John Williams: Leaving Hogwarts
Context
John Williams’ score for Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone has been the basis for all of the Harry Potter film scores. Unlike many other soundtracks, this one in particular is very popular, with most tracks being instantly recognisable. Williams is intelligent in the way he orchestrates previous themes into different tracks, making each one idiosyncratic in its character, but they all sound familiar and interlinked throughout the films.
Context
Being the second to last piece on the soundtrack, and due to the title of the piece, one can deduce that this is the finale sequence before the credits run at the end of the film. Harry is at Hogwarts train station, ready to leave for the summer before his second year begins later in the year. He says an emotional goodbye to Hagrid, who gives him a gift, which is a family album, with a picture of Harry and his family in it. Harry then boards the train, and Hermione remarks how strange it is to leave Hogwarts and go home, to which Harry says that he is “not truly leaving Hogwarts”. The final scene sees Harry and Hargrid waving each other off, as the train pulls out of the station for another year.
A tentative harp and string accompaniment begin this track, and the first theme heard is a reprise of the ‘Family Theme’, which was heard when Harry learned about his family history in earlier scenes. This coincides with the screen, where Hagrid offers Harry the photo album as a gift. There is a real sense of nostalgia here, both in the music, and on screen. The yearning for family, but also this realisation that Hagrid is family to Harry now, as are his friends, Ron and Hermione. The music underscored here is luscious, rich, and full of love and affection, which represents love and family bonds.
As the two characters are talking, the music theme shifts to ‘Hedwig’s Theme’, which coincides with Hagrid jesting about Harry’s cousin, Dudley. The winds take this more humorous theme on, which gives a very different timbre to the previous string melody. After Harry gets to the train and says to his friends that he’s not truly leaving Hogwarts, the music shifts once more, representing ‘Harry’s Theme’, which is one of the classic melodies heard in the older Harry Potter films. The strings reach their top range, and underneath the horns take up the melody and their warm sound brings us back to the idea of family and love for this new world Harry is in.
The whole orchestra then build to an emotional and heartwarming statement of ‘Harry’s Theme’, with the rich timbre really moving this melody along. The camera then begins to pan out, and as we see Hogwarts in the distance, the music suddenly changes from the noble sounds of ‘Harry’s Theme’, to ‘Hedwig’s Theme’, which foreshadows Harry returning to this magical world soon. The glittering end to this score is emotional, but very heartwarming at the same time.
Final Thoughts
For a track that only lasts about 2:15, it is full of themes and other musical delights. Williams’ clever underscoring makes this scene incredibly effective, and drives the audience to really feel something at the end of this film.
Ⓒ Alex Burns
Happy Reading!
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1 Comment
Olaf · 9th December 2020 at 8:31 pm
Interesting, the sounds in the third film in particular are phenomenal. Is there any reason why John Williams left after the third film? (That’s what I thought this article was about as this is what I was searching for when I came across your article)
Thanks