Jump to content

Harry Potter 7CD Collection - MUSIC discussion


Jay

Recommended Posts

5 minutes ago, TSMefford said:

It reminds me much more of Magical Household from CoS. Definitely doesn't sound right for Aunt Marge Points the Finger

 

I think you're right about it being from Magical Household.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wait does this mean we need to loose sleep over an alternate of a 4 bar cue that many of us didn't even notice in the film? 😂

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, MedigoScan said:

I also cannot for the life of me hear any music that could be this fabled 'points the finger' cue.

 

It's at the start of the Aunt Marge Alternate track, after That's A Lie, just before the Alternate opening to Aunt Marge's Waltz.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, Alan said:

It's hardly a grail cue though is it? If anyone actually worries about this alternate not being on the set I'll worry that finely tuned antennae have turned in to life endangering sonar.

It's part of how I was introduced to the Azkaban score, so I am a little disappointed in its exclusion, but not enough to diminish my Joy at hearing the score in full! Anyway, its most likely pretty easily reproduced.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

24 minutes ago, crumbs said:

 

Were there many recorded alternates you couldn't include, for one reason or another? Listening experience reasons, requests from JW, etc.? I'm not losing sleep over the shawm source, that's for sure 😄 

 

I'm still elated MM found a way to integrate the flute source into the film presentation (The Courtyard). Was there much discussion about whether to put that in the source music section vs ultimately integrating it with the film score? The brilliant thing about Azkaban is JW's medieval orchestration is so colourful that score and source starts blending together. And now we know this was a conscious directive from Cuaron himself!

 

I have similar questions as well. Disc 2 of Azkaban comes in at 1 hour and 16 minutes (according to iTunes) so there’s still a bit of room.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 minutes ago, TSMefford said:

I have similar questions as well. Disc 2 of Azkaban comes in at 1 hour and 16 minutes (according to iTunes) so there’s still a bit of room.

 

I'm sure if push came to shove, Matessino would have preferred including any significantly different alternates over those OST tracks (some of which only have minor differences to the film versions, like ticking) in the additional music section.

 

So I don't think disc space would have been an issue, ultimately. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, crumbs said:

 

I'm sure if push came to shove, Matessino would have preferred including any significantly different alternates over those OST tracks (some of which only have minor differences to the film versions, like ticking) in the additional music section.

 

So I don't think disc space would have been an issue, ultimately. 

 

My point was, why not include the Shawm cue specifically (a cue that was in the film) if you have 3-ish spare minutes? 

 

The set is utterly brilliant without it, but when importing into iTunes I noticed the length and just in the back of my head was like...huh. Why exclude Shawm? I assume there must be some other reason

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 minutes ago, gkgyver said:

What the hell is a Shawm? Is it related to Smnol?

 

Its just a source cue from PoA, named after the instrument, which Google defines as: 

 

Quote
  1. a medieval and Renaissance wind instrument, forerunner of the oboe, with a double reed enclosed in a wooden mouthpiece, and having a penetrating tone.

 

 

Plays in the film before and during “Discussing Black”

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, gkgyver said:

Should have known people would find a hair in the soup.

 

Yesh it’s not a big deal

1 minute ago, Josh500 said:

And again... 

2o87wl.jpg

 

To be fair, it’s like a minute long (at least in the film), but it seems like it’s mostly just a loop. Meh. It was kind of in that one podcast if people want it

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, TSMefford said:

 

To be fair, it’s like a minute long (at least in the film)

 

A minute? 

 

It's like a second or two, I thought... Tell me exactly when it plays. I highly doubt I missed one minute of a John Williams cue in a film I've seen literally 50 times!

 

When does this minute long cue start exactly?

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

32 minutes ago, Josh500 said:

 

A minute? 

 

It's like a second or two, I thought... Tell me exactly when it plays. I highly doubt I missed one minute of a John Williams cue in a film I've seen literally 50 times!

 

When does this minute long cue start exactly?

 

 

 

 

That’s Aunt Marge Points the Finger. I was referring to Shawm:

 

50 minutes ago, TSMefford said:

 

Its just a source cue from PoA, named after the instrument.

 

Plays in the film before and during “Discussing Black”

 

Aunt Marge Points the Finger is nothing to fret about, but it’s included anyway so it’s all good. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, Josh500 said:

You guys are too harsh on the Prague Philharmonic! The original is always the best, but their recordings are often the second best thing! 

 

I for one love this recording of DT from the Prague Philharmonic! It's almost as good as the original, I dare say:

 

 

 

Exactly!

 

I have to echo this sentiment. Every time I made a compilation mix for something Potter-themed and had music to represent Azkaban, it was always THIS version of Double Trouble, not the film version. I am absolutely including this with the LLL set as an extra.

 

It's why one of the biggest grails of the entire set for me is the Azkaban Teaser music. I remember when I first saw that trailer and was totally in love with the song and how it sounded. It was fast paced, actively orchestrated, and thrilling as it played over the various images of the teaser. Honestly, it's the best of all the Potter trailers that were made because of it. Knowing that the song would be in the film I was excited to have it. Knowing it was listed on the OST I was again excited to have it. But then the film played, and the OST played... the much slower and far less magical version of it. Sure, it was longer... but it didn't feel nearly as enchanting to me. I was honestly a bit let down. How could Williams had not at least had it play in the end credits suite/edit, and instead literally copy/paste the same version earlier in the OST? It was the biggest waste of space since the "End Credits" track on the Jurassic Park OST that could have gone to something else.

