HARRY POTTER

The music start in fade in at :00:01 showing the ghost,Saint Nicholas walking in

the dinner room.

The Music is in 3/4, the piccolo and the flute and the clarinet share the main theme

(starting on A) on a strings pizzicato background in D giving the feeling of a mixolydian

scale played over a sus chord or a fantasy mood according to the ambiguity of the

minor/major mode. At :00:13 the strings go diatonically to B and modulate to B major at

:00:16 when Hermione appears. Here the music follows the action, and gives a happy and

triumphal mood with a P5th interval (B to F#). At :00:21 the harp leads the harmony to

the V chord when the camera shows Harry and Ron. The cadence gives suspense to the

upcoming reunion of the main Characters. At :00:27, after Ron and Harry sees Hermione,

the woodwinds and the harp release the tension going to I. The music supports the happy

mood of the reunion. When Hermione starts running to them at :00:33, the harmony

modulate in constant structure (F# to G to F# (all major)) and make a pause when

Hermione hugs Harry. Then, a short pause at :00:43 (giving a small suspense) leads to a

quiet G harmony that supports the awkwardness of Ron and Hermione reunion without

giving up the happiness of the moment. The harmony goes then to a C over a G pedal

when they are expressing their happiness of seeing each other and their thoughts. After

the dialogue, the harmony goes back to G major, playing between G major and C minor

(the modal interchange (in opposition with the previous C major) gives a transition to the

action) at :01:05 when the action goes to McGonagall ringing the bell. At :01:15 the

harmony modulate to B major over an F# pedal when Dumbledore stands up to do an

announcement. Here the music gives the importance to Dumbledore character (giving
him a lot of credit). The V pedal gives a smooth tension that gives the suspense of what

Dumbledore is going to say. At :01:24, when he gives credit to some teacher for helping

during the tragic events that happened, the harmony goes from F# major to E flat

augmented (reminding the sadness and the tension of the past events) to a E flat major.

Until the applause at :01:33 the music is modulating to follow the ideas of the scenes

referring to the global happy ending of the movie (supported by the constant use of major

tonality). During the applause, the music is solemn, then the composer uses wandering

modulation without a definite tonal center (giving instability but no discomfort). Same

thing when, at :01:50, Dumbledore announces the cancellation of the exams. In that case,

the composer doesn’t use a release in a major tonality because the scene shows the

happiness of everyone and the disappointment of Hermione. Also he keeps the action

moving on because there is more to happen. At :02:00 the harmony get settle again in B

major when Dumbledore sits down and announces the following scene. Then the

audience ears an F# sus that announces the upcoming scene where Hagrid comes in at

:02:05. It creates a suspension and incertitude in the audience mind. The F# resolve

deceptively on a G# minor at :02:11 when is apologize for being late. The strings give

melancholia to the scene and the minor chord give compassion to it. So far, the music has

a psychological and physical function to the scene. Remaining of the main theme, support

of the mood and the movement of the action in the scenes. It also connects the feeling

between each scene. At :02:16 the timbale rolls and the harmony release on a B major

while the camera shows the astonishment of Dumbledore (every thing is getting in order).

Here the horns play a triumphal 5th interval with a solemn sound. At :02:25 the

woodwinds follow Hagrid’s joke (underlining the dialogue) with a happy staccato
melody on the V sus chord that releases on I with a Neapolitan cadence while Hagrid

approaches Dumbledore. At 02:38, while Hagrid is still walking the Harp bring the music

to an A minor harmony played by the strings going then to D maj quietly (The composer

keeps putting tension until the last release). Here the music supports the important

dialogue that is going to come. Gives a bit of suspense and reminds the past events. Then,

at :02:54 the melody is played by the woodwind and the harmonic progression gives

mystery and instability to the scene. Also it supports the topic of death that present in the

dialogue. At :03:04 the celesta (or xylophone?) plays a melody on a flat 6 chord going to

V and resolving deceptively on IV minor. The deceptive resolution is used because the

dialogue is not done. Harry is answering to Hagrid so the harmony stays in the air to

support the action. At :03:18 when Harry is hugging Hagrid the music still doesn’t

resolve and go to D major while the audience expects B major. By doing that, the

composer gives happy/sad mood and support Harry’s line and also the tears in

Hermione’s eyes at :03:21 with an harmony based on an B minor center. At :03:33, the

strings lead to a G minor harmony when every one starts applauding Hagrid while we see

Harry’s smile. The Harmony moves from G major to B flat major with the bass voice

leading to F to finally resolve on F# minor over D. This cadence supports the applauding

growing. The F# occurs at :03:42 on cue of the conductor and the woodwinds start

playing the main title again. The music indicates that the scene and the movie are ending.

Finally, the strings lead the harmony from a D minor a beautiful A major at :04:05 with

the applaude and the happy face of the students. The violin plays the lead note (high A)

while the French horn, the bass and cello play a counterline. The violin gives a lot of

emotion and happy tears while the backline give solemnness and pride. The music gets
stronger with the coming of the brass at :04:12 giving a victorious feeling. Plus, the

harmony is now going between the IV and the V chord. The audience is expecting a big

resolution of harmony and sound. The resolution occurs at :04:24 on Harry’s happy and

triumphal facial expression with the sound of the brass melody and the timbale roll on a

very full of emotion string line. The music keeps growing with the apparition the cymbal

at :04:31 when we have a full shot of the room, the students and the teachers. The rhythm

is energetic, the harp line accentuate the kicks and give strength to the final cadence

going from IV to V to a V sus that let the picture takes more distance from the scene.

Finally the harmony resole on A major at :04:43 with the melody starting on C# and

playing the main theme. So it gives a major Lydian tonality. It is very interesting how the

A Lydian (C# melody played over an A major harmony) gives the fantasy and the

mystery to the scene. Also the sound of the brass marks ending of the movie in a

triumphal way but the ambiguity of major/minor reminds the global mood of the movie

plus the upcoming adventure (even if it there because it’s also the main theme of the

movie and it closes perfectly the scene). The composer finishes the music and closes the

movie (with the camera taking more distance from earth and showing a full picture of the

castle) with a low brasses line, coming after the main theme, and going from F major to a

release point at :04:55 in A major with the support of percussion. This finishes finally on

two last hits: one at :05:00 and the last strongest one at :05:05 with the black screen.