“EXPECTO PATRONUM!” - The Music of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

A few months after Chamber of Secrets premiered here State-side, the actors and crew were hard at work for the third (and darker) Harry Potter film, The Prisoner of Azkaban. Under the new direction of visual director Alfonso Cuarón, many in the film score community wondered if he would be given the green light to bring on a different composer and some speculated Patrick Doyle who had worked with Cuarón on Warner’s A Little Princess and Great Expectations would be his choice. However that did not come to pass and it was learned last year that John Williams would once again be taking the podium for scoring duties however this time without the assistance of composer William Ross.

Truthfully, I really didn’t know what to expect out of this disc. In all honesty, I mean it’s the third time out for Williams on the Potter series and while he didn’t do most of Chamber he is totally back in force with Azkaban and much to my surprise and delight, the music has grown just like the kids in the film. This score is dark and while it has elements of the older scores, this is defiantly a more powerful score.

The disc kicks off with “Hedwig’s Theme” in the cue, “Lumos.” While not as sweeping as what Ross did in Chamber, the cue does suggest a certain expectation and while it might be subconscious in most audience members, the cue is setting you up for an even darker film than the last one.

I was pleased to see that they have kept the Aunt Marge scene from the book, it really is wonderful, but I didn’t expect it to be a full on waltz! The cue is great, totally giving the impression that the scene is one big dance (and on some level it is.) The cue is light with lots of string work with some brass coming toward the middle and end.

The Knight Bus is the wizarding world’s ultra taxi service and the cue is a jazzy, upbeat, all over the place, non-stop, rip rearing good time. Layered with many brass instruments, the cue builds and builds and comes to a complete and utter stop (much like in the film). The cue is fun and was totally unexpected; I think Williams had fun writing it.

Finally, all those “Something Wicked This Way Comes” fans can rejoice. Here it is the full song and new theme in its entirety. The cue, “Double Trouble” is something that sounds out of the renaissance. It sounds old and is very sweeping and shows up again in other parts of the score. The cue is fun and helps to set the tone for the darker music ahead…something this way comes indeed…

Next up is “Buckbeak’s Flight,” Continuing with the Animal Catalyst theory, it opens with a ton of drums at thundering speed that sounds really cool. Here emerges one of the new themes found in Buckbeak the Hippogriff. The theme is sweeping and almost tragic sounding, it does never the less blows anything that Fawkes’ the Phoenix had going for him. While Fawkes’ theme is good Williams, Buckbeak is just better, more adult, helping the listener into the world of this more adult subject matter.

In “Window of the Part” we finally get a theme for Harry’s mom and dad, James and Lilly. The theme is very nice and sounds almost like something out the renaissance era. Dominated using wind instrumentation, the theme is really one of the great themes on this disc. Can’t wait to hear how Williams develops it through out the other films as I’m sure it will emerge in some form or another.

Hagrid finally gets a theme. Heard for the first time in “Hagrid the Professor,” the cue blends certain elements of wooden and western orchestration. The cue uses wooden instruments to give a throw back to Hagrid’s flute that he has in the first film. This track also contains themes used in “Double Trouble.”

I was glad to hear that the Quidditch music had been given an upgrade to the darker aspect of the film. The cue is dominated with strings and creates a great sense of urgency within the music. The cue hints at the theme established in “Double Trouble” a few times too, kind of fun. This cue has some really nice powerful choral work that brings in the London Voices. As the cue ends we hear a touch of ambience that is the signature of the Dementors.

“The Patronus Light” is a very nice cue, and one of my favorites. It uses a choral backing with very light instrument work. The cue gives theme to the power that Harry can produce and is a really gentle theme that appears again later in the disc.

“Forward to Time Past” is great. A ticking clock serves as the backdrop for the cue and is constantly there. The test of the orchestration and instrumentation are seduced around the clock thus letting the click be the center piece of the cue. The great string and little brass work infuse the cue with a sense of urgency.

The final three tracks, “The Dementors Converge,” “Finale” and “Mischief Managed” is basically just one big ending cue split into three sections. The “Dementors Converge” is a grandly epic cue with tons of great string and choral work. This cue gives us a grand building cue that totally delivers in the end. With its great choral work, “The Dementors Converge” is one of the highlights of the disc. “Finale” is interesting. Gone are the days of “The House Cup,” gone are the days of “Harry’s Wondrous World,” here we have a cue that continues from the cue before it and ramps up the work of Williams. The choral work here gives way to the “Patronus” theme in greater orchestral detail. These last cues are simply great and gives us even more reasons why we love the music of John Williams. The cue rounds out with “Harry’s Parents Theme.” This is how this movie should end.

Finally we come to the big finale for the film and the end credits roll (just think of a Star Wars ending, duh right?) All themes come into play here and make their finale grand exit stage left as the disc spins to a close. It’s nice to hear an edition of “Double Trouble” with out the lyrics, but don’t worry…we still get that during the end credits roll. The disc ends at with a tiny performance of “Hedwig’s Theme” as the disc comes to a stop at 68 minutes.

Like the rest of my Potter reviews, I haven’t talked about all the cues on the disc. All are fantastic and there are indeed some great ones that I haven’t talked about…I mean why ruin the surprise right? I’m sure that Williams fans already either have this disc on pre-order or own it as this review is being posted…and Potter fans…well, film music fan or not, defiantly pick this one up, it’s better than Sorcerer’s Stone and Chamber.

Just a little personal note (or rant) before I close, while William’s scores to all three films have been fantastic, this one being absolutely brilliant and totally refreshing, yet there is something to be said for allowing other composers to play in Harry’s sandbox. If the producers are changing up directors, cinematographers, editors, seriously, why not composers? Maybe that will change with Mike Newell, who is currently in pre-production on The Goblet of Fire set for a worldwide Winter 2005 release. But as of this review, it remains to be seen.

Anywho, enjoy the CD y’all, I’m off to save myself a seat for the Tri-Wizard Tournament…and bring on Goblet!

Rating: 5 / 5