Music of the Harry Potter films

The music of the Harry Potter film series was recorded and released in conjunction with the post-production and releases of each of the eight corresponding films. The scores were composed by John Williams, Patrick Doyle, Nicholas Hooper, and Alexandre Desplat. Musicians credited with writing source music include Jarvis Cocker, The Ordinary Boys and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Jeremy Soule and James Hannigan wrote the music for the Harry Potter video games.

John Williams, composer of the first three films and creator of Hedwig's Theme.

Each film's complete score is currently being performed live to picture by local orchestras in venues throughout the world through The Harry Potter Film Concert Series, produced by CineConcerts in partnership with Warner Brothers.[1] There have been over 1,370 performances in 48 countries, with over 2.6 million fans experiencing the music performed live with the full movie projected on a giant screen.[2]

Overview

Year	Title	Composer	Conductor	Orchestrator	Orchestra
2001	Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone	John Williams	John Williams	Conrad Pope Eddie Karam	London Symphony Orchestra
2002	Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets		William Ross
2004	Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban		John Williams
2005	Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire	Patrick Doyle	James Shearman	Lawrence Ashmore John Bell Nicole Nevin Brad Dechter
2007	Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix	Nicholas Hooper	Alastair King	Geoff Alexander Julian Kershaw Bradely Miles Simon Whiteside	London Chamber Orchestra
2009	Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince		Nicholas Hooper Alastair King	Alastair King Jeff Atmajian Geoff Alexander Simon Whiteside Daryl Griffith
2010	Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1	Alexandre Desplat		Alexandre Desplat Conrad Pope Nan Schwartz Clifford Tasner Jean-Pascal Beintus	London Symphony Orchestra
2011	Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2			Conrad Pope Clifford Tasner Jean-Pascal Beintus Bill Newlin

Themes and motifs

Throughout the series, each composer created themes for particular characters, items, locations, and ideas.

First appearance in The Philosopher's Stone

Theme	Description	Scores heard in
Hedwig's Flight (Theme)[3]	The dominant theme closely identified with and used in all of the Harry Potter films. Though titled "Hedwig's Theme", it doesn't always specifically represent Hedwig, but rather the wider idea of magic and the Wizarding World. Its concert suite is frequently performed by musicians and ensembles.	The Philosopher's Stone, The Chamber of Secrets, The Prisoner of Azkaban, The Goblet of Fire, The Order of the Phoenix, The Half-Blood Prince, The Deathly Hallows – Part 1, and The Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Family Portrait	Represents Harry's parents and his new family in Hogwarts.	The Philosopher's Stone, The Chamber of Secrets, and The Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (Tracked)
Harry's Wondrous World	Associated with Harry and his friendships with Ron and Hermione.	The Philosopher's Stone, The Chamber of Secrets, The Half-Blood Prince (recording sessions only) and The Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (Tracked)
Nimbus 2000	Associated with the Nimbus 2000, flying, and mischief.	The Philosopher's Stone, The Chamber of Secrets, The Prisoner of Azkaban and The Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Voldemort's Theme	A two-part theme associated with the main antagonist, Lord Voldemort	The Philosopher's Stone and The Chamber of Secrets
Philosopher's Stone	Associated with the Philosopher's Stone and used to represent Voldemort in The Chamber of Secrets.	The Philosopher's Stone and The Chamber of Secrets
Diagon Alley	Represents Diagon Alley as a setting.	The Philosopher's Stone (album only) and The Chamber of Secrets
Hogwarts Forever	A thematic representation of Hogwarts	The Philosopher's Stone
Quidditch Fanfare	Represents the commencement of the quidditch matches.	The Philosopher's Stone
Christmas at Hogwarts	Associated with the arrival of winter and Christmas.	The Philosopher's Stone and The Chamber of Secrets
The Dark Forest	Represents the Dark Forest as a setting.	The Philosopher's Stone and The Chamber of Secrets
The Flying Keys	Represents flying magical objects and creatures such as the flying keys in the first movie or Cornish Pixies and bludger in the second movie.	The Philosopher's Stone and The Chamber of Secrets
The Banquet Fanfare	Music used during banquet scenes.	The Philosopher's Stone and The Chamber of Secrets
The Great Hall Fanfare	Theme associated with the discovery of the amazing wizarding world. Used for the discoveries of Diagon Alley (in the movie), Hogwarts and the Great Hall (and during the sorting of Hermione).	The Philosopher's Stone
Ron Weasley's Motif	Cute little theme used to represents the lightness of Ron.	The Philosopher's Stone and The Chamber of Secrets
Weasley's Family	Comical theme heard during family scenes, notably the train station scenes.	The Philosopher's Stone and The Chamber of Secrets
Comical Theme	Used for Hagrid's dragon and Ron's eat slugs curse.	The Philosopher's Stone and The Chamber of Secrets
Revelation Theme	Used with the first appearance of the chess board and the chamber of secrets or when Filch and Snape discover that someone was in the restricted library in the first movie.	The Philosopher's Stone and The Chamber of Secrets
Mysterious "something's coming" Theme	Heard with the first appearance of Dumbledore out of the mist, and the approche of flying car. Also used when Harry, Ron and Hermione visit Hagrid in the middle of the night.	The Philosopher's Stone and The Chamber of Secrets
Dursley's Theme	Comical theme associated with the Dursleys.	The Philosopher's Stone and The Chamber of Secrets
Ghosts' Motif	Music heard when the ghosts appear. Also used with the Moaning Myrtle's theme.	The Philosopher's Stone and The Chamber of Secrets
Invisibility Cloak Theme	Associated with the cloak and during its use in the first three films.	The Philosopher's Stone, The Chamber of Secrets and The Prisoner of Azkaban
Fluffy's Harp	Music played by the harp in the first film.	The Philosopher's Stone
Leaving Hogwarts	Music played when Harry gets on the train.	The Philosopher's Stone, The Chamber of Secrets and The Deathly Hallows – Part 2

