John Williams - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
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Free Music Notes for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Free Music Review: That Little Bit Of Magic That Remains In This World
Hit: 5 Stars
I believe that the power of a truly great composer is that which enables him or her to come up with a simple tune - a hook - that complements itself effectively with every other suite or piece of music that runs through the soundtrack of a work of art. John Williams powerfully proves that he has that skill. So, whether or not you feel Chris Columbus did a good job directing "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone", you cannot surpass his wise choice of having Mr. Williams piece together this truly spellbinding score.Yes, now and again he indulges in self-plagiarism, but all that is conveniently covered up with the playful running theme that materialises most compellingly in "Hedwig's Theme", and pops in as daintily as it sounds in the rest of the music against appropriately spine-tingling and triumphantly composite compositions. The entire soundtrack - as track-listed here - builds up in a wicked crescendo that easily sweeps one of his feet and transports him back to the magic of Harry's world. From the dark and ominous "Harry's Wondrous World", sprinkled cleverly with a tinge of hope, to the orchestral climax in "The Face of Voldermort", which erupts in musical irony when it sets "Hedwig's Theme" against cold, bombarding strings, John Williams creates his very own original (well, almost) rendition of J. K. Rowling's meticulously imaginative dimension - all embodied in every single likeable piece.
A feature which proves comforting for the listener - especially younger children who could go crazy over everything "Harry" - is that almost every piece is a suitably short, three to four-minute long opus. But even the longer pieces, such as the exhilarating "The Quidditch Match" that spans some eight minutes long, fleet by as enjoyably as the movie does in its unbelievably "short" 2½ hours. This piece, in particular, is one of my favourites, as it regenerates the majestic memory of the Arthurian-styled Quidditch setting, and the pure intensity of the game.
The soundtrack springs up a few surprises here and there. For example, in "Christmas at Hogwarts", you can actually hear caroling ghosts! And "Diagon Alley and The Gringotts Vault" is considerably varied from what is heard in that sequence of the movie, though it retains its good cheer. But it is sad that some of the music from the movie has been left out in this soundtrack (it appears to be a trend many composers and producers are following nowadays). For example, the original music for the Diagon Alley sequence had more "oomph" to it, and gave it a sense of jolly enthusiasm remarkably symbolic of how Harry must have felt visiting that venue for the first time. The light-hearted flutes that you hear instead on the soundtrack cannot beat the former, which initially created the right atmosphere so well. And also - I'm not sure if anyone noticed this - during the part of the movie before Harry, Ron, Hermione and Draco went off into the woods with Hagrid for detention, there was a Celtic-sounding tune being played with a very ghostly feel in the background while they were all huddled around the fire, and Filch asked Hagrid to "keep his wits about". I was looking out for that tune, hopefully in a piece that accompanied The Forbidden Forest sequence, but even such a piece wasn't included at all.
There's quite a bit to miss out on listening to this soundtrack, and it's a pity that not all of John Williams' work could be included here, especially being the first movie on the teenage wizard and all. But still, Mr. Williams rightfully boasts that he can recreate and bring life once more to the little bit of magic that remains in this world. Very hopefully, he will continue with the rest of the movies in the "Harry Potter" series, and remain masterful in evoking the power of magic, music and the emotion they bring about in the life of the world's most beloved teen wizard.
Free Music Review: Don't Pass Up This Film Score!
Hit: 5 Stars
You shouldn't be reading this review; you should know better than to question John Williams' talent. A lot of people were looking for this to be the breakout, youthful, vibrant adventure score that blew past the music from Hook, which it, admittedly, fails to surpass, but not without making a truly superb effort that creates one of the greatest musical experiences available. Perhaps it cannot overcome Hook because of the darker origin of the Potter world; the music intimates this idea, creating the indication of a score that more closely acquiesces with Williams' work on Episode I than his other children's scores.At the heart, of course, are several great themes--it would not be a Williams score without them. You have no doubt already been hammered over the head by them through the marketing campaign. But they are, needless to say, magical. Hedwig's theme is just what one would expect for the film, and does nothing less than define the World of Witches from the very first note. Another theme, the more sober, heroic theme is reminiscent, I feel, of The Patriot, only--without a doubt--better. It is a truly rousing piece of music, best exemplified in the second track: Harry's Wondrous World. Meanwhile, an action theme is interspersed--probably used primarily in Quidditch situations--that relies heavily on what Williams did at the Pod Race from Episode I.
