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| Williams |
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: (John
Williams) After a year devoid of J.K. Rowling's beloved witches and
wizards on the big screen, Warner Brothers provided the third
installment of the "Harry Potter" franchise in 2004 at an
uncharacteristic summertime release date. While continuing the trend of
the series of (then only five) books towards a darker, more serious
conflict between good versus evil,
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of
Azkaban also introduces a great number of characters that would
prove pivotal in future installments. Potter's parents and their
relationships with friends and enemies in their own years at Hogwarts
finally begin to take shape and help explain allegiances that will be
both tested and redefined in the years to come. There have been many
strong arguments stating that this third book is, despite the absence of
Lord Voldemort, the most intriguing story of the series, the best
integrated clash of the lighter fare of the earlier entries with the
action soon to dominate the concept. Director Alfonso Cuaron guided this
shift, taking the reigns from Chris Columbus, and there was initial
speculation that he would bring composing collaborator Patrick Doyle
along with him. While Doyle indeed joined the franchise with
Harry
Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Cuaron retained John Williams for the
director's lone entry. Williams cheerfully returned once again (along
with a continuing cast and crew mourning the sad loss of actor Richard
Harris) after receiving the assistance of conductor William Ross in
completing the arrangements on his
Harry Potter and the Chamber of
Secrets score in 2002 due to the maestro's hectic schedule. For the
first time in nearly a decade, Williams had taken a year off, allowing
2003 to break his vast streak of consecutive years with an Academy Award
nomination. Partially because of this break, partially because of the
haunting Christmas carol-like music that Williams provided for the
film's trailer, and partially because of the magic that is always
possible in the non-muggle world of "Harry Potter," Williams' score for
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was as highly
anticipated as any in 2004. No matter your opinion of how well these
scores hold up over time, there is a consensus about the generally high
quality of Williams' writing, the importance of the carryover of his
style, and recognition of how identifiable the composer had made his
delightful plethora of themes thus far.
Had Williams continued in the franchise past
Harry
Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, he may have had more themes on
his hands for the "Harry Potter" universe than he created for the
Star Wars one. Unfortunately, due to shifting directors in the
franchise and the composer's semi-retirement in the late 2000's, and
despite empty speculation about his interest in returning to score one
or both of the
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows scores,
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban turned out to be his
final venture in this concept. With so many new characters and ideas
revealed in this entry, it's no surprise that two major new themes are
introduced by Williams, joined by several lesser motifs that may have
been given further development in future films had the composer
continued in the franchise. These new identities exist almost completely
separately from Williams' motific development for the first two films, a
significant detriment to the score and one that strips much of its
"Harry Potter" character from the music. In fact, for nearly the entire
length of
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, there's
hardly any sense whatsoever that this music belongs to the same
franchise. This choice was primarily Cuaron's; the director insisted
that the score take a different approach in its thematic placements and
instrumentation, and Williams obliged. As such, there is a totally
senseless loss of cohesion between
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of
Azkaban and its predecessors, opening the doors for future composers
in the series to likewise jettison thematic attributions from Williams.
The lack of applications for the themes for Hogwarts, a powerfully
popular variation on Hedwig's theme, and those for Harry himself is
simply unforgivable. The two prior scores had been so extraordinarily
well coordinated in the development of these themes that their total
absence from
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is
insultingly ridiculous. Williams had proven with his "Chamber of
Secrets" theme that he could take his original motifs from
Harry
Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and manipulate them into brilliantly
dark alternatives. Why was the same not attempted here? With Hedwig's
theme only provided occasional lip service and itself not evolved in
meaningful ways, and the flying theme only reprised at the very end of
the score, the thematic core of the franchise is simply missing. For
some listeners, this abandonment may disqualify the score
completely.
