Customer Reviews

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

Putting the songs in order is quite a simple process, and it immediately changed my opinion of the album (for the better). I highly recommend doing so. Soundtracks SHOULD be the emotional direction of the movie, and ignoring their chronological order limits the listener's connection to the actual movie. And as for the soundtrack itself, NO ONE is John Williams, and Pat Doyle and Nick Hooper don't try to be. I love JW, but I can also appreciate a unique spin now and then. Let us just hope that he scores the final film (as it would be fitting to see how he would finish the score he so famously started).

HOPE THIS HELPS...

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

I was highly impressed by the contrast between the light hearted and the dark in this soundtrack. That is part of the special magic of the Harry Potter books, of course, but I've never felt the movies, except for the first one, really captured it until now. The soundtrack for The Order of the Phoenix is relatively short, around 45 minutes in total. The tracks are arranged more by mood than by their placement within the movie, which can be a bit confusing at first, but I enjoyed the sprightly beginning of "Fireworks." I also found "Dumbledore's Army" and "The Room of Requirement" especially appealing. The tracks relating to Dolores Umbridge are interesting, too, in that they are able to convey her cloying surface charm and inner nastiness highly effectively. This is also true of "The Ministry of Magic".

The darker tracks, especially "The Death of Sirius" and "Possession," were well able to depict the tension and horror of those moments. I also enjoyed the forboding qualities of "Another Story" and "Journey to Hogwarts."

This CD well encapsulates the best qualities of the Harry Potter books and movies, and I recommend it wholeheartedly.

there are several negative reviews and most of them mention that while liking The Goble of Fire CD they do not care for this one. I happen to think this CD is terrific. The Goblet of Fire CD is not as good as this in my opinion. I think the music is fresh, exciting and takes a different course than the other films. I happen to like the music from all of the films, but as for Goblet of Fire music I prefer the arrangements used in the Music From the Harry Potter Films CD rather than the actual Goblet of Fire soundtrack. As an addition to continue to collect Harry Potter music the Order of the Phoenix CD is great. I nearly didn't buy it because of some of the reviews but I am so glad that I did.

I recently purchased and having been enjoying thoroughly, the soundtracks to Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince.

As a professional musician and closet composer, I have to say I rate Nicholas Hooper's score a 5 out of 5. His music is original and yet well versed in the language of Post-Romanticism, in which movies are the most active medium for this style of classical music to dwell. That is not to say that his style is completely Post-Romantic, just that there are Post-Romantic elements utilized in his music and much of the movie scores we enjoy in movies today.

The score is evocative, the harmony changes smooth and unpedestrian and the themes beautifully capture each moment in the movie and the personalities of each character/s depicted. Additionally I enjoyed how the music was presented on the cd - as a continuous tone poem with very little or no space between the selections.

Some of my favorite themes are:

The Room of Requirement - 5th Movie
The Ministry of Magic - 5th Movie
Dumbledore's Farewell - 6th Movie
When Ginny Kissed Harry - 6th Movie

The Room of Requirement's opening chords are an homage to those who enjoy Ligeti. Yet, they are so original I would only say that they utilize Ligeti's structure. The sonic effect is Mr. Hooper's own.

The Ministry of Magic theme captures beautifully the hustle, bustle and inspirational atmosphere one would feel upon entering those magical halls. Yes, I am not a fan of minimalism, but I enjoy Mr. Hooper's use and then abandon of that structure to achieve the desired effect.

When Ginny Kissed Harry is so beautifully simple and yet made so poignant with the introduction of the Room of Requirement chord from the 5th soundtrack. It captures that gentle moment perfectly and never lets us forget about the magic that is constantly around the two characters and flowing through them.

Regarding the passacaglia that Mr. Hooper composed for Dumbledore's Farewell - the music is hauntingly simple and yet so beautifully complex. He brilliantly executes Purcell's ability to have a repeating basso continuo and add one painfully beautiful harmonic layer upon another so that you are weeping at the end and longing for more. The only downfall of the piece is that he had to end that it after a few minutes. As a movie composer, one is married to the director's storyboard - that is in no means a criticism of David Yates, 5 and 6 (and now 7.1 and 7.2's director), merely an observation of the structure of movie composition in general.

Segueing more into the structure of movie music composition and process - I was also immediately impressed how the director, David Yates, included Mr. Hooper in the very early stages of the movie's story boarding and filming process and was even able to play musical themes for the actors while they were rehearsing scenes. As a performer of opera and an actress that also sings, this is the ultimate experience - to have the music influence your interpretation of your character! I had never before heard of such a process and perhaps this is why I found the music and the story telling so seamlessly entwined with one another, unlike the other Harry Potter movies. I will add, that I felt this way before I knew the fact regarding Mr. Hooper's composing process with Mr. Yates.

In summary, Mr. Hooper utilizes the best in classical music styles with his own original voice to put forward a beautifully executed and seamless score to the 5th and 6th films. I was disappointed that he could not do the two films devoted to the 7th book. I hope that I will get to hear Mr. Hooper's compositions in the future and also in mediums outside of movie making where he would be allowed a bit more flexibility as in symphonic and operatic works.

Cheers and Best Regards - Tami Swartz

Our whole family enjoys listening to this soundtrack. It is well written and of course it reminds us of the movie! I wasn't sure how I would like Nicholas Hooper writing a Harry Potter soundtrack, instead of John Williams, but he writes just as well. This is by far one of my favorite soundtracks from the Harry Potter movies!

