Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's (Philosopher's) Stone

[Richard Penna 3,690]

It's the only Williams I've got so far this year (I don't get Home Alone till tomorrow so it doesn't count) and I still can't believe we have it. There are a small collection of cues I listen to endlessly.

[Jay 37,364]

Me too, though in the past month Ive listened to it 0 times and LLL's Home Alone probably 5 times

[Henry B 50]

On the subject of audio editors, does anybody have a decent reverb solution? The Apple plugins (built into Macs) aren't capable of smoothly applying reverb to just an excerpt (say, 2 seconds) at the end of a piece; they isolate the selection by dipping the volume at the beginning. I'm also trying to get a reverb that isn't tinny and ringing.

[ChrisAfonso 186]

Hm, the volume dropoff has to do with the mixing of the original signal and the reverb signals. The indiviual signals have a negative dB level applied to avoid exceeding the maximum volume level with the accumulated signal after reverberation. What you can do is try out different combinations of volume levels (I almost always set the "original signal" level much closer to 0dB than preset), until the start of your reverberated section has roughly the same volume as the unaltered part before it. If you want to have it absolutely smooth I'd recommend crossfading the original and reverberated versions of the track.

[Datameister 2,043]

On the subject of audio editors, does anybody have a decent reverb solution? The Apple plugins (built into Macs) aren't capable of smoothly applying reverb to just an excerpt (say, 2 seconds) at the end of a piece; they isolate the selection by dipping the volume at the beginning. I'm also trying to get a reverb that isn't tinny and ringing.

I use the Freeverb plugin in conjunction with Audacity. It's not perfect, but I can usually get a reverb that sounds natural enough if I duplicate that bit of the track, manually do any fade-ins and -outs that are necessary, and then apply a wet-only reverb to that track. Then I can come back and adjust the gain on the reverb whenever I want, and I can even move it around if necessary. I usually have to do a little cross-fading with the original track, too. Obviously, it helps if the thing I'm trying to isolate has a bit of natural reverb before the next unwanted sound comes in, but I've gotten decent results even without that. (Also, the tinny/ringing quality is still a problem, but it can be mitigated somewhat by subtly using the Lowpass slider in the Freeverb dialog box.)

[Henry B 50]

Very informative. Thanks, guys!

[mahler3 478]

Very informative. Thanks, guys!

Adobe Audition / Cool Edit Pro is quite good for this too, in their dynamics processing and add reverb effects section.

The cue I listen to the most is brief, but is the one I always loved in the film -

3M2 Platform Nine and Three Quarters - 2:18

Towards the end, whenever the train is revealed. It's just a simple 5 note motif but SO brilliant!

[Demondm810 399]

Very informative. Thanks, guys!

Adobe Audition / Cool Edit Pro is quite good for this too, in their dynamics processing and add reverb effects section.

The cue I listen to the most is brief, but is the one I always loved in the film -

3M2 Platform Nine and Three Quarters - 2:18

Towards the end, whenever the train is revealed. It's just a simple 5 note motif but SO brilliant!

Indeed. Amazing stuff.

[King Mark 3,631]

Isn't it the Star Wars main theme when the train is revealed?

Maybe it was JW's way of saying "I am otherwise known as the composer of the SW saga"

[Datameister 2,043]

It omits the first note of the theme (and the pick-up), but then it's very similar. I'm guessing it was unintentional, and I don't think the similarity is prominent enough to be a problem.

[Demondm810 399]

Hahaha Maybe a Skywalker is on the train to Hogwarts.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Yeah, I heard it that way since I first saw the movie.

[King Mark 3,631]

I'm guessing it was unintentional, and I don't think the similarity is prominent enough to be a problem.

if it was Horner I'd say it was unintentionnal, but JW?

[Datameister 2,043]

Yes? And Horner's self-plagiarism is often so blatant and direct and long that there's no way it's unintentional.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Horner just composes similar music. I don't like when people describe it as self-plagiarism, as if he reviews his past scores.