But, it is my opinion that the true definition of a successful film score lies not in the themes, but in a successful development and dispersement of that theme over the fascinating and unique underscore that cannot relent on account of the scene. In this area, Potter pales in comparison to Hook, but, in fact, this is some of the best work Williams has ever done; there are choral passages that will take your breath away, folk instruments that set a unique and jolly mood, lively and sneaky sounds to exploit the slyness of Harry & co. All of this, mixed into and around those main themes of the film, create a consistent listen from start to finish that honors the books and no doubt spells the film's success.
Harry Potter is, in short, exactly what everyone expected, exactly what everyone wanted, and almost exactly what everyone got. Every track has its own piece of magic, and the key theme tracks play, making one interested in the Potter universe immediately. The score proves to be so entirely perfect, that its place in movie history is assured as equally as its effecaciousness in the film, forming a masterpiece that captures everything one would expect from J.K. Rowling's inventive masterwork.
Free Music Review: An Enchanting & Memorable Soundtrack for a Magical Film
Hit: 5 Stars
When the film version of J.K. Rowling's first book about the young wizard named Harry Potter was first released in theaters in 2001, I had not yet read any of the books, so I was not yet familiar with the story or its characters. As the lights dimmed in the local theater and the previews for upcoming attractions ended, an enchanting melody began to fill the theater as an elderly Professor Albus Dumbledore (Richard Harris, 1930-2002) walked along the suburban street known as Privet Drive. He took out what looked like a lighter and magically turned off each of the streetlamps throughout the neighborhood before approaching a darkened house. A cat magically transformed back into the human Professor Minerva McGonagall (Maggie Smith) and joins Professor Dumbledore before a light shines in skies above from a flying motorcycle ridden by Rubeus Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane). Hagrid carried with him a 1-year old baby named Harry Potter and handed him to Professor Dumbledore who placed him at the front door of the darkened house with a hand-written note to the home's occupants, for the child is the lone survivor of a deadly attack from a dark wizard named Lord Voldemort and the house where Harry was left is that of his Aunt Petunia (Fiona Shaw), Uncle Vernon (Richard Griffiths) and his cousin Dudley (Harry Melling). As the film continued to unfold, the wonderful music written by veteran composer John Williams added to the magic of J.K. Rowling's wonderful story and helped to bring her magical world of wizards, witches and Hogwarts to life. Not surprisingly, John Williams received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Music for the marvelous music that he composed for "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone". Some of my personal favorite overtures used in the film include "Diagon Alley and The Gringotts Vault", "Entry into the Great Hall and The Banquet", "Christmas at Hogwarts", "The Invisibility Cloak and The Library Scene" and the closing credits with "Harry's Wondrous World".
Overall, I rate the wonderful & unforgettable soundtrack for the 2001 film of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" with a resounding 5 out of 5 stars and highly recommend it. I also highly recommend the soundtracks for the film's sequels: the 2002 "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" and the 2004 "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban". I can't wait to hear what composer John Williams has written for the upcoming release of the 2005 film "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire".
