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For the first three "Harry Potter" movies, John Williams ("Star Wars" and numerous other films) composed the music and it awesome. Poignant, touching, entertaining, everything that you could want. John Williams didn't do the music for this movie. Patrick Doyle was called to the task and personally, I think that he performed admirably.

"Goblet of Fire" is a far different film from the first three "Potter" movies. There are some big things happening, which you almost certainly know about if you're reading this. These demand strong themes and music and Patrick Doyle delivered.

I'm not going to give a blow-by-blow track review, but I will touch on some of my favorite tracks. These are "The Quidditch World Cup," "Golden Egg," "Neville's Waltz," "Underwater Secrets" "Hogwarts' March" and "Magic Works."


Some thoughts on a few of these pieces --- "The Quidditch World Cup" evokes the passion of this great sport and has wonderful Irish music in it as well. There's also the chanting --- "Krum... Krum... Krum," it really works. "Golden Egg" is a partly vocal piece encompassing the song about the mermaids' task and they got a nice female singer to perform it. "Neville's Waltz" evokes a classical feeling and is also just funny. And then there's "Magic Works," a sort of ballad that was played during the closing credits. After listening to it a few times ("Believe, that magic works / Don't be afraid / Of being there / Don't let this magic die...") you too might just believe that magic works --- if you didn't already! :)


I couldn't end this review without mentioning the soundtracks two other vocal pieces --- "Do the Hippogriff" and "This is the Night." "Do the Hippogriff" is a wild punk rock theme with crazy lyrics like "I spin around like a crazy elf, dancin' by himself / I put me down like a unicorn..." As long as you don't mind this sort of song, it's good fun. "This is the Night" is another sort of rock/metal theme and it's decent too. I read that Daniel Radcliffe is a fan of this style of music, so I'm sure he was pleased by those tracks (although, unfortunately for him, I also read that they filmed his scenes separately from all that.)

I buy a soundtrack when I'm sitting enthralled by a movie but keep perking my ears for the music. That's why I bought this soundtrack. I know my John Williams, and I could tell without being told that he had not done the score. While Williams has created the most memorable themes in movie history (even my sixth graers who were born in the nineties know "Superman" and "Star Wars" when they hear them), I haven't heard this kind of passion from him since "Jurassic Park." Patrick Doyle has done wonders during a time when, honestly, soundtracks fail to be fun anymore, with rare exceptions ("Lord of the Rings").

If you search for the movies Doyle has composed music for, you'll find a common thread--"Henry V" (1989); "Great Expectations"; "Quest For Camelot"; "Hamlet" (1996); "Much Ado About Nothing." His resume is, for me, what makes him perfect as the scorer of the latest Potter music. Witchcraft and wizardry will always be linked with the ancient, and the medievel, and you can hear that style in this soundtrack, and it lends a timelessness and greater sense of maturity to the movie.

Because the movie itself has so many dark moments, much of the soundtrack is that way as well. The beginning track "The Story Continues" sets the stage for recurring themes that have their origins in Doyle, not Williams. He slips in more heaviness in tracks like "The Quidditch World Cup" for the arrival of the Bulgarians, but we can't overlook the whimsy of the start of the same track, which heralds the Irish. There is exquisite beauty in "Harry in Winter" and its theme finds its way into "Hogwarts' March." "Neville's Waltz" and "Potter Waltz" provide more relief from the darkness; however, tracks like "Golden Egg" and "Voldemort" manage wonderful transitions from light to dark and vice versa.

It seems that the majority of listeners enjoyed the soundtrack from the last movie; I can't comment on that, as I have not heard it, nor the two that came before it. I was never moved during the movie to purchase them, the way I was with GOF. Perhaps it is just that I am partial to the grandeur of music that is made to fit all the marvels of things of a time past. But isn't that what the Harry Potter books do, too? A mixture of ancient spells and wisdom with modern day inventions and slang. Doyle, it is evident, understands that synthesis.

A last note: each track is separate, which is indeed nice when you like a beginning and end to your music. There was a small trend in soundtracks for a while, like that of "Gladiator," in which all the tracks ran together, and it was annoying. Nothing to worry about here.

I have read all the reviews of the soundtracks, and I would like to say that many of the reviewers here who hated the soundtrack didn't see the movie and haven't read the books. Just how do you expect to know what the music is about unless you put it with the movie? Yes, listening to the music first can help you prepare, but ultimately, you won't have a clue until you read the books/watch the movies.

For those of you who didn't like the soundtrack and actually had good reasons, I have nothing against you. After all, we all have our opinions. It is only certain people that aren't using common sense.

About the rock music on the soundtrack, of course if you haven't seen the movie or read the books you would be appalled. "It isn't Harry Potter" you say? In the Harry Potter books/movie, there is a popular rock group called the Wierd Sisters, and they DO play at the Yule Ball. The music absolutely belonged on the soundtrack. But you wouldn't know that without seeing the movie and reading the book would you?

