Customer Reviews

Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Nicholas Hooper's score for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is his best work to date. The score is as complex, and ultimately as moving, as the original novel. Hooper uses a different palate from the original John Williams score, which is appropriate for story and the film that it is meant to serve. The string work is particularly effective. Those who claim bitter disappointment simply haven't been paying attention. There is melancholy aplenty here, with unsettling dissonances that reflect the moods of the characters and the film. And the final tracks speak of grief and acceptance that evoke the end of the novel -in spite of the very different ending to the film. I left the local cineplex delighted with the film, and fully intending to buy the score (which I now have).

If you are only ever going to listen to "John Williams Soundtracks", you will be close-minded to a number of soundtracks that are very good for what they are supposed to be. Nicholas Hooper has had to struggle with the ominous shadow cast by Mr. Williams, and his soundtrack should be judged not by comparing said composers, but judging whether the soundtrack itself is good, and this soundtrack is very good, and stands on its own. It has a wide variety of styles, from acoustic guitar, to orchestral, to choral, to celtic, to folk, to big band, to jazz, while still incorporating the major themes consistent with the series of films it is meant to represent. I have to say, if you are going to compare, when compared to the "Chamber of Secrets" soundtrack by Williams, which only really has one theme - the Fawkes theme - stand out, the "Half-Blood Prince" soundtrack dances circles around it, with standout tracks such as "The Weasley Stomp", "The Slug Club," "In Noctem," "The Book", "School!," "When Ginny Kissed Harry", and "Slughorn's Confession", many more tunes have a melody that can get "stuck in your head." I find it much more memorable. There are a number of reviewers who automatically pan anyone who isn't John Williams; I suggest that fans of the films be objective and judge the music for themselves, and not automatically be swayed by naysayers.

The Harry Potter movie franchise has traditionally been graced by great film scores. First came John Williams, who scored the first three films masterfully and established a great number of themes, including the famous Hedwig's Theme. Then came Patrick Doyle, who left behind most of Williams' themes but retained his spirit and creative energy.

Enter Nicholas Hooper for Order of the Phoenix. Getting a Harry Potter film scoring assignment would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a middling composer like Hooper; even for Doyle it would have been a rare opportunity. Hooper, like Doyle, managed to retain most of Williams' energy in his score for Order of the Phoenix.

Here, Hooper branches out a bit more and creates a kind of film score that is less thematic than William's or Doyle's, but more atmospheric. There's nothing wrong with that kind of approach: a great film score from 2008, The Dark Knight, didn't have many fully fledged-out themes either.

Unfortunately, the score for Half-Blood Prince not only has less thematic material than past Harry Potter scores, but it's less memorable and less powerful as well. Listen to tracks like "Opening", "The Story Begins", "Harry and Hermione", and "When Ginny Kissed Harry". Tracks like those are almost entirely consumed by simple chord progressions that leave no lasting impression on the listener. They lack complexity and development, and so they often tread in the waters of--I hate to say it--boringness. I'm a composer myself, and I know that it probably took Hooper only about a couple of hours to write a cue like "Harry and Hermione", which is inexcusably lazy on his part. I can't see how Hooper listened to a cue like that and said to himself "Yes, I'm finished here. There's nothing I could do to further perfect this track." The cue is begging for more orchestration and development, and Hooper doesn't deliver it. If you want an example of a good Harry Potter character theme, listen to "A Window to the Past" from Prisoner of Azkaban or "Harry in Winter" from Goblet of Fire, both of which leave far more powerful impressions.

Lack of memorability and emotional power are thus my main complaints about Hooper's otherwise passable score for Half-Blood Prince. But there are a few stand-out tracks worth mentioning:

"Wizard Wheezes" is a jazzy cue that seems appropriate for the Weasley twins' joke shop, and while it is quite simple, it's memorable, and maybe even catchy. "Farewell Aragog" is appropriately played on a somber violin, and it seems to be a good match for the would-be-tragic scene in the movie when two drunken men mourn the death of a giant spider. "Malfoy's Mission" is Hooper's atmospheric writing at its best, and its the best "theme" on the album. It's not memorable, but it's decently chilling.

Again, Hooper has done okay work for Order of the Phoenix and now Half-Blood Prince, but one HAS to compare his work to that of Doyle and, especially, Williams. Those two masterfully handled their film scores, which is a compliment that I can't bestow on Hooper. But Hooper has nevertheless once again produced a blockbuster film score that is considerably better than most others (I'm looking at you, Transformers 2), and that can be commended. I'm still hoping that Williams makes a surprise move and returns for Deathly Hallows, but if Hooper is again hired, it wouldn't be so bad.