The two major new themes from Williams for
Harry Potter
and the Prisoner of Azkaban are, ironically, not for new concepts in
the franchise. Harry's relationship with his family and the school
itself receive those new themes despite perfectly adequate ones existing
already. The new themes for these areas don't even make token references
to the old ones, either. Again, this is nonsensical and frustrating
spotting of a film, but Williams made the best of his instructions from
Cuaron to deviate completely. Interestingly, neither of these themes is
related to any of the substantial, new characters in this entry. Don't
expect, for instance, a major showing of thematic force for Sirius
Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, or even the dementors. They all
have motifs to some degree or another, but none is memorable. Many
listeners will perceive some colorful treatment for characters in
individual scenes, as well as more nebulous, atmospheric ideas that
encompass the wintry atmosphere of the film as a whole. But none of it
would last in the franchise. The choral Christmas song for "Double
Trouble" is a great example of this score's singular flavor, as is the
ethereal motif for Potter's patronus and a familial theme in the cue
"Window to the Past" that more effectively serves as the primary
identity for
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The
"Double Trouble" theme is the identity for the school year at Hogwarts,
its formal, vocalized introduction serving as Williams' dark counterpart
to his
Home Alone carols. Its McBeth-inspired lyrics and an
accelerated pace tilts the song just far enough off center as to
maintain the frightening realization that this Christmas season at
Hogwarts is even more ominous than ones past. Its melody and medieval
tone is reprised extensively in "Trouble Takes Many Forms" (including a
notable recorder solo), on celesta and harp in "The Big Doors," and in
the fluffy, weightless cue, "Portrait Gallery." Because Williams was
tasked with expressing this theme in the tones of music from long ago,
the performances yield an often dainty and unsatisfying ambience. Other
relatively early cues in the film stew with the idea before the score
largely leaves it behind. Only in the opening of the end credits
sequence are listeners afforded a fully symphonic interpretation of this
idea that transforms it into a surprisingly formidable presence. Had
this melody been offered such depth in more passages during the picture
and combined with the established Hogwarts variation of the Hedwig
theme, it could have maintained a more memorable stance on screen.
The second and more enticing new theme in
Harry Potter
and the Prisoner of Azkaban accompanies Harry's continued discovery
of his parents. Again, a theme already existed for this concept, but
Williams supplants that idea completely with his "Window to the Past"
theme. The lovely recorder-led performance in that suite-like
arrangement is the primary musical identity of the film, dancing in the
solo performance (by composer/performer Richard Harvey of
Animal
Farm,
Arabian Nights, and
Suriyothai) of an almost
Irish folk tune and building into a fully orchestral statement with
Hedwig's theme supplied as an interlude. This attractive theme is
introduced in "Parents' Portrait and the Empty Playground" and is
further exposed in "On the Bridge - Remembering Mother" and "A Walk in
the Woods and Bird's Flight," the latter offering the best integration
of the Hedwig theme into this score's new material. As Black and Lupin
are revealed to be protagonists, Williams shifts their three late cues
with Potter to include this theme, including a close emulation of the
concert arrangement in "Sirius Says Goodbye." A similar treatment is
afforded to the middle passage of the end credits. The lesser motifs in
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban have less of an impact
on the score than hoped, with the exception of the soaring Buckbeak
flight theme. The beastly bird itself doesn't maintain its own musical
identity while it's on the ground, but Williams' material for two flight
sequences involving Buckbeak are the unquestionable highlight of the
score. Finally ditching the sparsely vintage highlands tone of the other
themes, "Buckbeak's Flight" provides the only really broad and majestic,
fully bombastic Williams cue in the score and was among the last
reminders of the maestro's early 1980's heyday before his sabbatical of
the 2000's. An impressive barrage of timpani at the start of the cue
leads to two minutes of grand and epic fantasy music that serves as the
highlight of the score within the film and likely alone earned Williams
his Oscar nomination for this effort. After remaining absent for other
Buckbeak scenes, a variation of the same idea returns in full force
(after a very brief allusion to Harry's forgotten theme from the prior
films at 0:34) in "The Rescue of Sirius." A lesser motif does address
trepidation about the approach to the animal, as Williams presents a
thumping bass rhythm in "Befriending the Hippogriff" (against the
"Double Trouble" theme) and "The Executioner." None of the softer
sentimentality of the creature is addressed by either of these
motifs.
Far less memorable is the actual theme for Sirius Black, a
repeating three-note string motif of mystery. Introduced in "Monster
Book and Discussing Black," this theme returns forcefully in "The
Grim/The Newspaper" and "Confrontation in the Shrieking Shack" before
disappearing due to the reveal of the character's true intents.
