From Hedwig’s theme to Quidditch matches, the musical world of Hogwarts may be one of the most iconic musical contributions to the film world this millennia. John Williams worked orchestral magic and brought us a unique contribution of fantasy, off-beat fanfares, and even a bit of jazz harmony. But what makes this great score tick? Join us as we dissect the power, the charm, and the enchantment of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

Episode notes:

07:00 – a brief history of the franchise

10:45 – Harry Potter, one of the largest franchises of the 21st century

11:22 – John Williams on how he came to be involved with Harry Potter

15:00 – Hedwig’s Theme

16:42 – the celeste and its use in other films and, famously, Tchaikovsky’s Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy

18:15 – Andrew drops a bombshell

20:10 – Breaking down Hedwig’s Theme

26:20 – a recounting of the day the musicians first encountered the score

28:00 – Hedwig’s Theme and its variations

31:25 – is Hedwig’s Theme the last John Williams melody to enter pop culture?

33:00 – The Flying Theme or the Nimbus 2000 Theme

44:15 – Harry’s Theme or the Family Theme

50:27 – the appearance of the tri-tone

52:30 – Harry’s Wondrous World Theme

1:00:08 – the Hogwarts School Song

1:02:00 – we apologise for what is about to happen…

1:04:50 – Philosopher’s vs Sorcerer’s (Stone) and some of the localisations

1:08:10 – The Stone motif

1:16:00 – the Voldemort motifs

1:23:00 – the music of Diagon Alley

1:31:10 – some banquet music from Harry Potter and other films

1:36:50 – the Quidditch Fanfare and its similarity to other “arena” cues

1:40:30 – John Williams’ use of synthesizer for the Invisibility Cloak

1:43:10 – the diegetic (harp) music of Harry Potter

1:47:00 – the action music compositional style of early 2000s John Williams

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