If Hooper is returning for Deathly Hallows , I hope he can produce a truly great film score (or 2 film scores, since Deathly Hallows is being split). I think the days might be gone where I can listen to a new Harry Potter soundtrack and be blown away, but I'll be giddy if Hooper can prove me wrong.

This album is great. It has over 50 minutes of music and 26 song titles. It is annoying that the song names and samples are not listed on this amazon page. Here are the song titles for those that are interested.
Opening 2:54
In Noctem 2:01
The Story Begins 2:05
Ginny 1:31
Snape & the Unbreakable Vow 2:51
Wizard Wheezes 1:43
Dumbledore's Speech 1:32
Living Death 1:55
Into the Pensieve 1:46
The Book 1:44
Ron's Victory 1:45
Harry & Hermoine 2:53
School! 1:05
Malfoy's Mission 2:53
The Slug Party 2:11
Into the Rushes 2:33
Farewell Aragog 2:08
Dumbledore's Foreboding 1:19
Of Love & War 1:18
When Ginny Kissed Harry 2:38
Slughorn's Confession 3:33
Journey To the Cave 3:08
The Drink of Despair 2:44
Inferi In the Firestorm 1:53
The Killing of Dumbledore 3:35
Dumbledore's Farewell 2:22

I can still remember hearing "Hedwig's Theme" for the first time. It was opening day of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" eight years ago, and when the music came up under the film's title card, I remember thinking "Thank goodness for John Williams." The soundtrack he composed for that film (and its first two sequels) was perfection. With what seemed like alchemical magic, he captured in music the essence of what JK Rowling had created in words: a mysterious, whimsical world that set our imaginations soaring and immediately captured our hearts. As much as the film looked like what I imagined Rowling's universe to look like, it sounded that way as well.

Williams opted not to score the fourth Harry Potter film, and things took a decided downturn. Patrick Doyle's work for "Goblin of Fire" was, in my opinion, all atmosphere, with very little melody to it; and what melody there was - "Neville's Waltz" for example - was simplistic and bland. Moreover, there was little about it that distinguished it as a "Harry Potter" score; the action music could have accompanied any number of fantasy films, and it lacked genuine wit.

The music (and much of the magic) returned to Hogwarts when Nicholas Hooper took over for the fifth film. Hooper's melodic score for "Order of the Phoenix" was exciting, suspenseful, heart rending, playful, magical; in short, everything the film itself turned out to be. Now Hooper's returned for "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," and he's come up with an even better soundtrack than his previous effort. A brief overview:

The score starts strongly, with a variation of "Hedwig's Theme" that becomes darker and more dramatic as it progresses. (My guess is that it underscores the series of Muggle attacks with which the film opens.) A haunting choral piece follows, one that, according to Hooper, is not in the actual film, but was written for a certain character's funeral. (No spoilers, here, although if you don't know what I'm referring to, I'd be awfully surprised.)

"The Story Begins" is a track that seems to anticipate the listener's eagerness for...well, the story to begin. It has movement and mystery to it, yet ends on a light, bright note (literally), which hints at the film's emphasis on comedy and romance.

The track entitled "Ginny" is, unfortunately, a missed opportunity to my mind; why write another variation on "Hedwig's Theme," when Harry's emerging love and longing for Ron's sister warrants its own treatment?

More tense, apprehensive music follows with "Snape and the Unbreakable Vow," followed by the infectious "Wizard Wheezes." As you might expect, it's brash, rambunctious, a little sly, and utterly delightful - much like the Weasley twins themselves.

The atmospheric tracks continue, all quite successful, although I'm curious as to why "Living Death" is so reminiscent of the "Professor Umbridge" track from Hooper's "Order of the Phoenix" score. One can only imagine it's intentional, and I'll be interested to see how it fits into the actual film.

One of the smartest tracks is "The Slug Party," with its 60s vibe and inspired use of percussion, particularly the bongo. It brings to mind nothing so much as the wild cocktail party in Blake Edwards' "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and it's a blast.

Hooper moves into full-blown action mode with "Into the Rushes," a superb track that builds with intensity, followed by "Farewell Aragog," a Scottish-sounding dirge that, as authentic as it is, could have benefited from some bagpipes. More dramatic scoring follows, broken up by the oddly contemplative "When Ginny Kissed Harry" and the melancholy "Slughorn's Confession." (The music here ideally matches the ruefulness and sorrow of the scene in the book.)

"Journey to the Cave" begins the inexorable slide towards the film's tragic conclusion. (The track titles may give it away, but I never will!) Here Hooper expertly conveys, in ever more complex musical terms, the fear, anxiety, confusion, loss and despair of the story's final scenes.