Free Music Review: John Williams At His Best
Hit: 5 Stars
Every song is good on this album. The best song is "The Quidditch Match". The song is slow for the first 30 seconds then BOOM, the main Quidditch theme plays. Another really good song is "Hedwigs Theme". It builds up during the song to a loud grand finale. "Harry's Woundrous World" is not the greatest song but it has a tiny bit of everything in it. "The Chess Game" was really good also. Here are my ratings and reviews of the songs.1.Prolouge-This is o.k. It has the main theme played quitly in it.3/5
2.Harry's Woundrous World-It changes the theme in the song four times. I'll tell you the themes in it;Biggining-"Harry's Theme"Halfway-"Main Theme"3/4 way-"Quidditch"-End-"Main Theme"4/5
3.The Arrival Of Baby Harry-It is slow but it gets louder
towards the end.3/5
4.Visit To The Zoo-Every reviewer on amazon hates this. I like it though.4/5
5.Diagon Alley-I think it was a better Diagon Alley then in the movie. The second part starts to get haunting and scary.5/5
6.Platform Nine And Three-Quarters-It is sort of silly in the beginning then it starts to build up to a loud exiting song.4/5
7.Entry Into The Great Hall-This is pretty good. It was really when they were having thier first dinner in the movie.3/5
8.Mr. Longbottem Flies-It's preetty exiting. It has what I call "Nimbus 2000" in it.4/5
9.Hogwarts Forever!-It's happy in the beggining with the french horns. It gets haunting towards the end.3/5
10.The Norweigian Ridgeback-It's sort of boring in the beginning but it makes up for it at the end of the song.5/5
11.The Quidditch Match-Just read from above to hear the review of it.5/5
12.Christmas At Hogwarts-It was great but he shouldn't have added the singing. It creeps me out sometimes.4/5
13.The Invisibility Cloak-It sounds like ghosts. It starts to get sad towards the end.3/5
14.Fluffy's Harp-Played on the harp mostly. It is really quiet but good.4/5
15.Devil's Snare-It doesn't sound great here but it sounds good in the movie.4/5
16.The Chess Game-It sounds like something from the military. It's really good though.5/5
17.Voldemort-Really scary period.4/5
18.Leaving Hogwarts-A very sad theme it builds up then at the end it's preety loud.4/5
19.Hedwigs Theme-This has a great grand finale to the end of a great soundtrack.5/5
Overall-5/5
Free Music Review: John Williams At His Best
Hit: 5 Stars
Every song is good on this album. The best song is "The Quidditch Match". The song is slow for the first 30 seconds then BOOM, the main Quidditch theme plays. Another really good song is "Hedwigs Theme". It builds up during the song to a loud grand finale. "Harry's Woundrous World" is not the greatest song but it has a tiny bit of everything in it. "The Chess Game" was really good also. Here are my ratings and reviews of the songs.1.Prolouge-This is o.k. It has the main theme played quitly in it.3/5
2.Harry's Woundrous World-It changes the theme in the song four times. I'll tell you the themes in it;Biggining-"Harry's Theme"Halfway-"Main Theme"3/4 way-"Quidditch"-End-"Main Theme"4/5
3.The Arrival Of Baby Harry-It is slow but it gets louder
towards the end.3/5
4.Visit To The Zoo- I like it though.4/5
5.Diagon Alley-I think it was a better Diagon Alley then in the movie. The second part starts to get haunting and scary.5/5
6.Platform Nine And Three-Quarters-It is sort of silly in the beginning then it starts to build up to a loud exiting song.4/5
7.Entry Into The Great Hall-This is pretty good. It was really when they were having thier first dinner in the movie.3/5
8.Mr. Longbottem Flies-It's preetty exiting. It has what I call "Nimbus 2000" in it.4/5
9.Hogwarts Forever!-It's happy in the beggining with the french horns. It gets haunting towards the end.3/5
10.The Norweigian Ridgeback-It's sort of boring in the beginning but it makes up for it at the end of the song.5/5
11.The Quidditch Match-Just read from above to hear the review of it.5/5
12.Christmas At Hogwarts-It was great but he shouldn't have added the singing. It creeps me out sometimes.4/5
13.The Invisibility Cloak-It sounds like ghosts. It starts to get sad towards the end.3/5
14.Fluffy's Harp-Played on the harp mostly. It is really quiet but good.4/5
15.Devil's Snare-It doesn't sound great here but it sounds good in the movie.4/5
16.The Chess Game-It sounds like something from the military. It's really good though.5/5
17.Voldemort-Really scary period.4/5
18.Leaving Hogwarts-A very sad theme it builds up then at the end it's preety loud.4/5
19.Hedwigs Theme-This has a great grand finale to the end of a great soundtrack.5/5
Overall-5/5