Alongside the Black theme in "Monster Book and Discussing Black" is a
tentative harpsichord phrase (with the first five notes repeating) to
represent Peter Pettigrew, and this motif extends separately to "A Walk
in the Woods and Bird's Flight," "The Three Broomsticks," and
"Buckbeak's Fate and the Marauder's Map," in which it is often applied
as a supplemental effect rather than a self-contained melody. Meanwhile,
Remus Lupin doesn't receive any significant motif from Williams, though
the darker, distorted, and frantic tones in "The Werewolf Scene"
confirm, as with Williams' rather mundane atmospheric cues for the
score, that the franchise is indeed headed into the murky depths of
horror and mystery. One would imagine a grand convergence of the
character themes in "Confrontation in the Shrieking Shack," but this cue
is among the score's weakest and most forgettable ambient passages. The
only other recurring musical tools in the score are choral-based, one
representing the dementors and the other for Potter's patronus. The
former occupies "Apparition on the Train," interjects brief interludes
in "Rainy Nights, Dementors and Birds" and "The Big Doors," and
appropriately bursts during "Page 394 and Quidditch, Third Year" with a
brass motif for the dementors as well. This idea, along with "Monster
Books" and "The Boggarts," play as closely to Williams' standard horror
underscore mode as possible, producing plenty of interesting dissonant
tones for the dementors while not progressing the thematic direction of
the franchise. The patronus concept, on the other hand, counters with
tonally lovely protection in "Summoning the Patronus," is forced into
battle in "The Dementors Converge," and appropriately joins the new
"Window to the Past" family theme in "Watching the Past." Williams
merges the two choral ideas with skill in "The Dementors Converge," as
the "Window to the Past" theme is enveloped and attacked by malicious
horns and choir, and a victorious choral performance reprising
"Summoning the Patronus" predictably swells with orchestral power as
Potter saves his friends from the dementors. The remaining elements of
the story are handled with unique approaches to each scene, a technique
not unfamiliar to Williams but one that can cause this particular score
to sound disjointed.
The individualism of certain cues in
Harry Potter and
the Prisoner of Azkaban may be of benefit to the film, but the album
experience suffers all the same. The waltz for Aunt Marge is the first
of several cues that prove that Williams was still at his peak
compositionally; in this cue, he provides a very classically structured
piece for the pompous nature of Potter's aunt, with so much
old-fashioned movement and instrumentation as to make for pure comedy.
Depending on your opinion about wild, crazy vintage jazz, the "Knight
Bus" cue could either be a guilty pleasure or a major irritation. Its
zany, carnivalesque attitude is admirable but irritating nevertheless.
Williams scores "Quidditch, Third Year" with a greater sense of urgency
than in the preceding films' gaming scenes, sadly abandoning his
established flying theme in the process. (Recall that the flying theme
had already replaced Williams' proper Quidditch theme from
Harry
Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the second film.) The bright
fanfares have yielded to serious battle tones of the level of intensity
most closely associated at the time with
Star Wars: Attack of the
Clones. In fact, there are many similarities between "Quidditch,
Third Year" and the
Star Wars prequels, highly complex action
movements on brass accented by a meandering female choir. This high
standard of rolling excitement continues in "Chasing Scabbers," "The
Whomping Willow," and "Lupin's Transformation," all of them exhibiting
layers of complex writing that confirmed Williams' continuing prowess.
In "The Whomping Willow," the composer especially impresses with his
outstanding percussion and horn applications. Abandoning snowy play cues
from the previous scores is "The Snowball Fight," an airy diversion from
an otherwise drab midsection of the score. The Buckbeak theme is
surprisingly absent in "Saving Buckbeak," even neglecting to hint at the
animal's flying or approach motifs. Williams instead handles the
suspense of the scene by appropriately previewing (and creating a loop
with) the rhythmic doomsday approach heard in "Time Past." The pivotal
time travel sequence in the last third of
Harry Potter and the
Prisoner of Azkaban is tackled by Williams with that very
predictably mechanical method that you'll either love or hate. The
ticking clock percussive effect and associated tolling chimes in "Time
Past" and recurring through "Turning Time Back" is not really a novel
idea, and its restraining persistence can get on the nerves, but it does
further the quirky personality of the score at even its most troubled
moments.
