Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

The range in volume for this CD is from almost inaudible (opening) to much louder. Unfortunately, Mr. Hooper still finds it impossible to grasp some fabulous situations and run with them. Ginny and Harry need a love thime for heaven's sake. I haven't seen the movie yet, so we'll have to see how any of this plays with the action. But my even larger complaint is about the packaging. The print is somewhere around a size 1 or 1/2. I have never seen anything smaller in my life on any CD. Some of us can't read that small of print - that includes lots of people! I'm fine down to about 3, but this hardly looks like writing. Come on. Get real. The basic score establishes atmosphere rather well, but so many scenes, once a mood is established, go no where. The best are those themes given to Weasleys, the Aragog funeral (quite Irish), and Dunbledore's farewell - where the chord progressions Hooper seems to relish actually build to a great climax.

Right out the gate, Dumbledore and Harry after the death of Sirius and flashes going off from the cameras. The music puts you in the moment. The sadness is overwhelming, you can really feel for this kid, who just can't seem to get a break. I love this CD. My personal favorite is the Goblet of Fire soundtrack, but this one gives it a run for it's money. "Ginny", "Harry and Hermione", simple, yet beautiful. This is an easy CD to listen to, beginning to end. Finally, the second to the last, "The Friends", if this just doesn't feel you up with emotion, as you can see the three standing together looking out at the lake and the grounds of Hogwarts, then your just not into it. As for me, I'm totally into it. It's magical! However, I was wondering where is the music that's playin during Ron's tryouts for the Quidditich team? It's was tones of fun but it doesn't appear to be on the soundtrack.

I am a collector of scores, and have been for over 2 decades now. This one tops them all. The haunting melodies and fun diddles are well suited for listening around the house, or while driving. As a writer, I have found it perfect for setting the moods of my works. Several pieces invoke such strong emotions as stand alones. Add that to the movie and the dark somber mood of most of the tale, and I have to say this score is exceptional. A great addition to any collection, whether or not you are a fan of the series. I particularly recommend "Harry and Hermione"; "The Journey to the Cave" and "Dumbledores Farewell" as standing out over all the rest. They quite literally send chills over me each time I listen.

All of the soundtrack music from the Harry Potter movies is great, but this one in particular has some really good music on it. It's not as "soundtracky" and is a bit more moving. Love it!

