What's the best and worst Harry Potter score?

[bollemanneke 3,344]

Couldn't find a poll that contained every single film, play and video game score, so decided to make one myself inspired by listening to half of Doyle's Goblet of Fire this afternoon. Vote and discuss.

 

PS: Why is there no option to have multiple questions with the same choices?

[Smeltington 1,440]

I'm just voting for HP 1-8 because those are the ones I know.

 

I hope somebody votes for Quidditch World Cup as the best Harry Potter score!

[Thor 7,495]

Best is easy: AZKABAN.

 

Worst is trickier. No big fan of the Hoopers and Desplats, but I guess I'll take the simplistic jauntiness of the Hoopers over the directionless boringness of the Desplats. So DEATHLY HALLOWS 1 it is.

 

Otherwise, my exposure to this stuff is severely limited outside the main film series. I've sampled JNH's first FANTASTIC BEASTS score, which didn't do much for me. But it was better than the Hoopers and Desplats. And that's it.

[mstrox 6,651]

I haven't listened to and likely won't listen to any of the non-film scores, but my best is Azkaban and my least best is Order of the Phoenix.  A year or two ago, I might have said one of the Deathly Hallows, but I've come around a bit on Desplat's HP scores.

[bollemanneke 3,344]

After careful consideration, I voted for Goblet of Fire and Half-Blood Prince.

 

Doyle's score got me into film music and even though HP1 is thematically amazing and 3 has the medieval cues, I felt that had to count for something.

 

Hooper's HP6 is the worst because of The Drink of Despair.

[Jurassic Shark 12,071]

The music to the play is absolutely dreadful.

[bollemanneke 3,344]

Do you mean on its own or also in the play itself?

[Holko 9,525]

10 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

The music to the play is absolutely dreadful.

Jesus Christ. 2 minutes into skipping into it I changed my worst from DH2 to this thing.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Imogen Heap is a bad band.

[Bilbo 3,709]

5 minutes ago, Disco Stu said:

Imogen Heap is a bad band.

I’m pretty sure Imogen Heap is a person. 
 

It worked great within the play to be fair. 
 

It’s not Lorn Balfe or Bryan Tyler Bates levels of bad 

[Thor 7,495]

Imogen Heap has done some fine work in her career. I've not heard the Potter stageplay yet, so I can't comment on that.

[Bespin 8,480]

For me there's only 3 HP scores! 

 

And the first one is my favourite, because it introduced two eternal main themes : Hedwidge and Wondrous World.

[Bilbo 3,709]

1 minute ago, Thor said:

Imogen Heap has done some fine work in her career. I've not heard the Potter stageplay yet, so I can't comment on that.

I believe large parts (all?) are made up of various bits and pieces from her career but I’m not familiar with her stuff outside the play. 

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Ha!  I didn't realize it was a single person!  It's like the opposite of the Pink Floyd joke in "Have a Cigar" (which one's Pink?)

[Datameister 2,042]

I haven't heard anything outside of the film scores and don't care to.

 

Of the film scores...I'll give worst to GoF, because that's the one that starts to actively annoy me after a few tracks. There is some stuff I really like in there, but Doyle tends to write too melodramatically for my tastes.

 

The other contender is DH2, simply because I've never even been sufficiently interested to add it to my collection. The Hooper scores sound a little cheap, but they've also got some really evocative moments that I can't help enjoying. And COS has way too much duplicated material, but most of the new stuff is really good.

 

Best is harder. SS was an instant favorite of mine when the film and album came out, and as overplayed as a lot of the material may be, it's still pretty fantastic. I also think that while many people fixate on the similarities to Hook and Home Alone and whatnot, there's also a lot of stuff that sounds like nothing else in Williams' oeuvre, at least that I've heard.

 

Of course, if that's your main criterion, POA wins. Talk about a unique score. There's just so much writing here that makes me grin. The contrast is especially noticeable when I remember my initial ho-hum reaction to the score.

 

I feel bad ranking anything above POA, but I'm gonna give it to SS.

[Thor 7,495]

7 minutes ago, Bilbo said:

I believe large parts (all?) are made up of various bits and pieces from her career but I’m not familiar with her stuff outside the play. 

 

I see. I'm sure many of you are familiar with her hit "Hide and Seek" - which is the proper way to use a vocoder. Personally, I prefer the work she did with Guy Sigsworth under the band name Frou Frou. She belongs to that electropop singer-songwriter tradition that you can trace back to Kate Bush (through various permutations over the years, like Björk).

[Holko 9,525]

17 minutes ago, Bespin said:

because it introduced two eternal main themes : Hedwidge and Wondrous World.

HWW is not even a theme, it's a piece that reworks multiple themes.