Let me say it right off the bat: I really, really like this score. I have to admit my expectations weren't very high when I found out an unknown composer (to me, at least) named Nicholas Hooper was writing the music. Like anyone can adequately fill the Hagrid-size shoes of John Williams! I didn't think Patrick Doyle came anywhere close. His score for "Goblet of Fire" was all action, no theme. So, never having heard of Nicholas Hooper, I figured this would be one less soundtrack I'd be compelled to buy. Boy, was I wrong. There's not one cut on the CD I don't look forward to hearing over and over. Some favorites: "The Hall of Requirements", "Flight of the Order of the Phoenix", "Dumbledore's Army" and "Fireworks" (love that electric guitar).

Do I think Hooper is in the same class as Williams? Probably not, but time will tell. (And let me confess right now that I've been a huge John Williams fan since "The Reivers", so I'm a tad biased.) I don't think it's fair to compare the score of "Phoenix" to the first three Potter compositions. Whereas the tone of those movies, like the books, is a more lighthearted mix of mystery and fantasy, the storyline of "The Order of the Phoenix" is darker, more serious; the music has to reflect these more foreboding themes. Hooper is more than up to the task by giving the music a unique voice without straying too far from its predecessors; the brief references to "Hedwig's Theme" do the trick.

While I respect the opinion of other reviewers, I have to chuckle over the notion that not only does a composer have to create a score that enhances, without detracting from, what's onscreen, and yet is melodic enough to stand apart from the film, it also has to be consistently audible while driving a car. Yikes. Like there aren't enough restrictions and requirements for the composer to adhere to. Face it, some music just has to be heard on land-based sound systems to be appreciated.

My biggest complaint about the soundtrack release, actually my only one, is the same one expressed by many of the other listeners: the sequencing of tracks is terrible. Like others, I prefer listening to tracks in the order they appeared in the movie. If I want to rearrange them on my iTunes playlist I have that option, but I wish all scores would default to the screen sequence.

I'm looking forward to Hooper's score to "The Half-Blood Prince" and his future endeavors. And you can bet I won't be previewing any of them on my car speakers!

I think Hooper's really grown into his role as composer for the Harry Potter series. This soundtrack really enlivens the movie. Prof. Umbridge's theme is great - the perfect mix between control-freak and 1950s female stereotype. The finale with Voldemort has the right poignancy to show that this isn't simply a battle of wands and spells, but rather the triumph of hope over evil. I look forward to seeing how Hooper interprets the future films.

After comparing this CD to my DVD copy of the film, this is the order that I came up with. Unfortunately not all of the film music is offered on this CD. You don't even get the ending credits or any of Luna's music. Many of the pieces are not even identical to what is found in the film (i.e. the 'Fireworks' track is what you find in the ending credits instead of when the twins set off their fireworks during the OWL examination and 'Darkness Takes Over' is presented backwards.)

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

Overall I love the music, but this CD leaves loads to be desired. They need to redo it with ALL the film music and in the correct order. Funny thing is this CD has only 18 tracks but the CD for 'Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince' contains 28 tracks. Did they learn their leason?

I must admit that I am a HUGE John Williams fan. When the studio that brings us all the "Harry Potter" films announces that a different composer will score the latest Harry Potter film makes me nervous. John Williams has created a theme that will stick with Harry Potter fans forever, and it makes me wonder if anyone else can live up to the challenge.
I am very happy to say that Nicholas Hooper has delivered. His score for "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" is rich in melodic tones, and overflowing in diverse musical styles. I think of the very first track on the CD entitles "Fireworks," which is probably my favorite song on the soundtrack. Mr. Hooper used the traditional orchestra but also included a variety on percussion instraments and an electric guitar. It is a fun and light song that adds flavor to a series that is ever darkening. "Professor Umbridge" is a beautiful theme with a hint of poison about it. It was wonderfully scored and evokes the aura that is Umbridge. Eventually, you will get to "Death of Sirius," while poorly named, the song starts out slowly and mysteriously but builds into a fast and tense sequence that will make anyone long to see that part in the movie. My only wish is that it could have been longer. The track entitled "Ministery of Magic" is another wonderful song that is fun and magical. It gives off the sense that the characters are entering a new part of the magical world and that it is large and wonderful. "Flight of the Order of the Phoenix" is another fun and fast paced song that adds jollity to the dark soundtrack.
Overall, the score for "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" was wonderful and a delight to listen to. Nicholas Hooper has created a piece of work that will surley go down into Harry Potter history. I look forward to hearing his score for "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince."

John Williams in the first three HP movies composed wonderful themes for each and every character/moment. After Star Wars, where he was forced to repeat and work with themes over and over, HP gave him a new lease on life. But here Mr. Hooper lets us down. First, he only uses "Hedwig's Theme". Aren't the others available or equally interesting?

His music is very atmospheric - that's good - but each track apparently goes no where. It all sounds like background music for a theme that's missing. "Delores Umbridge's Theme" is jaunty enough - anachronistic to her character, without a trace of evil - but we at least hear a theme. The "Fireworks" track - Fred and George leaving Hogwarts - was delightful. I actually like the folk element entering into the story a bit. But track after track sounds like accompaniment to a theme that no one played. Come on, Warner Bros., surely you can do better than this! (Don't get me started on the director either.) In my worst days as a composer I wrote as well as that.

THe other problem is the ordering of the tracks. Okay, JW did this on the early Star Wars movies, too, and we all hated it then. Some Broadway musicals had to re-order things, too, to accomodate the side breaks of LPs. They re-ordered stuff when CDs came out. So did the "Final" version of Star Wars 4,5 &6. There is no sense of pacing corresponding to the movie. It sounds great! But to quote a famous author, it is "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."