> Ahh, I always appreciate intelligent responses ^_^.

Thanks! I argue with people a lot, but I always try to back up what I'm saying, because I hate when people just say, "You're wrong!"

> Hmm, I don't really get the overly adventurous feel from that part.
> Adventurous I get from say, "Buckbeak's Flight" in Prisoner of
> Azkaban. Which, does indeed fit the scene where it is played perfectly. Or
> parts of "Golden Egg" in the Goblet of fire soundtrack, a track
> which though pleasant to listen to, I feel was overdone in terms of
> relating to the movie. That piece of Journey to the Cave though, I thought
> was perfectly fitting, and I actually feel it describes much of what you
> said you would have preferred. I don't get an "adventurous" feel
> from it, but rather I get one of impending doom. The repetitive, rapid
> string strokes before 1:34 build up the tension of the journey to come,
> and once 1:34 comes around, well, I get that feel of someone headed
> towards something immensely dark and powerful, on a remote location. And
> again, it feel personal. More complicated instrumentation or more
> prominent melodies I honestly feel would take away from the importance of
> it being Harry and Dumbledore's journey alone.

Hmmm... I really do get that adventurous feel. Certainly one of tension, like you said, but still an adventure. Does anyone else get this feeling? I guess I would prefer something more heartbreaking and haunting (I can think of moments in John Debney's Dragonfly score that would fit this part perfectly, although it wouldn't have fit the rest of the music). "Haunting" is the right word, I think. Oh well...I'm not the composer. I was just hoping for a different type of score.

I don't think more complicated instrumentation is necessary here, but I am curious as to why you think that a more prominent melody would take away anything from the moment.

> I'm really not so sure about that. Epic is too broad a term I guess,
> though its my fault for introducing it. Listening back on the soundtracks,
> and having watched the previous 5 movies over in anticipation for HBP, I
> do often feel like things were overdone at times, which I never felt this
> time around(though you could argue that was because they were underdone,
> lol). Examples would be in the more "actiony" music of Prisoner
> of Azkaban, such as "The Werewolf scene" or "Monster Books
> and Boggarts".

Well, I think you could argue that back in PoA, the sense of tangible danger wasn't as present as it is by HBP. Back then, people didn't take the story AS seriously, and I certainly get the feeling that John Williams was being a little tongue-in-cheek with his action. But, yeah, it is over-the-top, but possibly intentionally so. That's one of the reasons I like it; it's playful. And I can definitely see why some people would think the past music has been too epic, as Williams's use of large choirs and a full orchestra doesn't leave much room for the musical aspect of the series to grow.

> I find it quite funny that the reviewer mentions the reintroduction of
> Hedwig's theme in "Ginny" being a "breath of fresh
> air", because watching the movie, I can clearly recall thinking
> "that was so out of place". Don't get me wrong, Hedwig's theme
> will forever live as one of the most iconic themes in film history, but
> for that moment, it was inappropriate.

I remember thinking the same thing. That theme has been used in the some of the weirdest moments in this series, though I do think Williams employed it best (even though it was massively overdone in the first half of Sorcerer's Stone).

By the way, the only thing in these scores I think has really been missing is the use of a piano. I know Hooper used it a little bit in "Malfoy's Mission", but its so fleeting and distant that it barely registers with the score as a whole.