Harry Potter File and Music - Essay Example

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Soundtrack Analysis Harry Potter and the Goblet of fire is difficult for perception as heroes become older and problems get real. First controversial emotions, such as jealousy, affection, pride, challenge heroes` preparation for the adult decisions. The topic of teenage sexuality appears in the book for the first time, and the director of the movie underlined his desire to reflect it. Nevertheless, the conflict between good and evil remains the leading motive of the Harry Potter`s saga, and intense and powerful depiction is the primary task of the film crew. Film composer, Patrick Doyle had to capture all the plots and subplots of the book, understand Newell`s attitude and contribute to the general picture with his score. Analyzing the film it is possible to say that Doyle`s sense of magic and humor along with solid experience helped him to create a perfect score for The Goblet of Fire. From the first Potter adaptation directors of the movies have changed several times, and the consistency was achieved with the help of Rowling’s meticulous work on the screenplay, talented young actors who were getting older in the same pace with characters, and most notably, impressive soundtrack created by John Williams. His works were noticeable with particular accent on the title theme which has become a cut-away of the movie. However, it became known long before the fourth part adaptation that Williams would end cooperation with Warner Brothers, and Potter`s fans were eager to know who was going to take his place. Michael Newman who directed the film in 2005 found classical-inclined Patrick Doyle whom he knew from previous common works. Newell chose Doyle for his "sense of drama, his sense of magic, and his sense of humor" (Webster 208). Doyle was prominent with his ability to create tension in a contrast with the help of orchestra. His previous collaborations with Newman, Donnie Brasko and Into the West were marked by strong and persuasive scores. Doyle looked like an ambivalent figure as he managed to create impressive scores for two films which eventually turned out to be failures from the cinematographic perspective, Great Expectations and Quest for Camelot. In the same time he showed himself in romantic comedy genre writing entertaining and joyful scores for Bridget Jone`s Diary ad Blow Dry. These skills became useful for adorning children wizardry tale with humorous tunes. The scores created for Nanny McPhee and Nouvelle France are regarded as Doyle`s top level works as well. Thus, it is possible to conclude that Doyle was optimal for this work: he was involved into a variety of films of different genres and he could easily switch from dark to light themes. It seems that he was accumulating knowledge and energy to create the score for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is one of the longest books adaptions on the screen that lasts two and a half hours. The part is characterized by quick plot moves which are saturated with significant events in the whole story development. There is also special accent made on personal relationships in this part with the main heroes falling in love and loosing friends. The new director of the film, Michael Newman, even pointed that this film is extremely difficult because of adolescence sexual energy which is felt under the surface. Harry has to face serious challenges competing with much older and much more experienced wizards in Tri-Wizard Tournamet. From this perspective fourth part can be regarded as Potter`s installment into adulthood through difficult period of teenage riots. In this part Harry`s friendship with Ron, his self-appraisal, and his dignity are tested. Newell also viewed Harry`s story as intimate exploration of British school system underlining the fact that regardless of how much magic is involved the story remains a school saga since each book begins in September and ends in June. This appealed to Newell`s personal experience of adolescence and his perception of British education (Webster 125). Nevertheless, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is still the story of magic as it is in this part a number of impressive mythical creatures appear. Dragons, ghosts, mermaids intervene into the school world of the heroes who experience first bitter-sweet fruits of intimate relationships. It is reflected by the fact that instrumentation “includes synthesizer and keyboard, but little celeste” -a prominent instrument in the first three Potter music soundtracks” (Webster 134). This makes the sound more adult like, mature, and serious. Newell was afraid of the fact that social drama will become leading in the story but fortunately he managed to sense a turning point of the saga in the fourth