Things wind down with a forlorn goodbye that incorporates some of the material from the soundtrack's opening, and a track entitled "The Friends," which seems to foreshadow how important - and severely tested - friendship will be to the final two "Deathly Hallows" films. Finally, we get "The Weasley Stomp," a bright celebratory piece that, logically, echoes back to the "Fireworks" track from "Order of the Phoenix."

All in all, Hooper has done a marvelous job, writing what is very much a "Harry Potter" score, yet one that retains its own musical point of view.

That said, I still wish he (and Doyle before him) had taken a page from Williams's book and thought on a slightly grander scale, particularly in his use of themes. In the "Chamber of Secrets" score alone, Williams produced significant musical illustrations of Fawkes the phoenix, Dobby the house-elf, Gilderoy Lockhart and the Chamber itself. These themes exist as superb stand-alone tracks that make the soundtrack one of my favorites to listen to again and again. The last three Harry Potter films could have used more of these. (Imagine what William's could have come up with for the Tri-Wizard Tournament, Rita Skeeter, Professor Umbridge, or - most dramatically - Voldemort himself. Darth Vader has his own immortal theme, why not He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?)

I have been hoping, in my heart of hearts, for Williams to return for the "Deathly Hallows" films. Listening to this evocative, energetic, intelligent score for "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," however, I can honestly say that I'm much more comfortable with the idea of Nicholas Hooper finishing up the series.

The music is good..of course..if you like soundtrack music...classical how can you not at least like it, BUT....so this soundtrack is good music, but the potential that was missed here is HUGE!! I believe that the soundtrack and movie was one big missed opportunity for those involved. This was what I would call a underachiever soundtrack. There was so much potential in the story line of the half blood prince. The goofiness of Lavender Brown and Ron romance....how could there have not been a original theme/love song for Ginny and Harry. What about Dumbledores death...what about Faux and the music for his song after Dumbledores death. There was SO much that could have been done with this soundtrack that wasn't..sure it is good, but not what it could have or should have been. I also thought the soundtrack was much darker sounding that the film was...I thought the film was brighter and funnier than I thought it would be. Like I said..when I was watching the movie I don't even ever remember hearing any of the music..it was more background than a partner bringing out the flavor and meaning.

Well, Nicholas Hooper has done it again. When he came on after picking up the reins from John Williams and Patrick Doyle, I was initially apprehensive of the direction the Potter scores would take, but after hearing his score for "Order of the Phoenix", I began to see the merits this composer has. "Half-Blood Prince" is no different, and cements him in place as one of my most beloved composers. While his magic is of a different flavor than Williams or Doyle, it's still magic, and thankfully for us fans, still Harry Potter.

To me, music is always king in a film. It is the first thing I notice when I watch a movie for the first time, and I expect it to lead me through the film just as much as the visuals themselves. It usually ends up taking more of a front seat than the action on screen, and if it isn't right, the whole movie just feels ruined. But not with this score.

Hooper's music in few words is atmospheric, simple, and highly emotional. The songs are less complex but are beautiful just the same. They reflect a more realistic and less fantastic Wizarding World than the previous installments have, but don't dive into the arena of being too "modern" sounding. It is still very much a classical work, and because of the highly emotional nature of the film itself, his overall style suits the subject to a T.

Hooper opts to evoke more emotion through his pieces rather than simply inserting musical themes to fill up space. There are less moments of explosive action than there are explosive emotion. There is also an element of darkness and foreboding that pervades each track, moreso than any for the previous films, which coincides with each movie getting sucessively darker as time progresses. That said, I find that it is not opressive. Hooper manages to balance things out with lighter pieces while making the darker ones less disturbing than some of his own in OOTP. He builds tension and creates action with glorious string sections, and lets even the most heart-pounding pieces close gently, giving you time to take a breath and prepare yourself for the next one.

There might be subtlety of score and sparseness of notes, but there is certainly no skimping or shrouding of emotion. You'll probably moved to tears more than a few times, but overall really enjoy this great work of art that goes along with the latest installment from the Potter franchise. From the beginning tremors of "Opening" to the closing chords of "Weasley Stomp", the whole score is a tremendous journey of beauty and tendernessness, sadness and heartbreak, tension and anticipation, emptiness and loss, and, despite all this, an optimistic outlook for the future. It reminded me quite a lot of John William's score for "Prisoner of Azkaban". Oddly enough, Hooper's score feels more Williams-reminiscent than Williams's own work. To this day, I still can't tell that Williams had much of a hand in the music for the third film.