I can still remember hearing "Hedwig's Theme" for the first time. It was opening day of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" eight years ago, and when the music came up under the film's title card, I remember thinking "Thank goodness for John Williams." The soundtrack he composed for that film (and its first two sequels) was perfection. With what seemed like alchemical magic, he captured in music the essence of what JK Rowling had created in words: a mysterious, whimsical world that set our imaginations soaring and immediately captured our hearts. As much as the film looked like what I imagined Rowling's universe to look like, it sounded that way as well. Williams opted not to score the fourth Harry Potter film, and things took a decided downturn. Patrick Doyle's work for "Goblin of Fire" was, in my opinion, all atmosphere, with very little melody to it; and what melody there was - "Neville's Waltz" for example - was simplistic and bland. Moreover, there was little about it that distinguished it as a "Harry Potter" score; the action music could have accompanied any number of fantasy films, and it lacked genuine wit. The music (and much of the magic) returned to Hogwarts when Nicholas Hooper took over for the fifth film. Hooper's melodic score for "Order of the Phoenix" was exciting, suspenseful, heart rending, playful, magical; in short, everything the film itself turned out to be. Now Hooper's returned for "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," and he's come up with an even better soundtrack than his previous effort. A brief overview: The score starts strongly, with a variation of "Hedwig's Theme" that becomes darker and more dramatic as it progresses. (My guess is that it underscores the series of Muggle attacks with which the film opens.) A haunting choral piece follows, one that, according to Hooper, is not in the actual film, but was written for a certain character's funeral. (No spoilers, here, although if you don't know what I'm referring to, I'd be awfully surprised.) "The Story Begins" is a track that seems to anticipate the listener's eagerness for...well, the story to begin. It has movement and mystery to it, yet ends on a light, bright note (literally), which hints at the film's emphasis on comedy and romance. The track entitled "Ginny" is, unfortunately, a missed opportunity to my mind; why write another variation on "Hedwig's Theme," when Harry's emerging love and longing for Ron's sister warrants its own treatment? More tense, apprehensive music follows with "Snape and the Unbreakable Vow," followed by the infectious "Wizard Wheezes." As you might expect, it's brash, rambunctious, a little sly, and utterly delightful - much like the Weasley twins themselves. The atmospheric tracks continue, all quite successful, although I'm curious as to why "Living Death" is so reminiscent of the "Professor Umbridge" track from Hooper's "Order of the Phoenix" score. One can only imagine it's intentional, and I'll be interested to see how it fits into the actual film. One of the smartest tracks is "The Slug Party," with its 60s vibe and inspired use of percussion, particularly the bongo. It brings to mind nothing so much as the wild cocktail party in Blake Edwards' "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and it's a blast. Hooper moves into full-blown action mode with "Into the Rushes," a superb track that builds with intensity, followed by "Farewell Aragog," a Scottish-sounding dirge that, as authentic as it is, could have benefited from some bagpipes. More dramatic scoring follows, broken up by the oddly contemplative "When Ginny Kissed Harry" and the melancholy "Slughorn's Confession." (The music here ideally matches the ruefulness and sorrow of the scene in the book.) "Journey to the Cave" begins the inexorable slide towards the film's tragic conclusion. (The track titles may give it away, but I never will!) Here Hooper expertly conveys, in ever more complex musical terms, the fear, anxiety, confusion, loss and despair of the story's final scenes. Things wind down with a forlorn goodbye that incorporates some of the material from the soundtrack's opening, and a track entitled "The Friends," which seems to foreshadow how important - and severely tested - friendship will be to the final two "Deathly Hallows" films. Finally, we get "The Weasley Stomp," a bright celebratory piece that, logically, echoes back to the "Fireworks" track from "Order of the Phoenix." All in all, Hooper has done a marvelous job, writing what is very much a "Harry Potter" score, yet one that retains its own musical point of view. That said, I still wish he (and Doyle before him) had taken a page from Williams's book and thought on a slightly grander scale, particularly in his use of themes. In the "Chamber of Secrets" score alone, Williams produced significant musical illustrations of Fawkes the phoenix, Dobby the house-elf, Gilderoy Lockhart and the Chamber itself. These themes exist as superb stand-alone tracks that make the soundtrack one of my favorites to listen to again and again. The last three Harry Potter films could have used more of these. (Imagine what William's could have come up with for the Tri-Wizard Tournament, Rita Skeeter, Professor Umbridge, or - most dramatically - Voldemort himself. Darth Vader has his own immortal theme, why not He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?) I have been hoping, in my heart of hearts, for Williams to return for the "Deathly Hallows" films. Listening to this evocative, energetic, intelligent score for "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," however, I can honestly say that I'm much more comfortable with the idea of Nicholas Hooper finishing up the series.

I imagine a lot of people hoped that the very delightful and sort of upbeat themes that John Williams penned would continue, but anyone who has read the books knows the picture grows continually darker. So it is with the sound tracks of the movies. Nicholas Hooper does a wonderful job of conveying this darkness without overwhelming you with it. His music very nicely accompanies the mood of the film from beginning to end, and I like it enough to give it 5/5.

Great music!

Nicholas Hooper goes further/deeper/more poignant in Half Blood Prince. "In Noctem" sets the mood beautifully and, for me, communicates the tragedy of Draco, a boy who should be enjoying school life but is haunted and pressured by his mission. The simple guitar tune "When Ginny Kissed Harry" is exquisite. And there is of course that great crescendo when Dumbledore and Harry "Journey to the Cave." Breathtaking.

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