Harry Potter and the Philosopher‘s/Sorcerer‘s Stone
The Sorcerer's Stone soundtrack was composed and conducted by John Williams and orchestrated by Conrad Pope and Eddie Karam in 2001. It was performed at Air Lyndhurst Studios and Abbey Road Studios in London. It was certified Gold in Canada, entered the Billboard 200 chart at number 48, and also charted at number 2 on the Billboard Top Soundtracks chart. It was nominated for Best Original Score at the 74th Academy Awards. It also won the award for Best Original Score in MuggleNet's 2013 Harry Potter Oscars, as chosen by the fans.
The film introduces many character-specific themes that are used in at least one sequel, namely Chamber of Secrets. These themes include two themes for Voldemort, two for Hogwarts, one for Diagon Alley, one for Quidditch, a flying theme, a friendship theme, and the main theme. The iconic main theme, "Hedwig's Theme," was integrated into the rest of the films. Track 18, "Leaving Hogwarts," was featured during the epilogue of Deathly Hallows - Part 2 as a tribute to Williams and the series' end.
Tracklist:
1. Prologue
2. Harry's Wondrous World
3. The Arrival of Baby Harry
4. Visit to the Zoo / Letters from Hogwarts
5. Diagon Alley / The Gringotts Vault
6. Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters / The Journey to Hogwarts
7. Entry into the Great Hall / The Banquet
8. Mr. Longbottom Flies
9. Hogwarts Forever! / The Moving Stairs
10. The Norwegian Ridgeback / A Change of Season
11. The Quidditch Match
12. Christmas at Hogwarts
13. The Invisibility Cloak / The Library Scene
14. Fluffy's Harp
15. In the Devil's Snare / The Flying Keys
16. The Chess Game
17. The Face of Voldemort
18. Leaving Hogwarts
19. Hedwig's Theme
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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
The Chamber of Secrets soundtrack was composed by John Williams, adapted and conducted by William Ross, and orchestrated by Conrad Pope and Eddie Karam in 2002. The score was originally slated to be composed and conducted entirely by John Williams, but due to scheduling conflicts with the scoring of Steven Spielberg's film, Catch Me If You Can, composer William Ross was brought in to adapt Williams' music and conduct the scoring sessions with the London Symphony Orchestra. The soundtrack charted on the Billboard 200 chart at number 81 and charted at number 5 on the Billboard Top Soundtracks chart. It was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media in 2003.
Six new themes were introduced, building on the Sorcerer's Stone themes. These themes are "Fawkes the Phoenix," "The Chamber of Secrets," "Gilderoy Lockhart," "Dobby the House Elf," "The Spiders," and "Moaning Myrtle." The soundtrack was initially available in one of five different collectible covers, with a different character or characters packaged above the main cover, which features Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
Tracklist:
1. Prologue: Book II and the Escape from the Dursleys
2. Fawkes the Phoenix
3. The Chamber of Secrets
4. Gilderoy Lockhart
5. The Flying Car
6. Knockturn Alley
7. Introducing Colin
8. The Dueling Club
9. Dobby the House Elf
10. The Spiders
11. Moaning Myrtle
12. Meeting Aragog
13. Fawkes Is Reborn
14. Meeting Tom Riddle
15. Cornish Pixies
16. Polyjuice Potion
17. Cakes for Crabbe and Goyle
18. Dueling the Basilisk
19. Reunion of Friends
20. Harry's Wondrous World
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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
The Prisoner of Azkaban soundtrack was composed and conducted by John Williams and orchestrated by Conrad Pope and Eddie Karam in 2004. It was performed at Abbey Road Studios in London. It charted at number 68 on the Billboard 200 chart and at number 3 on the Billboard Top Soundtracks chart. It was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Score, a Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media, and the World Soundtrack Award for Best Original Score of the Year.
