Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (soundtrack)

Untitled

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is a two-part motion picture soundtrack to the 2010/2011 two-part film of the same name, composed and conducted by Alexandre Desplat.

Part 1

Development

The score for Deathly Hallows: Part 1 is composed by Golden Globe award winning and Academy Award nominated film composer, Alexandre Desplat. Desplat follows John Williams, Patrick Doyle and Nicholas Hooper in composing music for the Harry Potter series. Williams composed the first three films, Doyle scored the fourth film, while Hooper worked on the soundtracks for the fifth and sixth films. Desplat stated that he will compose until September 2010, with the soundtrack being released on 16 November 2010, three days before the film's release date. A 4-disc Limited Edition Collector's Box Set will also be released on 21 December 2010.

In an interview, Desplat stated, "We will start this summer, it will take me all summer. I will not have many holidays, but again it's for good reason - for the soundtrack. I would take every opportunity to use the fabulous theme composed by John Williams. I'd say it has not sufficiently been used in the latest movies, so if I have the opportunity and if the footage allows me, I'm going to arrange it...I shall make it with great honour and pleasure."

The recording sessions started on 14 August 2010. Conrad Pope, one of the orchestrators on the first three Potter films and the supervising orchestrator on Deathly Hallows, commented that Desplat's music is "exciting and vigorous" and "those who love melodies, harmonies and emotions in their film scores should be pleased. Reminds one of the old days."

Sources

Not included on the soundtrack is "O Children" by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Director David Yates accompanied it to a scene not included in the book, where Harry and Hermione share a dance in their tent after Ron leaves, to "capture the tension and friendship and love that they share together.” He listened to "hundreds" of tracks from Music Supervisor Matt Biffa, "because I needed a piece of music that was poignant and tender but oddly uplifting. And I came across Nick's piece and I loved it immediately. It has that capacity to lift you up and break your heart at the same time." Also not included on the soundtrack is "Humours of Glendart", a traditional Irish jig that is played at Bill and Fleur's wedding.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
BBC	Mixed
IGN
Movie Music UK

The reception for the soundtrack of Part One was overall positive. The first review of the soundtrack was released on 31 October 2010 by Jonathan Broxton, who rated the score 5/5, saying that "This score is one of Desplat’s greatest achievements and highlights everything I love about his work; the orchestral textures, the intricate use of unexpected instruments in unexpected settings, the crystal clarity of his orchestrations." Jorn Tillnes of Soundtrackgeek.com gave the score a 9/10 and remarked, "When challenged, Desplat brings out some great stuff as he proved with New Moon last year. It is a well-written score that fits perfectly with the darker Harry Potter." Caleb Leland of Shadowlocked.com gave the soundtrack 4/5 stars, stating that "While this is a good soundtrack, there’s something about it that keeps it from being great. But it did make me more excited to see the new film."

Steve Ewing from Filmmusicsite.com rated the soundtrack 7/10, commenting that "Desplat was really on to something when he wrote this soundtrack, and perhaps if he had given it a little more thought, he would have recognized how close he had come to writing something outstanding. Instead, the soundtrack’s musical gems come and go and never fully develop, leaving the listener disappointed by how close the soundtrack came to musical greatness." Christian Clemmensen of Filmtracks reviewed the score on 5 November 2010 and praised the orchestrations for the film but heavily criticized the sparse use of Hedwig's Theme and the poor continuity in the score when compared to previous entries in the series. Charlotte Gardner from BBC commented that "So far, so very good. However, there is one single but sizeable question mark over whether this recording is going to completely hit the spot for Potter fans. This is a work more intent on painting an atmosphere than in giving the listener motivic handles on which to grasp. The famous theme itself is used sparingly."

Eric goldman from IGN complimented the starting score "Obliviate", saying that "Desplat's score starts off extremely strong with 'Obliviate', which immediately sets the scene for a sad, mournful story – which is entirely appropriate, given the content of The Deathly Hallows Part 1... On one hand, it's a bit sad to not hear the wonderful Potter theme much, yet on the other hand, this is, after all, a somber story. Desplat's melancholy themes, while not always as hummable as Williams', are exactly right for this film and story." James Christopher Monger from Allmusic gave a positive review, stating, "It’s been a decade since John Williams set the tone for the [Harry Potter] films, and his original theme exists only in the shadows of Harry Potter & Deathly Hallows, Pt. 1. Desplat’s score is both subtle and huge, lending quiet emotional depth ('Harry & Ginny'), playful wickedness ('Death Eaters'), and tense, robust action ('The Oblivation') with masterful precision. Film series that employ this many different composers (and directors, for that matter) rarely find cohesion, and this first installment of Deathly Hallows does nothing in the way to tarnish that achievement." The soundtrack debuted at number 74 on the Billboard 200 chart in United States and also charted at number four on the Top Soundtracks Chart.