[Datameister 2,043]

There's no way he wrote, say, the titles to A Beautiful Mind without realizing that they were also the titles to Bicentennial Man. A quick little passage with a similar melodic contour is one thing; copying longer passages' structure, orchestration, and so forth cannot be a complete accident.

[BLUMENKOHL 1,068]

I don't hear this Star Wars theme.

[John Crichton 4]

I hear the similarity, but don't think much of it.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

It's one of my favorite parts of the score, since I saw the movie and searched the CD for it.

[Trent B 337]

Hell to an extent Arnold basically copied melodies from Stargate and ID-4 for Godzilla's score. While they weren't exact duplicates, a lot of the material was close enough to recognize it from either film.

[Demondm810 399]

"Running to Mcgonagall" Holy hell. I took some time off from listening to this score, and now this track has smacked me in the face. It's so deliciously brilliant. Only JW.

[Datameister 2,043]

Pretty much!

[gkgyver 1,645]

"Mail Drop" is blistering magic.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Yeah.

I listened to this the other day and I decided my favorite stuff is the procession into Hogwarts. Also, I realized my favorite cue is Arrival at Hogwarts, which was already released! That really festive part where they approach the castle in the boats and look up at the towers, then Williams introduces the "procession" motif, repeated when they enter the dining hall and go to the sorting hat. All that stuff is wonderful. The sinister music when Malfoy is placed and Snape seems threatening, the neat little on-the-spot music for Ron (which is also used when the Weasleys arrive in the car in COS) and the Hogwarts theme when Harry is placed. Spectacular!

I also kind of agree with not using Williams' original First Night cue. Though I would rather he redid it properly.

[gkgyver 1,645]

I couldn't believe my eyes when I read Filmtracks' review of SS, where it reads:

The "Hogwarts Forever!" school song was not ultimately used (though Doyle created his own variation for his lone entry in the series); its nearly unlistenable French horn performances make that a positive omission.

[Datameister 2,043]

Yeah, it's comments like that that just make me go:

Besides, that piece wasn't even written for the film. It was always intended to be part of the Children's Suite, nothing more.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

In the guy's defense, though, the album kind of improperly mixes film cues with the suite material, with no indication there was even a separate suite composed. Remember, we'd kind of been clamoring for just the suite (well, a few of us) for a while, as it was a little holy grail in its own way.

[Datameister 2,043]

But sheet music for the whole Children's Suite had been officially released, including "Hogwarts Forever" and all the other unique arrangements.

[Demondm810 399]

I love the childrens suite. Quidditch is my definite favorite. Unbelievable.

[Joe Brausam 214]

I couldn't believe my eyes when I read Filmtracks' review of SS, where it reads:

The "Hogwarts Forever!" school song was not ultimately used (though Doyle created his own variation for his lone entry in the series); its nearly unlistenable French horn performances make that a positive omission.

Unlistenable? Because the performance is great. The piece is harmonically complex with a lot of close sounding chords...maybe that's what he's not getting.

Every quartet I've played the piece with has had two reactions after sight reading it...

-This isn't from Harry Potter!

-I really love this though.

[gkgyver 1,645]

To coin a phrase: They don't make them like this anymore.

Who would allow a composer nowadays to record all kinds of suites in addition to the underscore?

I couldn't believe my eyes when I read Filmtracks' review of SS, where it reads:

The "Hogwarts Forever!" school song was not ultimately used (though Doyle created his own variation for his lone entry in the series); its nearly unlistenable French horn performances make that a positive omission.

Unlistenable? Because the performance is great. The piece is harmonically complex with a lot of close sounding chords...maybe that's what he's not getting.

Every quartet I've played the piece with has had two reactions after sight reading it...

-This isn't from Harry Potter!

-I really love this though.

This "close" quality is what I love about brass ensembles. A few years ago I recorded a horn quartet playing Silent Night for christmas. The sound is very intimate and emotional to me.

[Joe Brausam 214]

I've always wondered if doing that sort of stuff, like recording the Children's Suite, was on Williams' tab or if it was covered by the studio.

