Soundtrack Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 by Alexandre Desplat

I suppose it’s excellent timing to post this, as the first trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 was released today. And oh my God how FANTASTIC does it look! But my excited squees will come later.

Put simply, Alexandre Desplat is my favourite film composer of all, followed by Dario Marianelli, Joe Hisaishi, Yann Tiersen and er, many others. But I know and love Desplat best; I’ve practically grown up with him. My first encounter with his music was in Girl with a Pearl Earring, the film adaptation of Tracy Chevalier’s novel starring Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth (two people with whom I was pretty infatuated at the time). The movie had my tick of approval, but it was the music in particular that struck out to me. I had never heard anything so exquisite, so heart-wrenchingly gorgeous to my ears; I scrambled to know who the composer was and where I could get the soundtrack. Back then I wasn’t so knowledgable about online avenues, but eventually while I was on a bookstore tour with the school librarian and other classmates, I found a CD in stock at Readings.

And so began my unequivocal relationship with Desplat’s music—and what a magical, fantastic journey it’s been! Over time I think Desplat has made me appreciate film scores more. I’m not actually a musical person (I wish I was though—where’s my tiger mother?) but I am, I guess, a sensitive arty type, to stereotype myself. And nowhere is it more explicit to feel music’s impact than in a classical score.

This is Alexandre Desplat. I think he might be God. Plus he wears chic scarves. The French always did have impeccable taste.

It’s no surprise how thrilled I was to learn that Desplat would be composing the last two films of the Harry Potter series. It was a dream come true—I’d been asserting my wish much earlier on how amazing it would be for Desplat to compose for Harry Potter. Desplat is no stranger to the young adult fantasy genre, having previously done The Golden Compass and (shock horror) The Twilight Saga: New Moon, but it must be said, a project like Harry Potter is seriously epic stuff. Perhaps it was this massive expectation on my part for such greatness that I initially was disappointed with the score when I first heard it. Some tracks had that achingly emotional Desplat signature, while others fell short on resonance. This is what I initially thought. Recently, the DVD/Blu-ray was released here and it wasn’t until after I refreshed my memory (and my ears) of the film that I realised the score works perfectly in the film’s context, which is essentially a score’s purpose, after all. However, standing alone as an album, it can become tedious, though I’ve found every new listen to be exciting and engaging.

Desplat often writes music that is whimsical and romantic, with nostalgic homages to the classics. His strengths, I think, are creating understated pieces charged with emotion. What permeates and is emphasised throughout the Deathly Hallows score is a strong sense of foreboding and finality. The film begins with“Obliviate”, which must be the most emotionally devastating and most fiercely determined opening of all the Harry Potter films. And so it ought to be. Harry and his friends are no longer returning to Hogwarts. This is it—the final battle begins, everything is uncertain, but it must end at all costs. This is what’s impressed me most about the score: how mature it sounds. It’s degrees beyond the previous score, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by Nicholas Hooper, in scope and mood. The feelings of isolation, loss and fear are entrenched. It’s so easy to forget these are teenagers on the run, fighting to stay alive, tasked with the impossible. It makes sense that John Williams’ iconic “Hedwig’s Theme” is barely noticeable. It’s sparsely placed in the score—cover your ears and you’ll miss it. Desplat introduces new motifs and overtures to the score; though initially I felt quite lost in the unfamiliar sounds, it begins to assume a logic, indeed a magic, of its own. “Polyjuice Potion” and “The Will” are still laced with Hedwig’s theme, hinting at the loss of innocence that Harry’s owl and the (relatively) happy years at Hogwarts represent, but those days are over. “Nowhere is safe”, as the film tagline emphasises.

That said, “Dobby”, “Detonators”, “Ministry of Magic”, “Lovegood” and “The Deathly Hallows” still contain playful overtones, lightening the score’s intensely dark mood, but always there is the threatening undercurrent of fear and danger. Desplat capitalises on some unique instruments and sounds, including Asian woodwinds and the mandolin, evoking a ye olde Baroque feel.

