Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix [Spoilers Allowed]

Have you been to the US site yet? Just visited it, and they have 6 or so 30 second clips that play in a kind of suite form. They sound very promising.

US Site

 

Why, yes, they do.

 

Wow, very nice. Not as harmonically complex as Williams, but interesting nonetheless.

 

This score is going to rock!

 

The clips aren't that bad, still wish it was Williams, but I'm pleasantly surprised.

One thing: is it me or is that Dr. Doom behind Harry on the webpage?

 

That first part that plays on the US site reminds me of the Chamber of Secrets score. To me the entire score sounds like a complex version of what we got in Chamber of Secrets. From what I have heard of the new score I like it better than the score for GOF.

 

Amazon.com has added the track listing, but beware that the track titles contain MAJOR SPOILERS. If you haven't read the book, you may want to stay clear. The unusual thing is that the tracks are way out of order. I'm used to seeing it on Williams' albums, but the placement of some of these just seem odd.

1. Fireworks
2. Professor Umbridge
3. Another Story
4. Dementors in the Underpass
5. Dumbledore's Army
6. The Hall of Prophecies
7. Possession
8. The Room of Requirements
9. The Kiss
10. A Journey to Hogwarts
11. The Sirius Deception
12. Death of Sirius
13. Umbridge Spoils a Beautiful Morning
14. Darkness Takes Over
15. The Ministry of Magic
16. The Sacking of Trelawny
17. Flight of the Order of the Phoenix
18. Loved Ones and Leaving

 

It sounds promising I agree. Do we have a release date yet for the soundtrack?

 

Sure do -- July 10.

 

The samples sound solid, and the track list is interesting, but...

What the hell is up with track order these days? I know it's supposed to improve the listening experience, but come on. No one can tell me that James Newton Howard putting "The Shed Not to be Used" on the end of The Village soundtrack improved anything or made sense in anyway.

 

From John Williams to....

Nicholas Hooper???

Never heard of him. *sighs* In my opinion, just keeps getting worse. I know some will like and applaud the choice..and just be happy that Williams isnt doing the music anymore....but Williams created the "Harry" sound...just like Indy and Superman. To me..his music is sorely missed.

 

Truthfully, I didn't really like the first two HP scores. Perhaps it was because the films themselves were visually uninteresting, but I thought the scores were fairly bland and just average JW fare. The Prisoner of Azkaban was the highlight of the series, in my opinion, both visually and musically.

 

While everyone is entitled to his/her opinion, I think it's disrespectful to the composer to say it's getting worse when we've only heard about 2 minutes from the score. There are sooooo many great composers out there. John Williams is great, no doubt, but he is not the end all be all. Everyone has to get their shot at the big times, and this is Hooper's chance. Being an unknown, this score could make or break his career, I doubt he will take it lightly. He may just be a great undiscovered talent who will go on to write amazing scores from the opportunities that the exposure of the Harry Potter franshise will give him. If the score turns out to be awful, you can ridicule it all you want, but I really feel we should give the guy a chance.

Will I feel like an ass for defending him if the score sucks? Sure, but I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt.

 

I agree. Wait until you hear it. Now I believe the crucial part of a new composer bringing something new to the series is in part incorporating past themes consistantly and in a new way, as well as bringing new themes and ideas into the mix.

That was MY main problem with Goblet of Fire...if half the material was Doyle's, and half Doyle's interpretation of previous Williams themes then it would have een great. I mean so much of Doyle's score was repetitive and reused themes almost arranged the same...while completely ignoring previous themes that so perfectly captured the magic and emotion of places, characters, etc. To think one can/should replace them is rediculous. Just look at Chamber to Azkaban: it's the same composer yet two very different releases. That is because williams knows how to incorportate and arrange old material with new material, as well as creating new material that is exciting and emotion while still feeling connected to previous elemnts but not tired and rehashed.

I also hate it when they try to "make the most enjoyable listening experience" by having way out of order tracks. I mean with so many people listening on iTunes and iPods and other PC programs people can pretty much customize a playlist and make their own absolutely best for them track order so why not just put the chronological order on the album already!?

Now, to wrap up my long post, after hearing the clips on the website I am definitely expecting a better release than Goblet. It sounds more HP if for nothing else than the choice of intrumentation seems more based in Williams' strategy for the series...not to overtly horns, strings play a mojor role yet often subdued with pizzicato prevelant and woodwinds abound.

