Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (soundtrack)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (soundtrack)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is a motion picture soundtrack to the 2011 film of the same name composed and conducted by Alexandre Desplat. The soundtrack was nominated for a Grammy Award, Satellite Award, Houston Film Critics Society Award, Denver Film Critics Society Award, and an IFMCA Award for Best Original Score for a Fantasy Film. The soundtrack won the San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Score.
Development
It was confirmed on the Warner Bros. website that Part 1 composer Alexandre Desplat would return to score Part 2. In an interview with Film Music Magazine, Desplat stated that scoring Part 2 is "a great challenge" and that he has "a lot of expectations to fulfil and a great deal of work" ahead of him. Desplat started writing the music in early 2011 and finished recording with orchestrators Conrad Pope, Jean-Pascal Beintus, Bill Newlin, Nan Schwartz, Clifford Tasner, Alejandro de la Llosa and the London Symphony Orchestra on 27 May 2011 at Abbey Road Studios, as stated on Pope's official Facebook page. Actress Evanna Lynch confessed in 2011's LeakyCon that she was invited to the scoring sessions, when Desplat was recording the music for the Gringotts sequence.
The main theme of the film, "Lily's Theme", was performed by Mai Fujisawa, daughter of Japanese composer Joe Hisaishi. In the film, several tracks are re-used from previous Harry Potter films, which are not included in the released soundtrack: a variant of "Hedwig's Theme"', originally composed by John Williams, which plays during a scene in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, is used twice in Part 2. The first time is when Harry, Ron, and Hermione meet with their friends in the Room of Requirement. Critics have claimed that this has added strongly to the deep, moving feelings made and the sense of hope given to the audience. The second time is when Snape is sent out of the castle, and the Order of the Phoenix takes over control. "Dumbledore's Farewell", composed by Nicholas Hooper for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, is used by Desplat in the track "Severus and Lily", which plays during the "Prince's Tale" sequence. A variant of Hooper's "The Kiss" from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix also makes an appearance throughout the Hogwarts viaduct scene. The final scene of Part 2, set 19 years after the Battle of Hogwarts includes "Leaving Hogwarts", composed by Williams for the first film, followed by a suite of "Hedwig's Theme" for the end credits.
Desplat spoke of the use of Williams' themes in Part 2, saying, "Well, we all know there's one theme, which has become iconic, Hedwig's Theme from John Williams. This theme is crucial to the success of the story, and it would have been disrespectful and stupid for me not to use it at the crucial moments where we need to refer to these ten years of friendships that we've all had with these characters and kids, so Hedwig's Theme does reoccur a lot more [than] in Part 1 where loss of innocence was the main theme of the film [...]"
Critical reception
The soundtrack received critical acclaim. Jorn Tillnes of Soundtrack Geek gave the soundtrack a 9/10 and noted, "Part 2 ends in anything but tears. It is a joy to listen to just like Part 1 and using the Hedwig's Theme by John Williams, which is the ultimate Harry Potter theme after all, is a brilliant touch." Christian Clemmensen of Filmtracks gave the soundtrack an overall rating of 4/5, the music as heard on the album 3/5, and rated the score in the context of the film a 5/5, and commented, "Desplat finally proves that his style can transcend his obvious technical mastery of an orchestra and reach levels of tonal majesty that can be summed up in a single word: epic."
Danny Graydon from Empire Online gave the soundtrack a 5/5 rating, and said "Just as John Williams created Harry Potter musical language, Alexandre Desplat succeeds magnificently in completing it. Desplat crafts a highly emotional thematic anchor with its strings and solo vocalist."
Another review came from Allmusic.com; James Christopher Monger gave the soundtrack a 3/5 and commented, "Bombastic, sinister, and triumphant, the appropriately dark and apocalyptic Deathly Hallows, Pt. 2 may sit near the bottom of the Potter soundtrack pile, but it can hardly be called a failure." Later, a review came from Jonathan Broxton of Movie Music UK, who rated the score 5/5 stars, and commented, "I can't speak highly enough of Desplat's achievement in concluding the Harry Potter franchise the way he has..., Harry's story was always about death, and Desplat's decision to build his score around a musical motif representing those departed souls was a perfect one. This is one of the scores of the year." Evening Hour rated the soundtrack 4.5/5, commenting, "Desplat has proved to be a formidable force in the success of the Deathly Hallows films, seamlessly blending emotional nuance with action-packed grandeur. He has, in short, created a satisfying and richly layered aural landscape that I will always love coming back to."
Release
The soundtrack was released on 12 July 2011. Previews of the tracks were released on 23 June 2011.
Track listing
All tracks are composed, produced and conducted by Alexandre Desplat.
Credits and personnel
Personnel adapted from the album liner notes.
Piers Adams – recorder
John Barrett – assistant engineer
David Barron – executive producer
Jean-Pascal Beintus – orchestration
Clive Bell – shakuhachi
Paul Broucek – executive in charge of music
Peter Clarke – music editor
Paul Clarvis – ethnic percussion
Peter Cobbin – mixing, producer, recording
Charles Cole – choir master
Alexandre Desplat – composer, conductor, flute, liner notes, orchestration, percussion, piano, producer
Ninon Desplat – score coordinator
Terry Edwards – choir master
Xavier Forcioli – score coordinator
Rebecca Gilliver – cello
Mark Graham – music preparation
David Heyman – executive producer
Robert Houston – score editor
Allan Jenkins – music editor
Lewis Jones – Pro-Tools
Jill Kemp – recorder
Gabriella Kitto – soprano (vocal)
Annabel Knight – recorder
Carmine Lauri – concert master
Jakob Lindberg – theorbo
Jason Linn – executive in charge of music
London Oratory – junior choir, chorus
London Symphony Orchestra – orchestra
London Voices – choir, chorus
Mai Fujisawa - solo vocalist
Sue Mallet – music contractor
Lisa Margolis – music business affairs
Gerard McCann – producer, supervising music editor
Eoghan McNelis – soprano (vocal)
David Miller – lute, theorbo
Stuart Morton – music editor
John Parricelli – guitar
Patrick Phillips – assistant engineer
Conrad Pope – producer, supervising orchestrator
Paul Pritchard – assistant engineer
Katie Reynolds – post production supervisor
Sam Okell – mixing, recording
Schola Cantorum of the Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School – choir, chorus
Nan Schwartz – orchestration
Sandeep Sriram – art direction
Alison Stephens – mandolin
Marc Stevens – music contractor
Clifford Jay Tasner – orchestration
Katie Trethewey – soprano (vocal)
David Walter – MIDI programming
Kirsty Whalley – score editor
Subodh Chikhalkar – score editor
Gaurav Nagarkatti – assistant score editor (assistant to Subodh Chikhalkar)
John Williams – original composer of "Hedwig's Theme" and additional themes, including the unreleased cue "Epilogue (19 Years Later)", originally "Leaving Hogwarts" from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Nicholas Hooper - original composer of the cue "Dumbledore's Farewell" from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
David Yates – executive producer, liner notes
Charts
References
External links
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) on AllMusic
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2011 soundtrack albums
2010s film soundtrack albums
London Symphony Orchestra soundtracks
Fantasy film soundtracks
WaterTower Music soundtracks
Alexandre Desplat soundtracks