The score introduces two major themes: "Window to the Past" and "Double Trouble," although neither is featured in the other films. Two other notable themes were used to represent Sirius's hunt and the Time-Turner. A ticking sound is heard throughout the song used in the Time-Turner scenes to indicate that time is of the essence. "Double Trouble" was composed by Williams during the film's production as a warm welcome back to Hogwarts during the opening feast. It was sung by the London Oratory School Schola, and the lyrics are taken directly from Shakespeare's Macbeth.
Tracklist:
1. Lumos! (Hedwig's Theme)
2. Aunt Marge's Waltz
3. The Knight Bus
4. Apparition on the Train
5. Double Trouble
6. Buckbeak's Flight
7. A Window to the Past
8. The Whomping Willow and the Snowball Fight
9. Secrets of the Castle
10. The Portrait Gallery
11. Hagrid the Professor
12. Monster Books and Boggarts!
13. Quidditch, Third Year
14. Lupin's Transformation and Chasing Scabbers
15. The Patronus Light
16. The Werewolf Scene
17. Saving Buckbeak
18. Forward to Time Past
19. The Dementors Converge
20. Finale
21. Mischief Managed!
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Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
The Goblet of Fire soundtrack was composed and conducted by Patrick Doyle in 2005. Due to problems scheduling John Williams, it is the first soundtrack in the film series he did not compose. In 2005 alone, Williams scored Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Memoirs of a Geisha, Munich, and the remake of War of the Worlds.
The music was performed by the London Symphony Orchestra and entered the Billboard 200 chart at number 80. It also charted at number 4 on the Billboard Top Soundtracks chart. Doyle included three major new themes: One for the Triwizard Tournament, one for Lord Voldemort, and one to represent Harry's crush on Cho Chang. A prominent minor theme is "The Death of Cedric." There is also an ominous reprisal of the main "Hedwig's Theme."
Tracklist:
1. The Story Continues
2. Frank Dies
3. The Quidditch World Cup
4. The Dark Mark
5. Foreign Visitors Arrive
6. The Goblet of Fire
7. Rita Skeeter
8. Sirius Fire
9. Harry Sees Dragons
10. Golden Egg
11. Neville's Waltz
12. Harry in Winter
13. Potter Waltz
14. Underwater Secrets
15. The Black Lake
16. Hogwarts' March
17. The Maze
18. Voldemort
19. Death of Cedric
20. Another Year Ends
21. Hogwarts' Hymn
22. Do the Hippogriff
23. This Is the Night
24. Magic Works
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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
The Order of the Phoenix soundtrack was composed and conducted in 2007 by Nicholas Hooper, who had previously worked with the new series director, David Yates. It was performed by the London Chamber Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios in London, where the group recorded nearly two hours of music for the film. The soundtrack was released a day before the film's release. It entered the Billboard 200 chart at number 43 and at number 5 on the Billboard Top Soundtracks chart. It sold around 16,000 copies in its first week and has since sold around 356,000 copies in the US and a million copies worldwide. The soundtrack was also released in a special edition, with a custom hinged box lined with navy velveteen fabric. Inside the box was a 20-page booklet with a foil-embossed front cover. Reviews of the score were mixed compared to those of the previous scores in the series, leaning toward negative compared to soundtracks before and after it. Critics noted its lack of continuity with the rest of the franchise and generally consider it the weakest of the eight scores.
Hooper incorporated "Hedwig's Theme" into the new score after reviewing Williams' previous soundtracks but decided "that it was best if I moved into my own way of composing rather than trying to emulate John Williams, which is impossible." "Another Story," "Hall of Prophecies," "Room of Requirement," and "A Journey to Hogwarts" contain samples of "Hedwig's Theme." The order presented on the release does not follow the order they are heard in the film. They are heard in the following order: 3, 4, 17, 15, 10, 13, 2, 16, 5, 8, 9, 14, 1, 11, 6, 12, 7, 18. Two new main themes were made to reflect Umbridge's character and Voldemort's invasion of Harry's mind. "Dumbledore's Army" was used in the Quidditch trials scene in Half-Blood Prince, and "Fireworks" was used in the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes scene in the same film. "The Kiss" was later used in Alexandre Desplat's "A New Beginning" in Deathly Hallows - Part 2.