Yes, it's not John Williams. But I see it this way, this movie is unlike the other movies, it is darker, less like the children's books earlier in the series. Having a new composer helps to reflect that. Sure I'd love to see John Willimas back, but now not at the expense of Patrick Doyle. This soundtrack has earned it's place in my CD rack.

At first, yes, I was a bit upset that Williams wasn't going to do this movie's score, though I never really cared for his work on these movie's in the first place. The only memorable thing he did was obviously the theme, and one song from the Prisoner of Azkaban, everything else is ambience and random mystery noises. Doyle did a WONDERFUL job, forget what all these hate-mongers are saying. 'Death of Cedric' is a sorrow-full piece of work that portrays the emotion that is the scene. And the new "love" theme, if you will, for Harry is absolutely beautiful. It is played both when Harry and Cho talk, and when Harry's parents talk to him. Another huge part that struck me as amazing is the mermaid chant that is in 'Underwater Secrets' track. Exactly how I imagined it to sound. I thought it was an awesome soundtrack, and I really really hope Doyle comes back for Order of the Phoenix and Half-blood Prince. And hopefully the 7th.

First off, to settle the record straight. In some of the other reviews, it was stated that the director chose not to have John Williams do the score to this movie. That's not true. They wanted Williams to compose the score, but he was unavailable because he was scheduled to score Memoirs of a Geisha.

Now that that's out of the way, I will say that as a score by itself, Mr. Doyle's score was a decent score and functioned with the movie as a movie by itself, with a few exceptions that are listed in superb detail in some of the other reviews. The only problem is that Goblet of Fire is not a movie by itself. This isn't James Bond or the Ninja Turtles, where each movie is a different story. The Harry Potter books, much like the Lord of the Rings, are in fact one book broken up into seven parts. Each part is essential to the overall story. Likewise, the movies are, essentially, one movie broken into seven parts. In a situation like this, some level of continuity is necessary.

Mr. Doyle's biggest mistake in his approach toward this score is that he almost entirely neglected that necessary continuity. It is not an issue of whether Williams did the score or not. It is an issue of whether the pre-established themes that were given to us by Williams are continued. Williams wrote Voldemort's theme in the first movie (an appropriate variation of the Harry/Hedwig theme). That theme is nowhere to be heard. The Harry/Hedwig theme, the essential backbone of the first three scores, is barely touched upon, and in the few instances where it is heard, it's hardly recognizable. The Quidditch theme could have been arranged to incorporate the grander scope of the World Cup and maybe even into the tournaments, but it is nowhere to be found. Moaning Myrtle's theme - gone. Harry's parents theme - gone. Just imagine how moving it would have been had the family theme come soaring back to us, after all the horror and darkness, when Harry's parents came out of Voldemort's wand.

Again, this isn't about who is composing the music. This is about how the established music is treated. Imagine if John Williams hadn't been able to do Revenge of the Sith and they brought a new guy in who threw out all of the old established material and wrote his own themes. It would have been completely innappropriate.

On the other hand, if Williams had scored Goblet of Fire and had done it exactly like the first thee, it would have been equally innappropriate. Goblet of Fire is significantly darker than the others and so the mood should be entirely different. (For the record, I am sure that if Williams had done this film, he would have been acutely aware of that aspect and darkened the tone of the music. Look at Prisoner of Azkaban, for example. That score was definitely not the same tone as the first two films.)

Now, I am a film composer myself, so I understand the artistic need to be original and there's nothing wrong with that. I'm not saying that Boyle should have abandoned his own personal style and completely emulated Williams. Williams is Williams and Boyle is Boyle. As I said, this is not about who is composing the music, but how the pre-established thematic material is treated. Boyle could have easily taken on the thematic material available to him and added his own personal touch to it, which honestly would have made for an amazing score. If he had done that, he would not have broken the continuity of the story as a whole and he might have been able to strengthen the few places in the score that just plain didn't work for the film on its own.

I will be curious to see what will happen with Order of the Phoenix. Should Williams return, he will be faced with the choice of picking up the series where he left off, or picking up where Doyle left off. At the finale of Goblet of Fire, we have been left with two completely different themes for Voldemort and one half-hearted theme for Harry/Hedwig. Should Doyle return, that will most likely increase the divide between the first three movies and the last four. Since the Harry Potter franchise is not really seven separate movies but one movie divided into seven sections, there should not be a divide in the continuity anywhere, regardless of how darkly the tone has changed.

Overall, it was a fair score. Not memorable and a tad simplistic, but it functioned with what was happening on the screen. What it lacked above else was the necessary continuity. Should Doyle return to the series, I hope that he shall put his artistic ego on check and realize that each score does not stand out on its own, but as part of a whole.

