Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

I liked the HP score very much, although I admit that it seemed at first listen like a watered-down and less developed version of Hook. The one problem I have with it is that although Williams uses some diverse orchestrations (or his orchestrators do, rather)it still sounds a little bland. Perhaps it has something to do with the recording and mixdown. In any case, the one thing that was lacking was the magic. Not to say it wasn't magical, but it could have been more, in my opinion. The themes were excellent - JW's themes are always top-rate, even in mediocre efforts. But something was missing. Hook was magical...there were parts in it that just were brilliant. There could have been more development with the themes, although the "Friendship" theme as I like to call it got some great alternate harmonies (the theme that plays at the end of "Leaving Hogwarts" right before the "Hedwig" tag). But still, the themes were not developed enough -just seemed like they were shoved in your ear over and over, sounding the same, with the same basic orchestrations. I noticed that Williams did not orchestrate the score himself - that's a shame. Usually, for huge pictures, or ones that the composers really take to heart, the composer orchestrates the music. In most cases, orchestrators are hired to do that. But I remember seeing orchestrator (2 of them) credits in the liner notes. TOo bad - if Willaims had orchestrated the score himself, I think it would have been even better. But as a score, it is quite good, and I like it very much.

 

I just finished reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, prepare yourselves for a score that's equally good if not BETTER than The Philosopher's Stone.

I won't give away the ending, mind you.

 

I just love the Chess Game
As the queen starts to move, Williams goes into a 5/4 time sig, which in itself gives me a sense of uncomfort. The repeated refrain (diddly dum - diddly diddly dum) builds up and builds up until those trumpets go up the octave, and then.....silence. Ooh, it sends a shiver down my spine. Quite possibly one of JWs best ever cues

 

That cues is okay, but not that impressive. It didn't strike me first time. I think most will agree the best cues in that score are the mellow ones such as Nos. 2 and 18.

 

I've only seen the film once (though I did enjoy it), but thought the score was a bit too light and whimsical for my taste. Especially at the beginning when Dumbledore is introduced.
Nothing all that memorable really (but admittedly, I haven't listened or bought the soundtrack since).

However, there was programme on here in the UK over xmas about J K Rowling, and surprisingly they used Danny Elfman's score for Sleep Hollow over the narration - I thought it sounded great and seemed to fit much better than JW's score.

My opinion anyway.

 

I wasn't very impressed with the score. It's wishy-washy and excessively repetitive.

 

After listening to it again last weekend, my opinion of the score has improved. Surprisingly, I had more fun listening to it than I did when I listened to the TPM score a few hours earlier. "Hedwig's Theme" remains as powerful as ever, but other cues such as "Prologue", "Mr. Longbottom Flies" and "The Face of Voldemort" seemed more impressive than they did when I first listened to them. Can't wait to see what Williams does with the sequel score.

 

I need to give this score another listen... it's been a while.

 

I still think the score on a whole is an overkill. The three main themes are all very good, but it simply has too much of Hedwig's Theme. We might instantly recall the Raiders March, Flying Theme, Superman's March, and others from those respective movies, but the truth is, the main theme isn't use as much as we think. Hedwig's theme in Harry Potter is far and away more than the Raiders of Flying theme, more than Superman's theme, and a little more than the Imperial theme from ESB. So while Voldemort's/danger theme is a nice counter theme like the Ark theme in Raiders, the main/Hedwig theme really dominates too much. That being said, the performance of the score is very vibrant, the themes are memorable, it just needs a bit more restraint.

 

Well here it is... I FINALLY SAW HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCEROR'S STONE!!!!!



And I must say my appreciation for the score skyrocketed. I mean I liked it from day one but now it seems so much more rich and full to me. Lots of great themes and awesome orchestrations. It fits the film perfectly! What an awesome score!!!

-Strilo, who is now highly anticipating Chamber of Secrets

 

HP has an incredible score. I like track 10 the best, and the Chess game music is outstanding.

 

Yes, I agree, strilo. It is not the perfect score, but it fits the film perfectly.

As good as "Hedwig's Theme" is, my favorite tracks are "Harry's Wondrous World", "Mr. Longbottom Flies", "The Quidditch Match", and "The Chess Game".

 

There is a lot of it, the Quidditch Match, the Chess Game ... and some other stuff that REALLY reminds me of TPM. There's also a few AOTC moments. Mostly it seems like a fun blend of E.T. and Hook. But it rocks... great score.

"Hedwig's Theme" and "Harry's Wondrous World" are concert arrangements and so I tend to ignore those when picking my favourite cues. I'd rather pick actual score from the film. As such, the Arrival of Baby Harry is bloody brilliant. A lot of the score is, really.

 

One of my favorite cues is from "Mr. Longbottom Flies." It's a kind of a sad, serious rendition of one of the main themes that plays once Harry meets Malfoy up in the air. I don't know why, but that cue always sticks out in my mind.

 

Who knows... maybe that's a theme that will recurr and even be expanded in Chamber of Secrets...

 

I'm hoping there will be Dobby's theme...but since you just saw HPATSS for the first time, strilo, you probably have no idea who that is.

 

Sure I do. He's that weird skinny dude on the poster and in the preview.

 

Yep.

Seriously, I think overall the score is going to be a lot darker and moodier than the first, just like the book. It will be neat to see how JW expands on themes from the first one.

 

Right on!! Totally looking forward to that. Keep in mind that John Williams is not doing the entire score. He is composing about 40 minutes of new music and all the new themes and then William Ross will be arranging them and the existing themes from the first film into the score for Chamber of Secrets.

Check out jwfan.net for more info about this.

 

EDIT: The JC is not the place for these types of comments.

 

EDIT: comment removed due to Mod edit above.

 

Hopefully I can still post that I believe Harry Potter books, possibly the movie, and some Star Wars things are evil. Should be kept away from.

Please leave at least that comment in this post?

 

That's nice. I think judgemental people are evil.

 

YAY! I killed the discussion!

 

"some Star Wars things are evil. Should be kept away from."

Great, you're in the right place! (quote from the Transformers pilot

Anyway. The Chess Game RULES!