder and adventure of J.K. Rowlings first novel was captured.
The opening melody is played by a solo celesta, a small instrument thats played like a piano but has a light, bell-like sound. Its the same one used in the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy sequence in Tchaikovskys ballet The Nutcracker.
After the celesta solo, a flurry of violins enter, paving the way for the brass section to take over the main melody.
I remember first hearing Hedwigs Theme, one of the films producers said in a making of video. It was so clear that this was it. It felt so appropriate, sufficiently majestic and magical.
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2 In Concert
1. True or False: This score won San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Score.
Answer: True
2. Which track is composer Alexandre Desplats favorite from this film?
Answer: Lilys Theme
3. Which track from this score has the longest running time?
Answer: Severus and Lily
4. Which two tracks from Nicholas Hoopers Harry Potter scores appear in this film?
Answer: Dumbledores Farewell and The Kiss
Difficulty: Hard
5. What track from a prior Harry Potter film was rearranged to play during the series final scene at Kings Cross?
Answer: Leaving Hogwarts
Difficulty: Medium
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Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire In Concert
1. How many films in the Harry Potter series did composer Patrick Doyle score?
Answer: One.
Difficulty: Easy
2. What is the name of the brass band song played as Harry enters the final challenge of the Triwizard Tournament?
Answer: Hogwarts March
3. During what event in the film does the track Potters Waltz play?
Answer: The Yule Ball
4. What musical cultural influence did Patrick Doyle bring to the Quidditch World Cup Scene?
Answer: Irish
5. Where can Harry hear the Golden Eggs song?
Answer: Under water
Harry Potter Music On Book Riot
Rioter Rincey Abraham highlights the ambient sounds of the wizarding world in the post: . Hi, please bookmark this post now. Trust me, you will visit this again and again when you want to drop in on your house common room or that secret Hogwarts study spot of your choice.
For a personalized and annotated HP mix check out this post, , by Rioter Jennifer Marer.
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Film And Television Scoring
Although skilled in a variety of 20th-century compositional idioms, Williams’s most familiar style may be described as a form of neoromanticism, which was inspired by the late 19th century’s large-scale orchestral musicâin the style of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky or Richard Wagner and their concept of leitmotifâthat inspired his film music predecessors.
Williams’s first film composition was for You Are Welcomeâa promotional film for the tourist information office of Newfoundland, created in 1954 when Williams was stationed at Pepperrell Air Force Base. Williams’s first feature film composition was in 1958 for the B movieDaddy-O, and his first screen credit came two years later in Because They’re Young.
Williams also composed music for various television programs in the same time period including the pilot episode of Gilligan’s Island,Bachelor Father , the Kraft Suspense Theatre, Lost in Space , The Time Tunnel , and Land of the Giants He also worked on several episodes of M Squad.
Williams’s prominence grew in the early 1970s thanks to his work for now-film producer Irwin Allen‘s disaster films. He wrote the scores for 1972’s The Poseidon Adventure and 1974’s The Towering Inferno. He also scored Universal’s 1974 film Earthquake for director , completing a “trinity” of scores for the decade’s highest-grossing “disaster films”, and the 1972 film The Cowboys, a western starring John Wayne and directed by .
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Conducting Performing And Other Classical Works
From 1980 to 1993 Williams served as the Boston Pops Orchestra‘s Principal Conductor, succeeding Arthur Fiedler. Williams never met Fiedler in person but spoke with him by telephone. His arrival as the Pops’ new leader in the spring of 1980 allowed him to devote part of the Pops’ first PBS broadcast of the season to presenting his new compositions for The Empire Strikes Back.
Williams almost ended his tenure with the Pops in 1984 when some players hissed while sight-reading a new Williams composition in rehearsal Williams abruptly left the session and turned in his resignation. He initially cited mounting conflicts with his film composing schedule, but later admitted a perceived lack of discipline in, and respect from, the Pops’ ranks, culminating in this latest instance. After entreaties by the management and personal apologies from the musicians, Williams withdrew his resignation and continued as principal conductor for nine more years. In 1995 he was succeeded by Keith Lockhart, the former associate conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Cincinnati Pops Orchestra.
His bassoon concerto, “The Five Sacred Trees“, which was premiered by the New York Philharmonic and principal bassoon player Judith LeClair in 1995, was recorded for Sony Classical by Williams with LeClair and the London Symphony Orchestra. Williams was the subject of an hour-long documentary for the BBC in 1980, and was featured in a report on 20/20 in 1983.
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