book. According to the director, the spine is what stipulates music for the film. Doyle also captured this thriller spine of The Goblet of Fire as all the events revolve around Voldemort`s desire to use Harry for his physical regeneration. The viewer does not know that from the begging, he can only guess that something sinister is going to happen but gradual thrilling suspense is transferred with the help of sound. Doyle explained his interest in the film scoring by the challenge to depict much darker side of saga: “John Williams wasnt available and initially the request was that I would be working with Johns material so I was a little hesitant. In the end it was just the Hedwigs Theme that I brought over. It was an honor to follow in the footsteps of such a great composer. I fit had been non-stop thematic work it would have been a different story, but it was a very dark film, much darker than the previous ones, and I was able to address elements like Voldemort which kept things fresh. It was ultimately an opportunity for me to make my own stamp on this particular storyline” (Utichi 2). Therefore, the score of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is dramatic, all-encompassing, and sincere. In the places where there is need to underline dark aspects Doyle does it directly and eloquently. Musical interpretation is characterized by rapid switches between topics and extensive vocal usage (Harry Potter Score). In early years Doyle focused on piano and singing and this is sensed in his score for The Goblet of Fire. His symphonic scores are almost always accompanied with subtle and sophisticated voices. Doyle is also an adept of integrating his own songs and choral voices compositions in the general score which becomes clear in the Goblet of Fire. In order to understand Doyle`s contributions to Harry Potter saga it is necessary to analyze different motives and tunes from the very begging of the fourth part. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire has a long preface compared to the previous movies, in this introduction Voldemort is not shown and the music is intense but mild. The story begins from the death of the innocent victim but Newell does not accentuate his attention on it too much probably making the viewer understand that they have to anticipate more deaths and horror in future. Harry`s narration starts with the Qudditch Tournament, and it is the first competition of such genre in all the four books. It presupposes adult witches and wizards gathering in one place, and Harry as well as his friends is extremely excited to be present there. Qudditich Tournament opens with a light and funny tune gradually shifting to more tremendous and solid sound. Doyle tries to underline the pomposity of the event with wind instruments. The main motive here is Irish folk melody, however for Bulgarian team Doyle refers to Eastern Europea motives. The main theme of the whole tournament is Irish Jig “consisting of beating drums and a full string section, and leading to a base-string and brass ripped rhythm under forceful male chants” (Harry Potter Score). Wizard Tournament is such an unexpected and grandiose event that musical accompaniment is crucial for creating necessary atmosphere. Continuing the topic of Bulgarian team Doyle`s introduces Durmstrang school with similar theme, however here it gets more serious and dramatic. Trumpets along with intense rhythm created by percussions are aimed to reflect exotic, manly character of Bulgarian students. In this piece we witness the implementation of Newell`s view on sexual tension. Doyle commented his piece in such a way: "The piece of music you see that accompanies the arrival of the Durmstrang boys... was the first music I wrote after Mike [Newell] had described the scene. He showed me the costumes and he said, I want it to be very machismo. I want it to be strong” (Gallagher). Here we see how Doyle uses contrast as he introduces Beauxbatons school students which main weapon is charm and femininity. Sophisticated violins along with seductive female voices accompany Beauxbatons introduction. Here Doyle gets back to his classical inclinations and creative spirits to make memorable and compact themes. It is capturing how Doyle deals with comic episodes of the film as there are plenty of them. Williams in his three previous films seemed to make the score a bit pessimistic despite the fact that the heroes were children, and the Goblet of Fire is the first almost adult story. Doyle`s motives are not absolutely overwhelming but Williams did not make his cues astonishing as well. Starting from Fred and George`s attempts to take part in Tri-Wizard tournament to Rita Skieter`s provocative and funny interview Doyle uses his favorite little waltzes and hymns. The melodies are playful, prancing and influenced