Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Nicholas Hooper
" Like the first, Hooper can't deliver it for the second "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
With Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, or Harry Potter 6 we are nearing the end of the Harry Potter books. To extend the money making franchise a little bit more, they have decided to split the final book into 2 parts. Not a bad idea considering the enormous fortune these movie adaptations seem to make with each movie. And while I was a loyal follower through books (or movies) 1-4, I left my enthusiasm with numero 5. Don't know what it was, but it did not deliver what I was hoping for. Or it had to be that number 5 didn't deliver that much action, and that it had one of the most controversial scores of that specific summer.
Nicholas Hooper, a loyal favourite of director David Yates looked to be a good choice at first. After all, unknowing composers always deliver surprising results when they get their hands on something they would never work on. And yet, for Nicholas Hooper it didn't seem to differ much. Because I couldn't believe I was listening to something normal, when I was expecting something Potter magical instead. The surprise was all the more bigger when we heard that Nicholas Hooper would compose the music for the 6th Potter as well.
We may have opened somewhat childlike with The Sorcerer's Stone, but at least that score had wit and charm. And when we reached the 3rd and 4th, we discovered that Harry Potter could be serious as well (both visually and musically). But Hooper didn't follow or couldn't follow in those footsteps. Nothing disconcerting if those footsteps were from John Williams and Patrick Doyle, but the lack of magical material was definitely the real letdown of his first entry. The question was then also, would Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince continue the trend?
I'm not going to let you wait in suspense any longer, the answer is YES. In fact, it is a surprise Hooper could produce more of this. And yet Harry Potter 6 begins promising, almost too promising. In "Opening" the familiar Hedwig's theme makes an appearance, but it is the nice choral and brassy continuation that will surprise even the most disbelieving folk. And yet it is not what's surprising, it is the choral elegy for Dumbledore that gives me the most satisfaction instead. In "In Noctem" and "Dumbledore's Speech" it is soft, while enhanced grandly in the middle of "Journey to the Cave". Even the playful Williams' like "The Story Begins" works to please me.
But after that Hooper falls into the same traps he laid in his first score. And only in moments does he crawl out of them. And why? Because there's a great tune returning from the 3rd Williams' score The Prisoner of Azkaban. The rousing 4 note motif that startled the quidditch game in the rain is now returning to give us "Ron's Victory" and "Of Love and War". The problem is, the music that comes between this lacks the same creative spark. And then you know once again you're not dealing with John Williams anymore.
In between all this lies softness, boringness and the biggest trap of them all, unfitting'ness. The boring "Snape and the Unbreakable Vow", the return of an Umbridge like cue in "Living Death" (sounds playful right?), the eerie "Into the Pensieve", ... they don't add much. And then you have lovely material like a guitar love theme in "Harry & Hermione" and "When Ginny Kissed Harry". But the question is, does it fit? Because it feels like it belongs somewhere else. And don't get me started on the childlike "School! and the suspenseful jazz in "The Slug Party". It might have worked when they were 10, but now it feels preposterous.
And why? Why do we need to hear jazz in Harry Potter? Come to think of it, why do we need to hear music that's not even in the film? I'm glad that the biggest jazz piece isn't in the film at all, but I'm wondering why we need to hear it in the end on a CD as well? (note that the moment I'm referring to is found in "Wizard Wheezes").
The boring "Into the Rushes", the soft flutes in "Slughorn's Confession", the uneasy suspense in "The Killing of Dumbledore" (they just can't resist to mention spoilers), all of this is okay, if you consider the following. "The Drink of Despair" holds for me one of the biggest issues of all. The dramatic string work aside, why on earth do we need to have SFX (or something that sounds like it) opening the cue? At times I wonder if it is the mere CD that scratches its way forward, or the brilliant thought of someone, but this absolutely stinks. It shows you sometimes so easily to what's bad and unfitting about Nicholas Hooper's score. And that's sad, because at other times he brings you something grand.
I didn't know the spider Aragog was Irish, but at least he gets a nice (known?) Irish goodbye in "Farewell Aragog". But what I love the most here is the nice dramatic return of the elegy in "Inferi in the Firestorm. Sometimes, just sometimes Hooper does it right. The nice jumpy Irish send off "The Weasley Stomp" may not fit again, but at least it sounds pompous and fun.
In conclusion, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince does several things right, several things wrong and mostly listens like a calm score for a normal Sunday afternoon movie. But this isn't your basic afternoon movie, this is Harry Potter and just like the first, Hooper destroys whatever potential there was in the second. In moments he nails it, in most occasions he makes it sound like a romantic excursion to a castle where sometimes, things happen. I'm sorry, but this is not enough. The mere fact a normal Williams motif must come in and save the day says a lot about the score in general. It is okay and at times pleasant, but for Harry Potter this is not enough. There are rumours that John Williams will return for the final movie and for many, it will be about bloody time too.
Tracklisting
1. Opening (2.54)
2. In Noctem (2.00)
3. The Story Begins (2.05)
4. Ginny (1.30)
5. Snape & the Unbreakable Vow (2.50)
6. Wizard Wheezes (1.42)
7. Dumbledore's Speech (1.31)
8. Living Death (1.55)
9. Into the Pensieve (1.45)
10. The Book (1.44)
11. Ron's Victory (1.44)
12. Harry & Hermione (2.52)
13. School! (0.05)
14. Malfoy's Mission (2.53)
15. The Slug Party (2.11)
16. Into the Rushes (2.33)
17. Farewell Aragog (2.08)
18. Dumbledore's Foreboding (1.18)
19. Of Love & War (1.17)
20. When Ginny Kissed Harry (2.38)
21. Slughorn's Confession (3.33)
22. Journey to the Cave (3.08)
23. The Drink of Despair (2.44)
24. Inferi in the Firestorm (01.53)
25. The Killing of Dumbledore (3.34)
26. Dumbledore's Farewell (2.22)
27. The Friends (2.00)
28. The Weasley Stomp (2.51)
Total Length: 62.40
Nicholas Hooper, a loyal favourite of director David Yates looked to be a good choice at first. After all, unknowing composers always deliver surprising results when they get their hands on something they would never work on. And yet, for Nicholas Hooper it didn't seem to differ much. Because I couldn't believe I was listening to something normal, when I was expecting something Potter magical instead. The surprise was all the more bigger when we heard that Nicholas Hooper would compose the music for the 6th Potter as well.