[Bespin 8,480]

13 minutes ago, Holko said:

HWW is not even a theme, it's a piece that reworks multiple themes.

 

Fiddle Doodle!

[Disco Stu 15,495]

8 minutes ago, Holko said:

HWW is not even a theme, it's a piece that reworks multiple themes.

 

 

It's pretty common for people to refer to it as its own theme.  I always have.  Our own Inky did in his famous analysis!

 

 

[Bilbo 3,709]

1 hour ago, Thor said:

 

I see. I'm sure many of you are familiar with her hit "Hide and Seek" - which is the proper way to use a vocoder. Personally, I prefer the work she did with Guy Sigsworth under the band name Frou Frou. She belongs to that electropop singer-songwriter tradition that you can trace back to Kate Bush (through various permutations over the years, like Björk).

I am familiar with Hide and Seek... from Cursed Child 🤣

 

https://www.thespinoff.co.nz/music/28-02-2019/how-the-hell-did-hide-and-seek-end-up-in-harry-potter-and-the-cursed-child/

[mstrox 6,651]

I like Imogen Heap and Frou Frou well enough, and the fact that it turns out she did that score makes my "interest level" in a Harry Potter stageplay score move the needle from zero to zero point three out of ten.

[Holko 9,525]

17 minutes ago, Disco Stu said:

 

 

It's pretty common for people to refer to it as its own theme.  I always have.  Our own Inky did in his famous analysis!

 

 

Oh. I call that the Friends theme to make a nice pair with Family.

[Smeltington 1,440]

The title "Harry's Wondrous World" is probably more a title meant for the compilation of themes in the concert suite, rather than for any of the specific themes therein. Like "The Rebellion Is Reborn." It's not a bad title for the particular theme in question though, which seems to have only vague associations as used in the score. Haven't people also interpreted it as Harry's theme?

[mstrox 6,651]

I don't look at theme guides or go into particularly deep dives on the HP music, but I've never considered "Harry's Wondrous World" to be a theme - I've always considered it to be more like "The Rebellion is Reborn" from TLJ, bringing thematic material from one movie into a concert suite.

[Datameister 2,042]

HWW was originally written as the start of the end credits, so it's not surprising that it incorporates multiple themes.

[bored 309]

Definitely Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone for best. It's thematically brilliant, complex, iconic, varied, and develops perfectly in the recording sessions. 

 

Worst is definitely Half-Blood Prince. By far the most generic, toneless, spineless, and dull of the HP scores. At least Desplat has some good themes and ideas that he attempts to develop, even if they seem to get undercut or downplayed in the film. Not to mention "Polyjuice Potion" and "Sky Battle" being two of my favorite tracks in the Williams-less movies. 

 

I do want to mention that the videogame scores (at least 1-6 and Quidditch World Cup) are definitely up there with Williams' music for me. Jeremy Soule has a more classical, bombastic, melancholic style that I think is great in its own way for HP, and James Hannigan did a better job at recreating the Harry Potter magic than any of Williams' replacements. Hell he even had better thematic continuity in the 5th game than the actual film has.

[SilverTrumpet 638]

I don't like ANY of the Harry Potter film music after Goblet of Fire. It's all the same soulless crap to me.

 

The game scores are much better than them, Both composers did a great job there.

 

I didn't know the stage play HAD music. Is it available outside of the show itself? 

 

Also, since it won't be anyone's favorite or least favorite, shoutout to Goblet of Fire for being a fairly worthy followup in quality.

[Jay 37,353]

I love all of Johnny's scores equally.  I think I picked HPSS for the poll but they are all great.

 

I think it's disingenuous to credit Ross alongside Williams for the poll choice.  All the music you hear is composed by John Williams.

 

I don't like anything else to have come from the franchise since Johnny left.  Well, JNH's efforts are fine.  I tried all the other feature film scores and didn't like them.  I sampled some of the game scores and they are fine.  Dunno about any of that other stuff at the end of the poll.  I think I picked OOTP as my least favorite because Hopper's effects were so thoroughly mediocre - at least Doyle and Desplat brought intelligent writing to the franchise even if it isn't my copy of tea.  I don't specifically remember what's different between Hopper's efforts but I had to pick one to vote

[Jurassic Shark 12,071]

Different kinds of shit.

[Holko 9,525]

5 has so much more memorable pieces than the dreck that is 6! I think I originally picked DH2 as the worst because Desplat had the potential but just gave up and made something insanely gemeric as far as I can remember.

 

GoF is great, I hope an LLL edition is in the works or on the table!

For the best I picked Azkaban at the moment.

[mstrox 6,651]

GoF is by far the best non-Williams Potter score for me, which makes it the fourth best Potter score!