Also, hope the celeste makes a notable contribution because that is the perfect intrument for the HP theme because it radiates fantasy qualities. I expect it to be better than Goblet and Chamber, though probably not as cool as Azkaban...I never found the score for Scorcerer to be that great. The themes were awesome and when seen with the movie it's great, but just listening to it meh.

I REALLY HOPE THE NEW SCORE USES WILLIAMS' "FAWKES THE PHOENIX" THEME!!!

 

That was MY main problem with Goblet of Fire...if half the material was Doyle's, and half Doyle's interpretation of previous Williams themes then it would have een great. I mean so much of Doyle's score was repetitive and reused themes almost arranged the same...while completely ignoring previous themes that so perfectly captured the magic and emotion of places, characters, etc. To think one can/should replace them is rediculous. Just look at Chamber to Azkaban: it's the same composer yet two very different releases. That is because williams knows how to incorportate and arrange old material with new material, as well as creating new material that is exciting and emotion while still feeling connected to previous elemnts but not tired and rehashed.

Bingo. This is exactly what I feel.

I do have good hopes for the OOTP score now that I've heard the clips. However, don't hold your breath for any themes other than Hedwig's theme. I believe it's already been announced that he's only using Hedwig.

 

Azkaban is identical to Fire in its abandonment of previous themes, except for Williams's short inclusion of "Nimbus 2000." It sounds like your problem is the quality of Doyle's original material, not the existence of it.

Incidentally, a JWFan user has somehow been able to hear five more minutes of Phoenix, and has very high expectations for it (no word on the source).

 

Certainly a valid point, but many of the themes established in PS and CoS weren't needed in Azkaban. However, there are three key themes established by Williams that should have made an appearance in GoF -- Hedwig's Theme, the Family Theme, and Voldermort's Theme.

Doyle should have written a Doyle score (which he did), but he shouldn't have completely abandoned Williams' material either. The 2 or 3 uses of Hedwig's Theme feel very tacked on, almost like he just put them somewhere because he was required. The theme should have been used more creatively. Second, as I and others have said before, the family theme really should have been given a great rendition near the end when Harry sees his parents. It's a huge musical hiccup that it's not there. I won't deny that the music Doyle did write is quite good, but if that family had been given a full blown variation it could have been much more powerful. Finally, the Voldermort theme should have been present in the graveyard scene. The music for where Voldermort is finally revealed is completely uninspired. That could have been a great musical moment, but instead it just dies. For me, that is easily the weakest scene in the film muscially.

Still, I don't think Doyle's score is as poor as many say. I actually think it makes for a better listening experience than PS and CoS. For the most part I think his action material is solid ("The Black Lake" in particular), the waltzes are great fun, the theme for Rita Skeeter is perfect for her character, and the "Hogwarts Hymn" is much stronger than Williams' "Hogwarts Forever". But the lack of the three themes I mentioned really hurts it in the end.

 

Of course the original themes were needed in Azkaban. Williams, however, had the boldness to drop them in favor of new material, and in doing so wrote a better score. Which family theme are you talking about, "Harry's Wondrous World" or "A Window to the Past"? Both are incredible themes, and Doyle's "Harry in Winter" doesn't compare... but what if it did?

Again, the problem is the quality of the music, not its reliance on Williams's themes.

 

Outside of Hedwig's Theme, which themes were really needed in Azkaban? I'm saying that Window to the Past, Voldermort's Theme, and Hedwig's Theme were essential for GoF because of their importance to the plot. I don't think any of the previous themes had that much importance to be in Azkaban.

As for OotP, I think essential themes would be A Window to the Past, Hedwig's Theme, and Voldermort's Theme once again.

 

From the official press released issued today:

 

Another theme for Voldemort?

Hopefully it will at least be better than Doyle's.

 

"Harry's Wondrous World," of course. The film concentrates on Harry's family, so the theme pertaining to it is essential. However, Williams replaced this theme with "A Window to the Past." Doyle replaced "A Window to the Past" with "Harry in Winter." The principle is the same, only Williams's "A Window to the Past" is much better.

 

I never construed "Harry's Wondrous World" as a theme for Harry and his family. Sure Williams uses it in PS when he sees his parents in the mirror, but it's used in other instances as well that having nothing to do with them. "A Window to the Past" however is only used in relation to his family.

 

I agree completely. A Window to the Past is for sure the Williams theme for Harry's parents/family.

 

It vaguely represents Harry and his friends on well, and it depends if you are referring to the "A" theme or the "B" theme. Also, its use in Chamber is somewhat inconsistent. If you still want to argue this.