We may have opened somewhat childlike with The Sorcerer's Stone, but at least that score had wit and charm. And when we reached the 3rd and 4th, we discovered that Harry Potter could be serious as well (both visually and musically). But Hooper didn't follow or couldn't follow in those footsteps. Nothing disconcerting if those footsteps were from John Williams and Patrick Doyle, but the lack of magical material was definitely the real letdown of his first entry. The question was then also, would Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince continue the trend?
I'm not going to let you wait in suspense any longer, the answer is YES. In fact, it is a surprise Hooper could produce more of this. And yet Harry Potter 6 begins promising, almost too promising. In "Opening" the familiar Hedwig's theme makes an appearance, but it is the nice choral and brassy continuation that will surprise even the most disbelieving folk. And yet it is not what's surprising, it is the choral elegy for Dumbledore that gives me the most satisfaction instead. In "In Noctem" and "Dumbledore's Speech" it is soft, while enhanced grandly in the middle of "Journey to the Cave". Even the playful Williams' like "The Story Begins" works to please me.
But after that Hooper falls into the same traps he laid in his first score. And only in moments does he crawl out of them. And why? Because there's a great tune returning from the 3rd Williams' score The Prisoner of Azkaban. The rousing 4 note motif that startled the quidditch game in the rain is now returning to give us "Ron's Victory" and "Of Love and War". The problem is, the music that comes between this lacks the same creative spark. And then you know once again you're not dealing with John Williams anymore.
In between all this lies softness, boringness and the biggest trap of them all, unfitting'ness. The boring "Snape and the Unbreakable Vow", the return of an Umbridge like cue in "Living Death" (sounds playful right?), the eerie "Into the Pensieve", ... they don't add much. And then you have lovely material like a guitar love theme in "Harry & Hermione" and "When Ginny Kissed Harry". But the question is, does it fit? Because it feels like it belongs somewhere else. And don't get me started on the childlike "School! and the suspenseful jazz in "The Slug Party". It might have worked when they were 10, but now it feels preposterous.
And why? Why do we need to hear jazz in Harry Potter? Come to think of it, why do we need to hear music that's not even in the film? I'm glad that the biggest jazz piece isn't in the film at all, but I'm wondering why we need to hear it in the end on a CD as well? (note that the moment I'm referring to is found in "Wizard Wheezes").
The boring "Into the Rushes", the soft flutes in "Slughorn's Confession", the uneasy suspense in "The Killing of Dumbledore" (they just can't resist to mention spoilers), all of this is okay, if you consider the following. "The Drink of Despair" holds for me one of the biggest issues of all. The dramatic string work aside, why on earth do we need to have SFX (or something that sounds like it) opening the cue? At times I wonder if it is the mere CD that scratches its way forward, or the brilliant thought of someone, but this absolutely stinks. It shows you sometimes so easily to what's bad and unfitting about Nicholas Hooper's score. And that's sad, because at other times he brings you something grand.
I didn't know the spider Aragog was Irish, but at least he gets a nice (known?) Irish goodbye in "Farewell Aragog". But what I love the most here is the nice dramatic return of the elegy in "Inferi in the Firestorm. Sometimes, just sometimes Hooper does it right. The nice jumpy Irish send off "The Weasley Stomp" may not fit again, but at least it sounds pompous and fun.
In conclusion, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince does several things right, several things wrong and mostly listens like a calm score for a normal Sunday afternoon movie. But this isn't your basic afternoon movie, this is Harry Potter and just like the first, Hooper destroys whatever potential there was in the second. In moments he nails it, in most occasions he makes it sound like a romantic excursion to a castle where sometimes, things happen. I'm sorry, but this is not enough. The mere fact a normal Williams motif must come in and save the day says a lot about the score in general. It is okay and at times pleasant, but for Harry Potter this is not enough. There are rumours that John Williams will return for the final movie and for many, it will be about bloody time too.
Tracklisting
1. Opening (2.54)
2. In Noctem (2.00)
3. The Story Begins (2.05)
4. Ginny (1.30)
5. Snape & the Unbreakable Vow (2.50)
6. Wizard Wheezes (1.42)
7. Dumbledore's Speech (1.31)
8. Living Death (1.55)
9. Into the Pensieve (1.45)
10. The Book (1.44)
11. Ron's Victory (1.44)
12. Harry & Hermione (2.52)
13. School! (0.05)
14. Malfoy's Mission (2.53)
15. The Slug Party (2.11)
16. Into the Rushes (2.33)
17. Farewell Aragog (2.08)
18. Dumbledore's Foreboding (1.18)
19. Of Love & War (1.17)
20. When Ginny Kissed Harry (2.38)
21. Slughorn's Confession (3.33)
22. Journey to the Cave (3.08)
23. The Drink of Despair (2.44)
24. Inferi in the Firestorm (01.53)
25. The Killing of Dumbledore (3.34)
26. Dumbledore's Farewell (2.22)
27. The Friends (2.00)
28. The Weasley Stomp (2.51)
Total Length: 62.40