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So what's the deal with A Winter's Spell?


Sandor

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Only until yesterday I learned of the song A Winter's Spell from POA since someone mentioned it in the song-thread. 

 

I heard of the title before, but somehow never took the time to look it up or listen to it expecting something similar to Christmas At Hogwarts (which I find a bit too atmospheric and subdued).

 

Now that I've heard the song (YouTube live-recordings of student-choirs, piano renditions and such) I must say it is pleasantly surprising! The song is actually very good and much more profound that I expected! 

 

A few questions:

 

1. Why is the song not on the soundtrack? Was it ever recorded during the sessions?

2. Is there a good re-recording out there?  

 

Thanks!

 

 

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It's heard in the film, barely (Harry in his invisibility cloak running through carolers in Hogsmeade) so I assume that was recorded in the sessions.

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As far as I know there are no actual re-recordings out there apart from the those amateur ones found on Youtube etc.

 

The song is part of the diegetic source music so I assume it was recorded at the sessions in a normal way. Nothing dictates that it should have been on the soundtrack album and I don't find it particularly odd that Williams didn't choose to include it.

 

33 minutes ago, Sandor said:

I heard of the title before, but somehow never took the time to look it up or listen to it expecting something similar to Christmas At Hogwarts (which I find a bit too atmospheric and subdued).

The piece appears in the film for about 10 seconds and it is diegetic music meant to be coming from an on-screen sound source and not a musical number per se. Interesting is that Williams chose to include it on the OST but I guess he thought it would round out the Christmas at Hogwarts piece very nicely.

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2 hours ago, bollemanneke said:

As for Christmas at Hogwarts, there's nothing Christmas-y about that song at all, unlike A Winter's Spell.

The very lyrics "Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas, Cast a Christmas Spell" don't give it away?

It's intentionally ethereal and eerie, and the more I listen to it, the more I feel a certain warmth. How it transitions into Christmas Morning is brilliant, an album choice I'd give Williams credit for.

 

Some parts of Winter's Spell seem to take the melody from Hagrid The Professor, if I'm not mistaken.

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Even though it's only in the film for a few seconds, Cuaron went the extra mile and hired exclusively midgets to play the carolers (to give off the impression that it was a dwarf choir).

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