Track listing

The track listing for the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 soundtrack was released on Amazon UK. All tracks produced and composed by Desplat.

All music is composed by Alexandre Desplat

Original tracklist

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Obliviate"	3:01
2.	"Snape to Malfoy Manor"	1:58
3.	"Polyjuice Potion"	3:32
4.	"Sky Battle"	3:48
5.	"At the Burrow"	2:35
6.	"Harry and Ginny"	1:43
7.	"The Will"	3:39
8.	"Death Eaters"	3:14
9.	"Dobby"	3:49
10.	"Ministry of Magic"	1:49
11.	"Detonators"	2:23
12.	"The Locket"	1:52
13.	"Fireplace Escape"	2:54
14.	"Ron Leaves"	2:35
15.	"The Exodus"	1:37
16.	"Godric's Hollow"	3:15
17.	"Bathilda Bagshot"	3:54
18.	"Hermione's Parents"	5:50
19.	"Destroying the Locket"	1:10
20.	"Ron's Speech"	2:16
21.	"Lovegood"	3:27
22.	"The Deathly Hallows"	3:17
23.	"Captured and Tortured"	2:56
24.	"Rescuing Hermione"	1:50
25.	"Farewell to Dobby"	3:43
26.	"The Elder Wand"	1:38

Deluxe iTunes bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Voldemort"	4:18
2.	"The Dumbledores"	2:09
3.	"Bellatrix"	2:11
4.	"Making of the Soundtrack (video)"	10:11

Limited Edition bonus disc

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Voldemort"	4:18
2.	"Grimmauld Place"	3:21
3.	"The Dumbledores"	2:09
4.	"The Tale of the Three Brothers"	3:17
5.	"Bellatrix"	2:11
6.	"My Love is Always Here"	5:11

Credits and personnel

Personnel adapted from the album liner notes.

• Piers Adams – Recorder
• John Barrett – Assistant Engineer
• David Barron – Executive Producer
• Jean-Pascal – Beintus Orchestration
• Clive Bell – Shakuhachi
• Paul Broucek – Executive in Charge of Music
• Peter Clarke – Music Editor
• Paul Clarvis – Ethnic Percussion
• Peter Cobbin – Mixing, Recording
• Charles Cole – Choir Master
• Alexandre Desplat – Composer, Conductor, Flute, Liner Notes, Orchestration, Percussion, Piano, Producer
• Ninon Desplat – Score Coordinator
• Terry Edwards – Choir Master
• Xavier Forcioli – Score Coordinator
• Rebecca Gilliver – Cello
• Mark Graham – Music Preparation
• David Heyman – Executive Producer
• Robert Houston – Score Editor
• Allan Jenkins – Music Editor
• Lewis Jones – Pro-Tools
• Jill Kemp – Recorder
• Gabriella Kitto – Soprano (Vocal)
• Annabel Knight – Recorder
• Carmine Lauri – Concert Master
• Jakob Lindberg – Theorbo
• Jason Linn – Executive in Charge of Music

• London Oratory – Junior Choir Choir, Chorus
• London Symphony – Orchestra Orchestra
• London Voices – Choir, Chorus
• Sue Mallet – Music Contractor
• Lisa Margolis – Music Business Affairs
• Gerard McCann – Supervising Music Editor
• Eoghan McNelis – Soprano (Vocal)
• David Miller – Lute, Theorbo
• Stuart Morton – Music Editor
• John Parricelli – Guitar
• Patrick Phillips – Assistant Engineer
• Conrad Pope – Producer, Supervising Orchestrator
• Paul Pritchard – Assistant Engineer
• Katie Reynolds – Post Production Supervisor
• Sam Okell – Mixing, Recording
• Schola Cantorum of the Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School – Choir, Chorus
• Nan Schwartz – Orchestration
• Sandeep Sriram – Art Direction
• Alison Stephens – Mandolin
• Marc Stevens – Music Contractor
• Clifford Jay Tasner – Orchestration
• Katie Trethewey – Soprano (Vocal)
• David Walter – MIDI Programming
• Kirsty Whalley – Score Editor
• John Williams – Composer
• David Yates Executive – Producer, Liner Notes

Charts

Charts (2010)	Peak position
US Billboard 200	74
US Top Independent Albums	6
US Top Soundtracks	4

Part 2

Despite rumours of John Williams' involvement in the soundtrack for Part 2, director David Yates stated that he wanted to work with Williams but their schedules did not align, for he would've needed to provide Williams with a rough cut of the film sooner than was possible. It was then confirmed on the Warner Bros. website that Part 1 composer, Alexandre Desplat, would return to score Part 2. In an interview with Film Music Magazine, Desplat stated that scoring Part 2 is "a great challenge" and that he has "a lot of expectations to fulfill and a great deal of work" ahead of him.