[bollemanneke 3,344]

I credited Ross for HP2 because JW insists on crediting him too.

[Jay 37,353]

As adapter and conducter.  Not composer.

[Jurassic Shark 12,071]

No, he composed everything.

[SilverTrumpet 638]

11 minutes ago, Jay said:

As arranger and conducter.  Not composer.

 

Adapted, not arranged.

[Jay 37,353]

Right, right

[bollemanneke 3,344]

Okay, fixed.

[TSMefford 1,509]

Lol. You guys really do hate the Hooper scores don't you?

 

Best: Azkaban, Sorcerer's Stone close second.

Worst: Cursed Child

 

My overall score ranking for the films:

1. Prisoner of Azkaban
2. Sorcerer's Stone
3. Chamber of Secrets
4. Goblet of Fire
5. Half-Blood Prince
6. Deathly Hallows Pt 1
7. Deathly Hallows Pt 2
8. Order of the Phoenix

[Edmilson 7,436]

2 hours ago, TSMefford said:

Lol. You guys really do hate the Hooper scores don't you?

 

 

I do. They're shite.

 

Anyway, here's my ranking:

 

1. Prisoner of Azkaban

2. Sorcerer's Philosopher's Stone

3. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

4. Chamber of Secrets

5. Fantastic Beasts 2

6. Deathly Hallows 2

7. Deathly Hallows 1

8. Goblet of Fire

9. Half Blood Prince

10. Order of the Phoenix

 

Haven't heard the game or the play scores.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Goblet of fire below Desplat is something I truly, madly, deeply disagree with.  I'll forgive you ranking it below the JNHes since you're such a fan of his.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Order Of The Phoenix is great and gets shit on for no reason.

 

Prisoner Of Azkaban is the best. Half-Blood Prince is the worst. I didn’t consider any of the other scores outside of 1-8 because I’ve never heard them. 

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

The scores just got better and better as they went on.

[Bellosh 3,418]

I've only ever listened to the John Williams ones.

[Oomoog the Ecstatic 314]

Well, 1-3 they got an actual wizard to write the music. That's why it works.

 

(Strangely I think HP2 is my favorite of the scores. I mostly like the rehashes in there.)

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

The Curse Child (Immolation Heaps)

[HunterTech 993]

As much as GoF was my favorite for the longest time, I think I have to give it to SS. Simply perfection from beginning to end.

For least favorite, I'm going to pick a potentially controversial one in DH1. No matter how fancy the writing can be in areas, I just won't be invested if there's no clear direction in place. Hooper's entries, standard and sometimes dull as they may be, have enough things happening for me to take note of the positive qualities that they do have (yes, even HBP). Hell, I'd say I liked DH2 more, since it at least fully commits to sounding like a standard 2010s Hollywood blockbuster. It's just not what I want out of a Desplat scored HP project overall, and that's honestly more disappointing to me than some TV composer miraculously getting two entries.

 

Here's my ranking based on the last set of listens I had:
1. HP1
2. HP4
3. HP3
4. HP2
5. HP5
6. HP7.2
7. HP6
8. HP7.1

 

Haven't heard much video game stuff outside of bits of HP1, but I'd love to check them out down the road. Hearing Hide and Seek made it into HP8 honestly has made me more curious to want to listen to that. 

[crumbs 14,313]

I wonder if the latter scores would've been less shite if they had a competent, creative director actually running the show, instead of the bland garbage David Yates serves up?

 

Anyway, Azkaban easily the best. Half Blood Prince easily the worst. I heard excerpts from Cursed Child and good grief it was awful, but I don't have the stomach to listen to the whole thing and rank it accordingly.

[Bespin 8,480]

The way I see the HP series, it goes darker and darker at each book/movie.

 

Duller and duller at each movie. 

 

So I'm okay with the fact that JW scored only the ones where there's still a bit of innocence and "magic".

 

Honestly, I tried to listen to the score of the 4th movie, but I thought it was a score for a video game, not for a movie. Patrick Doyle? Anyway, I've stopped there. Then I tried the last one by Alexandre Dess-plaw, but I don't like his style so it didn't impressed me much (me and french composers...).

[Bilbo 3,709]

1. Philosopher’s Stone

2. Prisoner of Azkaban 

3. Chamber of Secrets

4. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

5. Goblet of Fire

6. Deathly Hallows Part 1

7. Crimes of Grindlewald 

8. Deathly Hallows Part 2

9. Cursed Child

10. Half-Blood Prince

11. Order of the Phoenix 

[ragoz350 450]

Really like Jeremy Soule's HP2, HP3 and Quidditch World Cup scores. Too good music for not so good games.

 

As for the music for films, then PS and POA. I can't bring myself to like Doyle's GOF, and prefer DH1 over DH2.