While Desplat excels at intimate orchestrations, he can certainly tackle action-packed sequences with ease. Add in a degree of horror to raise the hairs of your neck: “The Locket” and “The Exodus” are chilling, with their sharp, meandering notes; “Capture and Tortured” pulsates with drum cues followed by sombre strings, while hushed woodwinds and percussion make “Bathilda Bagshot” eery and ominous, breaking out into a crescendo of splintering strings and brass, as Harry and Hermione fight Voldemort’s vicious serpent, Nagini. “Snape to Malfoy Manor”,“Rescuing Hermione” and “Fireplaces Escape” get our pulses running. Harry, Ron and Hermione’s escape from the Ministry of Magic is breathtaking in the film, but even as a single track, it’s a sensational whirlwind chase. “Sky Battle” is a weaker song by comparison, rather dilapidated with noises colliding; it reminded me of Lord Faa, King of the Gyptians in The Golden Compass.

The most emotional points are often the most subtle arrangements, such as in “Hermione’s Parents”. The humble strings and percussion are orchestrated to amazing effect in “Ron Leaves”, “Godric’s Hollow Graveyard”, “Ron’s Speech” and “Farewell to Dobby”. “Farewell to Dobby” is a heartfelt elegy, which is no less than the humble house-elf deserves for the greatest sacrifice of all. For me his was the most devastating death, and I do blubber quite a bit any time I hear this song or watch the scene in the film or read it in the book. Similarly, “Ron’s Speech” felt more like “Ron’s Confession to Hermione”. It’s incredibly poignant and romantic, a small gem that only Desplat could create. Ron explains to Harry and Hermione how he found them again—but really he’s attempting to redeem himself for Hermione, that Hermione’s voice led him back to her. This scene could easily have become saccharine and unbelievable, but instead expresses emotional depth (which is frankly shocking given Ron’s emotional range of a teaspoon, don’t forget), highlighting the tumultuous but enduring relationship between Ron and Hermione. It’s so gorgeous I get a bit teary here too. Yes, I sail the Good Ship all the way! And yes, I am a sap, but only when it comes to Ron and Hermione. “Harry and Ginny” also resonates with romantic restraint, though their relationship is only lightly touched on in the narrative. I’m really hoping Ron and Hermione get their own theme in Part 2. REALLY.

You can feel there’s that signature quiet Desplat-ness to all these pieces, but also a new grandness reminiscent of sweeping romances and majestic heroism. It sounds much more like what Williams would be inclined to express. That’s not to insult either Desplat or Williams, but I think what makes their scores so memorable is how they capture tension and emotion with grandeur and eloquence.

My feelings toward the score have changed dramatically (see my 2010 in review post) and I berate myself for being so hasty in my judgement, but what can I say, I fiercely love Harry Potter and Alexandre Desplat, so I’m harsher in my opinion, it took me about four months to finally love the album, but this is a score that obviously requires patience and context to let the sounds resonate and leave an impression. Now with my eyes opened wider (or ears, rather), I truly believe the final chapter of Harry Potter is musically in sensitive and competent hands—not just because I am partial to Desplat. I’m really looking forward to hearing how Part 2 fares; given the exceedingly grim outcome of the narrative it should be just as gripping and exciting as Part 1, if not more so, especially if it’s as good as the new trailer suggests.

You can read an interview with Alexandre Desplat discussing his process in composing the score for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 at the Harry Potter Fanzone. It’s an insightful and funny read, actually, reading into the working, genius mind of Desplat. I especially like this quote:

“… there’s a scene which I really liked scoring. There’s two of them. There’s the scene when Ron comes back. And Hermione and Harry are listening to him doing a little speech. And I really enjoyed trying to find the colour of this friendship. You know, it’s like writing a love scene. But it can’t be a love scene because they’re not in love. They’re just friends. And it’s on the edge. It’s very difficult to not become too emphatic or too cheesy. If the music is too romantic, you know, they’re not in love. So that was a challenging that I really loved because I liked the scene a lot.”

Well, Desplat definitely made it romantic, okay!

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