As for the lonely representatives of the franchise's
past in the opening and closing cues of
Harry Potter and the Prisoner
of Azkaban, expect a very significant step backwards from the
immensity of the performances of existing themes that magnificently
grace equivalent scenes in
Harry Potter and the Chamber of
Secrets. In the opening "Lumos! (Hedwig's Theme)," Williams presents
the primary phrasing of Hedwig's theme on celesta and whirling strings
before transitioning to the pale shades of the Hogwarts version of the
theme on woodwinds. It lacks the fuller Hogwarts variation as had been
heard over the titles in the previous two scores and Patrick Doyle's
follow-up for
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and the tone
here is abysmally muted by comparison. At the end of the film, Williams
originally scored "The Firebolt" without the flying theme but later
revised the cue for the necessary inclusion. As a transition to the end
credits, he presents the score's only brass performance of Hedwig's
theme, albeit in a fragment of one phrase. The lengthy "Mischief
Managed!" assembly at the end of the initial album is not the actual
"End Credits" cue heard in the film. In both versions is the
aforementioned adaptation of the "Double Trouble" material into a fuller
symphonic form superior to all of its prior incarnations. The commercial
arrangement of the suite concludes with a forced resolution of the
celesta performance of the Hedwig primary phrase at the very end;
Williams' end credits arrangements began exhibiting signs of laziness in
the early 2000's, and the rather dull and disjointed 12 minutes of
material forced together inartfully for the "Mischief Managed!" track
diminishes the listening experience on album. In the actual "End
Credits," Williams follows the "Window to the Past" theme with a slight
rearrangement of the latter half of his "Hedwig's Theme" concert suite
from the first film, though this performance is far inferior in depth
and pacing. Overall,
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is
a highly acclaimed score that is often considered by fans to be the best
developed and most maturely suspenseful of Williams' three entries in
this series. As with his other "Harry Potter" scores, the composer
tempts with continued musical creativity for individual scenes, the
usual level of marvelous tonal colors and counterpoint, and ingenuity in
orchestration and specialty colors that never cease to amaze. As a
package,
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban showcases the
brilliance of Williams' talents, and yet the constraints placed on the
score's thematic attributions by the director failed to allow a wrapping
of all these ideas into a coherent whole.
There is a lack of definitive passion in
Harry
Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban embodied by significant passages
of dullness in its midsection and climax. The score's place in the
overarching narrative is nebulous, and the shift to darker tones with
which listeners often associate its effectiveness was actually a
striking asset already present in the highly underrated and
retrospectively superior score for
Harry Potter and the Chamber of
Secrets. Unlike the impressive tapestries woven by Williams for the
previous entries in the franchise, he failed to further develop that
base sound as the students age and war approaches. Opportunities for
connectivity were lost during the mentioning of Voldemort's return, the
Quidditch match, and references to the history of the castle. The
narrative of Williams' trilogy was stifled, and no amount of occasional
celesta and glockenspiel magic could suffice to preserve that flow.
Doyle's score for
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, not
surprisingly, suffers from exactly the same issues, conveying superior
ideas but unnecessarily reinventing themes for concepts Williams already
addressed and largely ignoring the major thematic arcs of the existing
music. On album,
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is
impressive in parts but leaves you wanting more. The 2004 Atlantic album
contains most of the score's highlights, but not all. A 2018 expanded
2-CD set (part of a 7-CD collection of Williams' music for his three
films) reveals more narrative intrigue but also exposes the score's
significant weaknesses. The longer presentation can be a laborious
exercise, especially given that little of the additional material ties
this score to the franchise. The ticking effects late in the score,
including seemingly synthetic bass presence, were dialed back for the
2004 album and restored on the longer set; unfortunately, they make
"Time Past/Saving Buckbeak" a tedious slog. The score's second act
barely keeps your attention, cues like "The Courtyard and Sir Cadogan,"
"The Three Broomsticks," and "About Pettigrew/The Crystal Ball"
narratively pointless. Extensive alternate and source bonus cues are
also of lesser interest outside of the rejected version of "The
Firebolt." The sound quality and performances in this score are far less
vibrant than they were in
Harry Potter and the Chamber of
Secrets, perhaps owing to the London Symphony Orchestra not
returning. In the end, parts of the score are exhilarating, but its
whole is frustrating because, aside from Williams' natural style and the
token Hedwig theme references, this work is not truly a "Harry Potter"
score. The musical roots of the franchise were dug up by the change in
director, and his demands ensured that it did not matter whether the
maestro's baton was a magic wand or not.
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The insert of the 2004 Atlantic album includes a note from the director about the
score and film, as well as a fold-out poster. The CD is enhanced with wallpapers, a
screensaver, stills from the film, a video game demo, and a Warner Brothers contest entry.
The 2018 La-La Land set contains extremely detailed information about the Williams scores for
the franchise, with several booklets containing a wealth of information. The track listings
are not featured in any convenient place on the packaging, however.