While I love the previous composer's works for the other four films, I find that this CD is much easier to listen to for simply the reason that it is much simpler and less bombastic. There aren't quite so many blaring horns or whimsical marimbas to jarr you out of the moment. Rather, through the expressive use of flutes, violins, harps, and choirs, you only move deeper into the story, and are soon totally immersed in the world itself. Hooper's pieces really fit together as a real score, and are made better when listened to together. There isn't a definitive end to each track; they just sort of flow into each other. I suppose it keeps it moving and helps the continuity (I say continuity because for some reason, his marvelous score for "Order of the Phoenix" was arranged totally out of order in the CD. What was that about?).

As a listener of many film scores, this one by far posesses the most varied soundscape I have ever heard. It ranges in tone and emotion from latin chants, big band ditties, jazz waltzes, rousing Scotch step-dancing themes on fiddles, heart-tugging funeral dirges, romantic ballads, and exciting and stirring action themes.

I really like the re-introduction of "Hedwig's Theme" into the track "Ginny"; ever since the third film, it's felt like something has been missing from the movies. Thank you Mr. Hooper! His jazzy riff in "Wizard Wheezes" is a welcome tension-reducer, and the ebullient bounce of "Living Death" (The title is a minomer) is reminiscent of his work on "Order of the Phoenix".

"Ron's Victory" heralds a well-anticipated return of Quidditch and excites as much as it envigorates.

"Harry and Hermione" has to be one of my favorite tracks in this disc. Sweet and melancholy at the same time, it reminds me of one of my favorite moments from the film, a quiet but sad moment between the two characters. I always feel a little teary-eyed when I hear it.

The violin solo on "Farewell Aragog" is almost Celtic in theme, and is also another of my favorites.

The gentle strum of guitars and romantic sweep of strings on "When Ginny Kissed Harry" is also very nice, and makes for perhaps one of the most memorable tunes Hooper has created for this film. It reminded me somewhat of a serenade from Mozart's Don Giovanni.

"Slughorn's Confession" has more of the signature sweetness, provided by a solo flute, punctuated by the dark undercurrent of strings. This is a really moving piece, and a real watershed when seen in its place in the movie.

As far as action tracks go, "The Journey to the Cave" is one of the best I've heard in any of the Harry Potter films. It is exciting without being overbearing, and you can really feel the roll and rush of the waves beating against the shore without having to see it for yourself.

"The Killing of Dumbledore" and "Dumbledore's Farewell" always get me. Though not as poignant as Doyle's "Death of Cedric" in "Goblet of Fire", they still manage to pull at my heartstrings and come across as the most moving pieces of the whole score.

I didn't like "The Friends" as much as "Loved Ones and Leaving", but the closing number "Weasley Stomp" was optimistic enough to leave you feeling lighthearted instead of downtrodden.

All in all, this score serves its purpose. It's a well-crafted and well-thought endeavor, and works just as well by itself as it does coupled with the film it was written for.

Right out the gate, Dumbledore and Harry after the death of Sirius and flashes going off from the cameras. The music puts you in the moment. The sadness is overwhelming, you can really feel for this kid, who just can't seem to get a break. I love this CD. My personal favorite is the Goblet of Fire soundtrack, but this one gives it a run for it's money. "Ginny", "Harry and Hermione", simple, yet beautiful. This is an easy CD to listen to, beginning to end. Finally, the second to the last, "The Friends", if this just doesn't feel you up with emotion, as you can see the three standing together looking out at the lake and the grounds of Hogwarts, then your just not into it. As for me, I'm totally into it. It's magical! However, I was wondering where is the music that's playin during Ron's tryouts for the Quidditich team? It's was tones of fun but it doesn't appear to be on the soundtrack.

I am a collector of scores, and have been for over 2 decades now. This one tops them all. The haunting melodies and fun diddles are well suited for listening around the house, or while driving. As a writer, I have found it perfect for setting the moods of my works. Several pieces invoke such strong emotions as stand alones. Add that to the movie and the dark somber mood of most of the tale, and I have to say this score is exceptional. A great addition to any collection, whether or not you are a fan of the series. I particularly recommend "Harry and Hermione"; "The Journey to the Cave" and "Dumbledores Farewell" as standing out over all the rest. They quite literally send chills over me each time I listen.

I really like the more somber, haunting nature of this album. My absolute favorite songs are: Opening, Ginny, Harry and Hermione, Malfoy's Mission, When Ginny Kissed Harry, Journey to the Cave, and Dumbledore's Farewell. I also like the last minute or so of Inferi In the Firestorm and the first half of Snape & the Unbreakable Vow.