I've listened to the soundtrack several times… and I just don't see why everyone is complaining!

Now first of all I want to point out that I am a musician.

People complain about the absence of the themes of previous old Harry Potter scores. John Williams wrote the score for films 1, 2 and 3 as we all know. In the 1st 2 films I believed that Williams overused his themes. By the end of the 2nd album I kind of felt a little bored but also I have to put into consideration that it was a Williams Ross adaptation of William’s melodies so I can’t really judge.

However 2 years later Williams would return to Harry Potter for the 3rd outing. This time he abandoned a lot of his source material and created a whole new sound for the Harry Potter series. This was a remarkable score. It really had a folk-feel to it which was nice considering for the most part it is set in Scotland.

Now if even Williams can abandon some of his source material why can’t any of the other composers in the series do the same???

This is a question that I just don’t understand because all the score since have been great.
Patrick Doyle brought us a fresh and darker approach to the Harry Potter score that only hinted on one theme that Williams wrote namely Hedwig’s theme which he was highly criticized over.

Hooper has been more faithful to the source material written by Williams than people here are willing to let on in my opinion. In OoTP he used the Hedwig’s Theme again and also the Dementor theme from PoA. Listen to Track 4 People in the OoTP!! Its there! And while there are less references in HBP they are still there as I am going to explain!

Now after that ramble to the Half Blood Prince soundtrack…

The music for this film is appropriately mature and dark in nature. As Harry grows older and wiser, the music needed to represent this progression while at the same time retaining a youthful, magical touch. The darker aspects of this film also influence the writing so needless to say there is quite a bit to take into account before the first note is even played.

Some people are complaining saying that there is no "theme" in the film!!

Some films don’t have themes anyways. I refer everyone here to the “Dark Knight” written by Zimmer and Newton Howard. Now come on people they were not really themes they were just 2 notes rising the whole time! I wouldn’t really consider that a theme! And look at the awards it has to its name! So this idea of “themes” is a poor excuse for giving this score a bad name!

However in fact there are 2 main themes in this film written by Hooper!

The 1st one I say you will find in track 2 "In Noctem". After listening to this then listen to tracks 7, 18, 22 and 25... It’s all over the place for god’s sake!! It’s referred to as Dumbledore’s Theme. This is a perfectly fitting piece for Dumbledore for obvious reasons! I ain't going to spoil the film for those who haven't seen it yet.

The 2nd one is one for the death eaters. Percussive in nature with this driving string line.... and the taiko drum used adds a very deep sound in the percussion which is great.

And also a notable theme is the one that appears in tracks 3, 4 and a couple of other places on the album. It’s like an inversion of the original Harry potter theme. Instead of going up it goes down. I think this is a very clever adaptation of the Harry Potter theme and hats off to Nicholas Hooper with that.

Now Hedwig’s theme makes it entry at the appropriate moments in track 1 for example. This is a great adaptation of the theme. As the reviewer points out the “A” portion of Hedwig’s theme is heard then portions of the “B” theme in minor key figure that Swell and fade which sounds so haunting perfectly describing the mood/tone of this film.

I will admit that some tracks are dissonant and hard to listen to but Hooper from what I gather from his writing is a kind of Contemporary composer so this is really typical contemporary music in parts.

I think the big band and swing music included in the soundtrack is a great addition to the Harry potter series. It’s a pity it didn’t make the final cut! It would have been a great addition to the world of Harry Potter!

People seem to be of the opinion that if it isn’t Williams scoring the films then it is more or less nothing more than pure [bleep!]! Easily put!

This soundtrack is defiantly worth at least 3½ stars if not maybe 4. It’s more atmospherical than previous Harry Potter scores simply put!
As someone else has already said sometime a score doesn’t spell out a theme in big fat letters for you. This is why you have ears. To listen and find them!
Use them wisely for once!

You just need to forget Williams going in to listen to this one. Nicholas Hooper is not John Williams! He is a capable composer with a different style to Williams. A style that is more fitting for these progressively darker films.