First appearance in The Chamber of Secrets

Theme	Description	Scores Heard in
Fawkes the Phoenix	Associated with Dumbledore's pet Phoenix.	The Chamber of Secrets
Gilderoy Lockhart	Represents the aforementioned professor.	The Chamber of Secrets
Dobby's Theme	Represents Dobby the House Elf.	The Chamber of Secrets
The Chamber of Secrets	Associated with the Chamber of Secrets as a setting.	The Chamber of Secrets
Moaning Myrtle	Associated with Moaning Myrtle.	The Chamber of Secrets
The Flying Car	Represents the enchanted car used by the protagonists.	The Chamber of Secrets
Spider's Theme	Eight notes theme (one for each leg) associated with Aragog's spiders.	The Chamber of Secrets
Lucius Malfoy's Theme	Conspiracy theme associated with Malfoy. It is based on a similar theme heard in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones.	The Chamber of Secrets
Errol the Owl	Associated with the pet owl of the Weasley family.	The Chamber of Secrets
Basilisk Duel Motif	Associated with Harry's battle with the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets	The Chamber of Secrets

First appearance in The Prisoner of Azkaban

Theme	Description	Scores Heard in
Double Trouble	Works as the main thematic identity for the third score, also used in a source cue.	The Prisoner of Azkaban
A Window to the Past	Associated with characters that have connections to Harry's parents.	The Prisoner of Azkaban
Buckbeak's Flight	Represents Buckbeak while flying.	The Prisoner of Azkaban
Quidditch Motif	Secondary theme used to represent Quidditch.	The Prisoner of Azkaban and The Half-Blood Prince
Patronus Theme	Associated with the Patronus Charm.	The Prisoner of Azkaban
Dark Omen Motif	Associated with Sirius Black in animal form.	The Prisoner of Azkaban
Betrayal Theme	Represents Harry's emotional response upon learning his parents were betrayed and Lupin's resignation.	The Prisoner of Azkaban
Peter Pettigrew's Theme	Represents Peter Pettigrew.	The Prisoner of Azkaban

First appearance in The Goblet of Fire

Theme	Description	Scores Heard in
Voldemort's Theme	New thematic identity for Lord Voldemort.	The Goblet of Fire and The Order of the Phoenix[4]
Harry's Theme	New thematic identity for Harry. Its concert suite is entitled "Harry in Winter".	The Goblet of Fire
Hogwarts' Hymn	New thematic identity for Hogwarts.	The Goblet of Fire
Durmstrang Theme	Thematic identity for Viktor Krum and Durmstrang.	The Goblet of Fire
Beauxbatons Theme	Thematic identity for Beauxbatons Academy of Magic.	The Goblet of Fire