Tracklist:
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 Requirement
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
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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Half-Blood Prince soundtrack was composed by Nicholas Hooper and was conducted by Hooper alongside Alastair King in 2009. It is critically acclaimed and the most successful score of the series. It debuted at number 29 on the Billboard 200 chart, thus making it the highest charting soundtrack among all six movies released at the time. It also charted at number 3 on the Billboard Top Soundtracks chart. It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for a Motion Picture. As part of the film's marketing, many tracks were released across the Internet, with the whole soundtrack previewed on AOL Radio on June 30.
Thematically, Hooper references his own leitmotifs from Order of the Phoenix and several elements from Williams' work. Not included on the soundtrack are "Friends and Love," which is a compilation of "When Ginny Kissed Harry" and "Harry and Hermione," which came with purchasing a ticket for the movie on Fandango. "Big Beat Repeat" can be heard in the Gryffindor common room after the Quidditch match, and a track that could be called "Murder and Escape" by John Powell can be heard when Dumbledore falls from the Astronomy Tower and Harry pursues Snape. Two of the tracks on the soundtrack do not appear in the film. "In Noctem," which was scored for the death at the end of the film and features a light choir, did not make the final cut. "Wizard Wheezes" was unfortunately replaced by the Weasley twins' theme from Order of the Phoenix, "Fireworks." The most prominent track from this score, "Dumbledore's Farewell," is reused in the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 theme "Severus and Lily," which is used in the scene when Harry views Snape's memories in the Pensieve.
Tracklist:
1. Opening
2. In Noctem
3. The Story Begins
4. Ginny
5. Snape & the Unbreakable Vow
6. Wizard Wheezes
7. Dumbledore's Speech
8. Living Death
9. Into the Pensieve
10. The Book
11. Ron's Victory
12. Harry & Hermione
13. School!
14. Malfoy's Mission
15. The Slug Party
16. Into the Rushes
17. Farewell Aragog
18. Dumbledore's Foreboding
19. Of Love & War
20. When Ginny Kissed Harry
21. Slughorn's Confession
22. Journey to the Cave
23. The Drink of Despair
24. Inferi in the Firestorm
25. The Killing of Dumbledore
26. Dumbledore's Farewell
27. The Friends
28. The Weasley Stomp
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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1
The Deathly Hallows - Part 1 score was composed and conducted by Alexandre Desplat and orchestrated by Conrad Pope in 2010. It was critically acclaimed, debuting at number 74 on the Billboard 200 chart and at number 4 on the Billboard Top Soundtracks chart. The soundtrack was released three days before the film, followed by a three-disc limited-edition collector's box set. It was nominated for the 2010 IFMCA Award for Best Original Score for a Fantasy Film and the 2010 Satellite Award for Best Original Score.
According to Yates, "Hedwig's Theme" was present during "anything that felt like we were being nostalgic or in a way reflective of the past." Because the first half of the Deathly Hallows films is about a loss of innocence, the theme is used more in Part 1 than in Part 2. Yates went on to say that the tone of the theme was altered to be in line with the mood of the film since he "wanted it to feel like it was all getting a bit distressed." Desplat commented on the other major themes, saying, "Since Harry, Ron and Hermione are now on the road being chased by the dark forces of Voldemort, they are never twice in the same place. They are constantly on the move." Desplat alternated between themes for different situations, locations, characters, spells, and magical devices. According to the composer, the opening track, "Obliviate," "conveys their loss of innocence, as well as the sense of danger and will be the leading them through their exodus."