Here’s to Hooper doing Film 7 in my opinion!

> Now first of all I want to point out that I am a musician.

So? You don't have to be a filmmaker to know what makes a good film; the same goes for music.

> In OoTP he used the Hedwig’s Theme again and also the Dementor theme from
> PoA.

He didn't use the Dementor Theme. He just used the violin in a similar way.

> The music for this film is appropriately mature and dark in nature. As
> Harry grows older and wiser, the music needed to represent this
> progression while at the same time retaining a youthful, magical touch.
> The darker aspects of this film also influence the writing so needless to
> say there is quite a bit to take into account before the first note is
> even played.

I HATE this argument about the films getting darker and the music needing to reflect that. Well, duh, but since when did "darker" become synonymous with "lack of melody"?

> Some films don’t have themes anyways. I refer everyone here to the “Dark
> Knight” written by Zimmer and Newton Howard. Now come on people they were
> not really themes they were just 2 notes rising the whole time! I wouldn’t
> really consider that a theme! And look at the awards it has to its name!
> So this idea of “themes” is a poor excuse for giving this score a bad
> name!

Harry Potter is the type of series that needs themes and motifs, though. It has so many characters, objects, and ideas that I think it's an injustice to the story to simply have underscore all the time. Given the mystery elements and the detailed culture of the series, thematic material could greatly aid the films.

> However in fact there are 2 main themes in this film written by Hooper!

Can we PLEASE stop with all the exclamation marks? You don't need them after every sentence.

> The 1st one I say you will find in track 2 "In Noctem". After
> listening to this then listen to tracks 7, 18, 22 and 25... It’s all over
> the place for god’s sake!! It’s referred to as Dumbledore’s Theme. This is
> a perfectly fitting piece for Dumbledore for obvious reasons! I ain't
> going to spoil the film for those who haven't seen it yet.

This "theme" is barely heard in the film, though. I doubt you'll find one casual moviegoer who could hum this for you (or even tell you where it appeared) after leaving the theatre. It is practically nonexistent to the point that it leaves absolutely no effect upon the listener. And I don't think it accurately represents Dumbledore at all; I'd like to know what those "obvious reasons" are.

> The 2nd one is one for the death eaters. Percussive in nature with this
> driving string line.... and the taiko drum used adds a very deep sound in
> the percussion which is great.

I wouldn't call this a main theme. Hell, I wouldn't even call it a theme. It's just a texture in the music, and it appears maybe twice.

> And also a notable theme is the one that appears in tracks 3, 4 and a
> couple of other places on the album. It’s like an inversion of the
> original Harry potter theme. Instead of going up it goes down. I think
> this is a very clever adaptation of the Harry Potter theme and hats off to
> Nicholas Hooper with that.

What?

> It’s more atmospherical than previous Harry Potter scores simply put!

So I assume that "atmospherical" is joining "dark" in the category of "lack of melody".

You know, it's perfectly possible for a melodic or thematic score to have an atmosphere. It happens all the time. Listen to the third score of this very series.

> As someone else has already said sometime a score doesn’t spell out a
> theme in big fat letters for you. This is why you have ears. To listen and
> find them!
> Use them wisely for once!

That's true, but a clear theme isn't a bad thing either. It's also perfectly possible to have very subtle variations and developments of such a theme (which you have to wisely use your ears to find).

Williams overused Hedwig's Theme in the first half of the first film, but by the third he was able to mold the theme into subtle and near unrecognizable forms. It can be done.

And speaking of themes... What was with the inappropriate use of Hooper's "Possession Theme" throughout this score? It was used at the oddest moments in the film, such as the cave scene. Dumbledore's weakening state isn't due to possession, Hooper....

> A style that is more fitting for these progressively darker films.

The Lord of the Rings films became very dark in places, but you didn't hear Howard Shore just composing low droning and pulsing beats, did you? And this has nothing to do with the different styles of these two composers; you were solely arguing about the darkness factor, and so am I.

> Here’s to Hooper doing Film 7 in my opinion!

Too late.