First appearance in The Order of the Phoenix

Theme	Description	Scores Heard in
Professor Umbridge	Represents Hogwarts Professor Dolores Umbridge.	The Order of the Phoenix
Possession	Associated with Voldemort and his attempt to possess Harry.	The Order of the Phoenix and The Half-Blood Prince
Fireworks	Associated with the antics of Fred and George Weasley.	The Order of the Phoenix and The Half-Blood Prince
Dumbledore's Army	Represents Dumbledore's Army and the bonding of friends.	The Order of the Phoenix and The Half-Blood Prince (tracked)
The Kiss	Represents Harry's love and later his friendship	The Order of the Phoenix and The Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Ministry of Magic	Represents the Ministry of Magic.	The Order of the Phoenix

First appearance in The Half-Blood Prince

Theme	Description	Scores Heard in
In Noctem	Represents Albus Dumbledore.	The Half-Blood Prince
Death Eater Theme	Rhythmic ostinato for Voldemort's Death Eaters.	The Half-Blood Prince
Malfoy's Theme	Represents Draco Malfoy and his mission.	The Half-Blood Prince
Slughorn's Theme	Associated with Professor Slughorn.	The Half-Blood Prince
Harry and Hermione	Represents Harry's friendship with Hermione.	The Half-Blood Prince
Dumbledore's Farewell	Associated with the death of Albus Dumbledore and with the Snape's memories.	The Half-Blood Prince and The Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (tracked)

First appearance in The Deathly Hallows – Part 1

Theme	Description	Scores Heard in
Obliviate	Represents the loss of innocence of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Main identity for the movie.	The Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and The Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Band of Brothers Theme (Friends Theme)	In The Deathly Hallows – Part 1, it represents the Order of the Phoenix. In The Deathly Hallows – Part 2, the theme is associated specifically with Neville. Also used as a theme for Ginny and Harry.	The Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and The Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Voldemort's Theme	New thematic identity for Lord Voldemort.	The Deathly Hallows – Part 1
Death Eaters	Ostinato motif representing the Death Eaters. Often played in counterpoint with Voldemort's theme.	The Deathly Hallows – Part 1
Dumbledore Theme	New thematic identity for Dumbledore and his family.	The Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and The Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (Tracked)
Horcruxes Theme	Associated with Voldemort's horcruxes. This theme is first used for the locket in Part 1.	The Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and The Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Ron's Theme or Love Theme	Theme associated with Ron and obviously as a love theme for him and Hermione. It can be heard in Ron Leaves, Ron's Speech and at the end of Hermione's Parents when Ron returns in Part 1. It is reused in Part 2 during the kiss and when Hermione and Ron search for Harry during the battle (not used).	The Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and The Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Hermione's Theme	Sweet Theme associated with Hermione. This theme can be heard prominently in the first part of Hermione's Parents and at the end of The Dumbledores. It is used again during the torture scene with Bellatrix. In the Demos of the soundtrack this theme can also be heard in the track Traveling Montage when Harry and Hermione disappear after the departure of Ron (but this track is not in the final soundtrack or movie).	The Deathly Hallows – Part 1
Deathly Hallows	Represents the Deathly Hallows as objects.	The Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and The Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Dobby's Theme	New thematic identity for Dobby.	The Deathly Hallows – Part 1
Lovegood's Theme	Represents Xenophilius Lovegood, and is often in counterpoint with the "Deathly Hallows" theme. It is Only heard in the credits.	The Deathly Hallows – Part 1

First appearance in The Deathly Hallows – Part 2

Theme	Description	Scores Heard in
Lily's Theme	Associated with the memory of Harry's mother.	The Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Statues	Represents the Battle of Hogwarts.	The Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Battlefield	Secondary theme for the Battle of Hogwarts.	The Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Severus and Lily	Represents Snape's love for Harry's mother.	The Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Resurrection Theme	Represents the Resurrection Stone and life.	The Deathly Hallows – Part 2

References

1. Products, Warner Bros Consumer. "CineConcerts And Warner Bros. Consumer Products Announce The World Premiere Of The Harry Potter Film Concert Series, Beginning With Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
2. "Global Tour of The Harry Potter™ Film Concert Series". The Harry Potter™ Film Concert Series. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
3. Williams, John, Composers Commentary on The Harry Potter Suite by John Williams and the Boston Pops, retrieved 7 January 2019
4. "Darkness Takes Over". Youtube.com. pp. 42 seconds. Retrieved 21 July 2018.