by Doyle`s previous work on Calendar Girls (Webster 112). Special attention should be paid to the Mermaid Songs which happen to be a real masterpiece. These cues are exceptional compared to the rest of the cues where pure magic is involved. First the sound appears when Harry opens the egg under the water. Here we hear “Underwater Secrets” which resembles a lullaby performed by exquisite and delicate female voices. The songs belong to Yule Ball and created in combination with Jarvis Cocker, Steve Mackey, Jonny Greenwood, Phil Selway – all the members of prominent bands such as Pulp and Radiohead. Mermaid song sounds extraterrestrial and unrealistic. Delicate and sophisticated soprano of Abigel Doyle, Patrick Doyle`s daughter, brings charm to the whole scene. It becomes clear that Doyle`s experiments with integrating songs into the score were successful. Later in order to return the viewers to the reality of teenagers Doyle uses rock instrumentation with awkwardly chaotic composition “Do the Hippogriff” which symbolizes rebellious nature of youth. Nevertheless, the main attention is always drawn to the principal characters of the movie-Voldemort and Harry. Their conflict along with their different approaches of seeing and treating the world must be reflected in the score, and this constitutes the most complicated part of the work any Potter`s saga composer. First Doyle hints on Tom Riddle`s presence in ‘The Dark Mark” theme and develops it further. This time a film composer offered two new themes for the movie. Gradually rising series of notes that introduce the You-Know-Who finally turn downward in heavy minor. Doyle makes this melody memorable avoiding music box charm and rushing to harsh brass rhythm almost instantly. Doyle managed to capture the significant change of the character- Voldemort is strong enough to restore his physical form. “Voldemort” theme, the climax of the whole movie, is brutal, intense, and forceful. Here Doyle uses his experience with Frankenstein and Needful Things. Dark gets darker when Doyle uses” brutally rhythmic progressions” and “resoundingly deep ensemble” in order to reflect that violence, anger, and evil which Voldemort has accumulated during his bodiless existence (Harry Potter Score). Harry`s character is best described by the delicate but strong sound of “Harry in Winter” theme. This is the sound of loneliness, the sound of growth, the sound of future maturity. Here we notice Doyle`s fresh vision of the main hero. Capturing moment is that here it is possible to recognize genuinely English sound. It was also marked by the critics that the composer intentionally or accidentally linked Potter`s theme to Voldemort`s theme with “upper ranges of the string section”. If this was made on purpose then it shows deep understanding of the plot of the book. Potter and Voldemort are connected with great mystery and deathly sin (Harry Potter Score). Overall, the composer has managed to capture all the motives present in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Newell aimed to show difficult process of growing and getting rid of children world perception. First hints on teenage sexuality become important for the whole score and are noticeable in the themes for the Tri-Wizard tournament. Doyle also tries not to lose connection with humorous side of the story spicing funny moments with playful waltz. Magic element of the story only won from Doyle`s involvement into production. Being classically-inclined the composer adorned dragon and mermaids episodes with beautifully composed songs and choral voices. The main challenge nevertheless was Voldemort`s physical reincarnation in which the composer directed all his experience and force making it incredibly powerful. Doyle is also the first who develops a particular theme for Harry linking it in some moments to Voldemort`s theme. Thus, it is possible to conclude that Doyle`s collaboration with Newell contributes to the exceptional and magnificent depiction of the wizard`s world on the screen. Works Cited Gallagher, M. Harry Potters Patrick Doyle visits Syracuse International Film Festival Event,", 2009. Retrieved from: http://stayfamous.blogspot.com/2009/02/harry-potters-patrick-doyle-visits.html Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Score. Modern Soundtrack Reviews. Retrieved from: http://www.filmtracks.com/titles/goblet_fire.html?anonymousId=-3496166850259111876 Webster, J. The Music of Harry Potter: Continuity and Change in the First Five Films. Doctoral dissertation, University of Oregon, 2009. Joe Utichi, "Composer Patrick Doyle: The RT Interview," Rotten Tomatoes, 2007. Retrieved from: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/harry potter_and_the_goblet_oCfrre/news/1698240/composer-patrick_ doyle_theJUnterview (accessed January 11,2008) Read More