Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Composer: Nicholas Hooper
Release date: July 14, 2009
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Amazon users rating: 3,5 out of 5 stars.
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All About Soundtracks Review:
Returning from the fifth and probably worst entry on the Harry Potter franchise, director David Yates brought back with him his fellow composer Nicholas Hooper.
While the movie definitely improved over the last one, the score continues to be too little given that this is a Harry Potter movie. There’s just not enough density in Hooper’s composition and orchestration.
Hooper’s second entry on the franchise continues to be poor when compared to prior scores, but it’s an improvement over the last one in terms of thematic development.
(Read more.)
The most evident themes here are the percussion-ridden dark theme for the Death Eaters, heard in Opening and Into the Rushes, the love theme for Harry and Ginny, heard first in Ginny and later fully “developed” (once there’s not really a remarkable development or variation) in When Ginny Kissed Harry, and, most importantly, a theme for Dumbledore, who is a central character in this movie (even more than in the other movies). His theme first appears as a Latin chant absent from the movie in In Noctem and the funeral rendition of the theme is fully “explored” (because there’s not much to explore in Hooper’s themes) in Dumbledore’s Farewell. Finally, there’s also a minor theme for Malfoy heard in Malfoy’s Mission.
Hooper also brings back themes from the last score: the Umbridge theme, heard in Living Death, and the Fireworks theme, in The Weasley Stomp.
A fun track is Wizard Wheezes, in its uplifting jazzy style. But for the most part, the score is merely effective, which is not sufficient, once again given this is a very big franchise. And, sometimes, it is not even effective: The Killing of Dumbledore completely fails to establish any tension. And while the best track must be Dumbledore’s Farewell, it suffers from the lack of density and engagement that dominates Hooper’s work.
Besides, the incorporation of John Williams’s memorable themes is only notable in two tracks: Opening and Ginny.
Fortunately, despite being the same director who’s bringing the final book to life, our ears will be probably much better served with the score which is being composed by Alexandre Desplat.
Downs: weak, fragile score, with too little density; mostly avoids John Williams themes and completely despises Patrick Hoyle themes for Harry and Voldemort.
Noteworthy tracks: Opening, Wizard Wheezes, When Ginny Kissed Harry, Dumbledore's Farewell, The Weasley Stomp.
Score note: 5
Preview:
Track 26 - Dumbledore's Farewell
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