[Richard Penna 3,690]

I couldn't believe my eyes when I read Filmtracks' review of SS, where it reads:

The "Hogwarts Forever!" school song was not ultimately used (though Doyle created his own variation for his lone entry in the series); its nearly unlistenable French horn performances make that a positive omission.

I'm not so quick to dismiss his comments (although I also highly disagree with other comments by him). The reason I don't like Hogwarts Forever is that it doesn't 'gel' - the instruments don't seem to mesh at all for me. I've disliked it from the word go.

I constantly dig everything from Hagrid's Flashback to Lonely Night (a whopping 20 min sequence), the Dark Forest material and the Troll Fight. I'm sooo thankful to whoever leaked this.

[King Mark 3,631]

The theme of Hogwarts Forever is great ( like the awesome rendition when Harry gets sorted). The concert arrangement works less for me

[Demondm810 399]

Mainly represents Gryffindor, right?

[Richard Penna 3,690]

I adore the theme. Its usage in The Sorting, The Banquet, The Quidditch Match etc are great, but the concert version couldn't work less for me.

[John Crichton 4]

Mainly represents Gryffindor, right?

Right.

[gkgyver 1,645]

Funny, the concert suite always was the first thing I listened to when I popped in the OST.

The reason I don't like Hogwarts Forever is that it doesn't 'gel' - the instruments don't seem to mesh at all for me.

I think that's intentional, to create that slightly awkward but honourable feeling.

[Datameister 2,043]

I'm surprised at the lack of love for "Hogwarts Forever." I've always enjoyed that piece, and even think it worked well in that part of the OST. It's very harmonically interesting, it develops a great theme, and it's played by four horns - one of my favorite instruments.

[Joe Brausam 214]

I'm surprised at the lack of love for "Hogwarts Forever." I've always enjoyed that piece, and even think it worked well in that part of the OST. It's very harmonically interesting, it develops a great theme, and it's played by four horns - one of my favorite instruments.

Exactly. And like I've said I've brought it along and played it on gigs and concerts with several horn quartets and everyone loves playing and they DO find it interesting. In fact, if not for the title, it would certainly be taken as a serious entry into horn repertoire.

[Datameister 2,043]

For sure. I love "Quidditch" for similar reasons, although that one is even more different from the film score proper. Lots of really interesting, difficult figures and harmonies.

[Joe Brausam 214]

Yeah, there are some very challenging parts in that! I'd love a chance to be able to try it out one day, but I'm usually not in charge of repertoire when I'm playing in a brass ensemble.

[Demondm810 399]

There's not one note in the Children's Suite I don't like. It really is amazing.

[Datameister 2,043]

"Voldemort" is probably the low point for me, but even that has a fun, slithery quality to it.

[Demondm810 399]

Oh god, I love that. Those low reeds!! And the sound quality is so good you can really feel them. Unreal.

[Brónach 1,302]

Funny, "Voldemort" is the hightlight for me XD It makes me laugh everytime.

[gkgyver 1,645]

Funny, "Voldemort" is the hightlight for me XD It makes me laugh everytime.

And you're sure that's not meant to be cynical?

[Score_Fan 36]

I love every note of this score. I was so glad to hear it leaked out, maybe this is a forthcoming of a possible re-release from WB about all 7 (soon-to-be 8) scores? Or just leaked...either way, fantastic, fantastic music. Fingers crossed for more leaks.

[Brónach 1,302]

Funny, "Voldemort" is the hightlight for me XD It makes me laugh everytime.

And you're sure that's not meant to be cynical?

I didn't explain myself well. I love that it sounds sooo "evil", but it's not scary. Williams' showmanship is really fun sometimes.

[Richard Penna 3,690]

I love every note of this score. I was so glad to hear it leaked out, maybe this is a forthcoming of a possible re-release from WB about all 7 (soon-to-be 8) scores? Or just leaked...either way, fantastic, fantastic music. Fingers crossed for more leaks.

I got the impression someone's had it for a while and decided to finally leak it (just like we know someone has the CoS sessions from that YT video).

*But* I'd be interested in knowing any plans WB has for expansions, given that they won't give LLL the rights (assuming of course that no other label has them).