Not included on the soundtrack is the only "Muggle" song to be prominently featured, "O Children" by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. It is included in a scene developed by screenwriter Steve Kloves, where Harry and Hermione dance in their tent after Ron leaves in order to "capture the tension and friendship and love that they share together." Yates wanted an "old soul song" that was not used in television or film before and one that wasn't too clearly part of the "Muggle world." Yates listened to about 300 tracks from music supervisor Matt Biffa saying that he "needed a piece of music that was poignant and tender but oddly uplifting. And I came across Nick's piece and I loved it immediately. It has that capacity to lift you up and break your heart at the same time. My biggest fear was playing it for Dan [Radcliffe] and Emma [Watson] because I thought, 'God, are they going to understand?' Because it was important to me that they understand the music as well, that they felt it. So I played it for them and it was my most nervous moment, and I played it for them and I was like, 'Oh, God, are they going to like it?' and they loved it." The scene won the 2013 MuggleNet Harry Potter Oscar for Best New Scene (not in the books), as chosen by the fans.
Tracklist:
1. Obliviate
2. Snape to Malfoy Manor
3. Polyjuice Potion
4. Sky Battle
5. At the Burrow
6. Harry and Ginny
7. The Will
8. Death Eaters
9. Dobby
10. Ministry of Magic
11. Detonators
12. The Locket
13. Fireplaces Escape
14. Ron Leaves
15. The Exodus
16. Godric's Hollow Graveyard
17. Bathilda Bagshot
18. Hermione's Parents
19. Destroying the Locket
20. Ron's Speech
21. Lovegood
22. The Deathly Hallows
23. Captured and Tortured
24. Rescuing Hermione
25. Farewell to Dobby
26. The Elder Wand
27. Voldemort (Bonus Track)
28. The Dumbledores (Bonus Track)
29. Bellatrix (Bonus Track)
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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2
The Deathly Hallows - Part 2 soundtrack was composed and conducted by Alexandre Desplat and orchestrated by Conrad Pope in 2011. John Williams was asked to return for the final film, but his schedule did not align with the film's schedule. It was performed by the London Symphony Orchestra on May 27, 2011, at Abbey Road Studios in London. The main theme of the film, "Lily's Theme," was performed by Mai Fujisawa, daughter of Japanese composer Joe Hisaishi. It peaked at number 25 on the Billboard 200 chart and at number 2 on the Billboard Top Soundtracks chart. It was nominated for a Grammy Award, a Satellite Award, a Houston Film Critics Society Award, a Denver Film Critics Society Award, and an IFMCA Award. The soundtrack won the San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Score. It was critically acclaimed and cited as a perfect ending to the series.
Several tracks are reused from previous films. A variant of "Hedwig's Theme" from Chamber of Secrets is used twice in Part 2. The first time is when Harry, Ron, and Hermione meet their friends in the Room of Requirement, and the second time is when Snape is sent out of the castle and the Order of the Phoenix takes control. "Dumbledore's Farewell," composed by Nicholas Hooper for Half-Blood Prince, is integrated into Desplat's "Severus and Lily" track, which plays during the "Prince's Tale" sequence. The final scene of Part 2 and the series, the epilogue set 19 years later, features "Leaving Hogwarts," composed by John Williams, followed by the suite of "Hedwig's Theme" for the end credits.
Tracklist:
1. Lily's Theme
2. The Tunnel
3. Underworld
4. Gringotts
5. Dragon Flight
6. Neville
7. A New Headmaster
8. Panic Inside Hogwarts
9. Statues
10. The Grey Lady
11. In the Chamber of Secrets
12. Battlefield
13. The Diadem
14. Broomsticks and Fire
15. Courtyard Apocalypse
16. Snape's Demise
17. Severus and Lily
18. Harry's Sacrifice
19. The Resurrection Stone
20. Harry Surrenders
21. Procession
22. Neville the Hero
23. Showdown
24. Voldemort's End
25. A New Beginning
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