 

But when I discovered the Prague recording of the concert version of the song... like others mentioned it was MUCH closer to what I always wanted to have from the Teaser (and in many ways improves upon it since it is longer of course). Even so, I yearned for this Teaser recording, and even feared that even if we got a sessions leak it still wouldn't have it (just like the Sorcerer's Stone session leak didn't have its Teaser music either). So honestly, the Teaser music was what I wanted the most from the Azkaban score that wasn't on the OST. I seriously NEVER thought this was going to happen.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, the PoA teaser version (and the Prague Philharmonic version) is indeed more enchanting, magical, and somehow mischievous! Like I mentioned before, the choir sounds more female and is higher pitched, I think that's the main difference. This song is associated more with witches than with wizards, maybe that's why it sounds better? Not sure.

 

But the OST version, while I love that version also, sounds a bit clinical and less enchanting, by comparison...

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Indeed, as we an see in Jay's spreadsheet. Mike combined those two short unused cues and recreated the tracked Petrified Longbottom.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, crumbs said:

Wait, huh? Two unused cues combined into a "tracked" Petrified Longbottom? I'm confused.

Petrified Long Bottom or Neville Stiffens is made up of two unused cues from other parts of the movie which were then tracked into this particular scene. So in essence it is tracked music as it was not originally composed for this sequence.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh, that's weird. Did Williams know they weren't going to be used when he decided to track them? Did he have something alternative written but they changed the plan during the recording sessions?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, crumbs said:

Oh, that's weird. Did Williams know they weren't going to be used when he decided to track them? Did he have something alternative written but they changed the plan during the recording sessions?

I doubt there was anything specifically written for the scene. At least sheet music doesn't indicate it.

 

When film makers decided they need music for that scene after all, I guess they just used this unused material. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

33 minutes ago, Incanus said:

doing these little joinings of cues which must have made it easier to "sell" this to John Williams who would not have liked to present these 20 or 30 second pieces on their own.

 

I'd think those that would have preferred 20-30 second tracks are the exception.... Even among hardcore film score fans. Nobody wants to see 30 or 50 20-second cues. 😂 

 

So John Williams is right in that regard!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And now here I come to crap in it!

 

WARNING DISCLAIMER: I beg you, whoever reads this, not to listen to these if you have the set or will receive it within a week! Bookmark it or something if you may be interested, but please  just spend time with the album presentations first and get to know them, these are just fun diversions and additions that can come later.

 

Here's the post where I shared most of the tracked cues from HP1 and 2 recreated, some of them synced to picture to show the cue off better, click on the arrow in its top right to go there. One can PM for all the original complete flac files.

Just now, Holko said:

Well, we've come to this - new, high quality remastered sources. I do not plan on revisiting and updating this analysis, but Appendix B sure was helpful!

 

So, there you go, with generous resource donations from @LockdownI recreated the tracked cues in Chamber of Secrets and also the ones in Philosopher's Stone for good measure.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I might have been a weird child, but I used to replay the Leaky Cauldron scene all the time, because I loved the Shawm source piece. I annoyed everybody humming it. Somehow it really fits with the picture of the Weasleys in Egypt.

 

Back then (I was 10) I thought the shawm piece was a part of Discussing Black, though, and I’ve never really thought about it since. It seems obvious to me now that they weren’t recorded together!

 

Oh, well, there has to be a few goodies for the 100 year anniversary release in 2104!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It creates a unique dissonance with Discussing Black in the film, as if Williams wrote the two to compliment each other in an off-balance way (fitting, given the conversation at hand). 

 

That said, I don't think the shawm source is interesting enough by itself, but I definitely wouldn't want it combined into Discussing Black as in the film, either. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I might be the only one who love that shawm source. 😂

 

But I have a weird interest in source music in general. Perhaps it’s because I’m striving to become a film director, but source music is as important as the actual score to me.

 

3 minutes ago, Incanus said:

Although I understand how people feel when their particular favourite, no matter how small, didn't make it to the presentation. 

That’s true. The important thing is not to feel entitled to them. Any unreleased cue really is a gift in itself and this set is filled with wonderful and surprising goodies!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Incanus said:

Although I understand how people feel when their particular favourite, no matter how small, didn't make it to the presentation. 

 

It's a tough one and ultimately, Mike Matessino, LLL or anyone in the business can't win. As I learned last night with the alternate Aunt Marge Point's the Finger cue, even the smallest cues can mean something to someone.

 

I honestly don't think this set could be improved upon though. In the couple of days I've had it it has easily become my favourite from La-La Land and Mike, which pretty much puts it up there as my favourite soundtrack release period (sorry LOTR CR - we had a good run!). I'm considering the music itself, the way the music has been mastered and assembled, the notes and the overall presentation of the set in that. We'll see if my opinion changes over time but right now I feel confident in saying that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I seem to remember there’s not a cue composed by JW that’s not in the set. So this means the shawm source is not composed by JW? If it’s not, there’s no reason why it should be in the collection, like the songs Lupin plays on his record player.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Guidelines.