With the "change" in Book IV, the movie soundtrack has changed its definition as well.

The story plot in Book IV contains both darker and lighter material, thus further defines the characters with depth and maturity. The music does the same. Unlike the underscore from "The Sorcerer's Stone" -- which often recycled the same motive on many occasions -- the beginning theme for "The Goblet of Fire" has become darker, and rest of the underscoring music contains differentiated characters to accommodate the "change" and further-definition of the story plot. With the maturity of Harry, you will also hear the maturity of the music -- cute crush, passion, fear, uncertainty, and anticipation of what's to come. If you are a fan of the Harry Potter movies, this soundtrack will be great to have.

Two other comments:
1) The last three tracks are from the rock singer singing in ball scene. It has a taste of teenager/high school memories.
2) The beginning of the theme may sound a bit like the theme for other grand hero movies like "Batman" or "The Matrix." Nevertheless, it sounds quite good.

As with every "Harry Potter" soundtrack in the past, I was truly looking forward to the release of "The Goblet of Fire". When I saw that John Williams was not the composer, I have to admit my disappointment. After listening to the complete score for the first time, I was pleasantly surprised with the orchestral part. The music that heralds the arrival of different players in the track entitled "The Quidditch World Cup" was definitely my favorite cut. The use of an Eastern European flair for Viktor Krum resonates power and strength. But as with most every review, with every good part there must also be the bad. Why-oh-why did they include vocal tracks on this soundtrack? And not only vocal tracks, but BAD vocal tracks. With the very opening of "Do The Hippogriff", I knew that I was in store for an unpleasant listening experience. The singer literally screams at the beginning. After seeing the movie and seeing the portion of the film where the songs are performed, I still cannot figure out WHY it was included in the soundtrack. It was OK for the song to be in the film because we got to see the kids be kids and have fun (for the most part) together. But to have a beautifully orchestrated piece of cinematic music immediately followed by a below-mediocre singer screaming, just does not make the least bit of sense.
In closing, my copy of the "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" soundtrack will soon be at the local CD re-seller. Perhaps if they make a compilation CD of all four movies and it does not include the "Goblet of Fire" vocal tracks, I will buy a copy of it. If I could just rate the orchestral portion of the soundtrack, I would give it 4 1/2 stars. Patrick Doyle follows the John Williams legacy and does the music great justice. The vocal tracks I could not even give 1/2 of a star. It is like trying to put a square block into a round hole. It just does not fit.

I was wary when I first heard John Williams would not be back to score the film.

His Harry Potter theme is awesome, and essentially is the heart of the story. Thankfully, Patrick Doyle recreated his own vision beautifully, and still managed to keep the overall theme brought to life by John Williams.

The tracks are darker in tone, just like the movie, but also have their own feel to them. I especially enjoy "Foriegn Visitors Arrive", "The Quidditch World Cup", and the "Hogwarts March".

It's a great soundtrack, especially for any diehard Harry Potter fans....The melodies are also very beatiful to listen to, even though they come in short bits.

When I first found out that Patrick Doyle was going to compose the music for GOF, I must admit that I was kind of worried. J. Williams did an amazing job composing the music for the first 3 Harry Potter films and I didn't think that Doyle could succeed him in this incredibly demanding task. After all, he only had around 10 million HP fans to please! I saw Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire the first night it opened at midnight. The first thing I noticed was how amazing the music was! Doyle kept "Hedwig's Theme" (William's main theme for the Philosopher's Stone) and built a whole new music theme on that. Doyle's music has a more dramatic/dark flavor, which blends great with the movie. Some pieces, like Cedric's Death, are so powerful, you feel like you are about to cry! The whole album is wicked, but my personal favorites are:
1. The Story Continues (this is the opening theme, based on William's main theme) - 1
2. the Quidditch World Cup - 3
3. Foreign Visitors Arrive - 5
4. Harry in Winter (this is such a lyrical piece! It's from when Harry asks Cho to the Yule Ball) - 12
5. Potter Waltz (The champions dance at the Yule Ball) - 13
6. Hogwarts March (3rd task) - 16
7. Death of Cedric (no comment...) - 19
8. Hogwarts Hymn (closing credits) - 21
9. Do the Hippogriff (wizards can rock!) - 22
If you are a Harry Potter fan, or you just like good music, then this album is for you! Actually, I'm listening to it right now!!!!

I have always loved Patrick Doyle, and this latest installment is a another testament to this man's talent. I find Doyle to be very versatile and his music amazingly adapts to whatever is happening on the screen. I love John Williams, but a new twist is always refreshing. I think many who were disappointed were just emotionally involved with the old Harry Potter themes, and found change a bit difficult, but if you give it a chance as a musical piece, i am sure many will learn to appreciate the genius that is Patrick Doyle.