While John Williams set the stage and created the iconic themes for Harry Potter, each subsequent composer added to the breadth and depth of the musical world. Patrick Doyle added more Celtic flair with the Irish Quidditch team as well as creating music for all the schools, the dances, as well as dragons. Nicholas Hooper was the first to write music for the Ministry of Magic, the Order of the Phoenix, and continued with folk and Celtic tunes especially for the Weasley twins. Alexandre Desplat had the darker films with the last two, visiting familiar places like Gringott's Bank and the Ministry of Magic while also adding Middle Eastern instruments for the Elder Wand and older lore. This episode explores how each composer both reestablished familiarity from the sounds of John Williams but also created their own voice for this world.

There are so many musical tracks for the world of Harry Potter that even though I had covered relationships, Hedwig's Theme, and characters in previous podcasts, there were still so many more that set the world of Harry Potter. Since John Williams composed music for the first three movies, he set the world with an orchestral sound, using choir and celeste to accentuate the magical aspect. But he wasn't content to leave it there, using older Renaissance instruments and Celtic music to give it a grounding in Old England, suggesting that this magical world had been around for a long time. Add a little bit of jazz in the 3rd film and there is so much to explore in the world that John Williams created for Harry Potter.

John Williams did an excellent job in setting the tone in the first 3 movies of Harry Potter. Between "Hedwig's Theme" and "Harry's Wondrous World," he created themes that tell Harry's story of relationships and family. He also created fun, quirky themes for characters such as Professor Lockhart and Dobby. This idea is continued with the other composers from Professor Umbridge to Mr Lovegood throughout the other 4 films. On the other hand, while Harry has a specific theme carried throughout, Voldemort does not. John Williams wrote two or three motifs as he is still fragmented and not whole in the beginning. The other composers then created their own themes and motifs for Voldemort and the Death Eaters. This episode focuses on these stand-alone themes for characters that tell you about their personality but does not often carry through to other films. I started with villains because it's always nicer to end on a quirky note instead of a dark one!

Over the course of Harry's growing up years and 8 films, Harry makes friends and makes a new family after years of being an orphan with less than desirable relatives. He also loses friends and family as the years go darker and fighting Voldemort and his Death Eaters. While very few themes carry throughout all 8 films, there are several that carry through a few such Harry's Wondrous World by John Williams. This rather long episode covers themes with his best friends Hermione and Ron, falling in love with Cho and then Ginny, dealing with the loss of his parents, and then later the loss of beloved mentors and friends. It is a journey of joy and deep grief as I look at all the different music by John Williams, Patrick Doyle, Nicholas Hooper, and Alexandre Desplat that take us along that emotional ride over the years.

Hedwig's Theme has become synonymous with Harry Potter and the world. All kids want to play it, everyone associates the celeste with Harry Potter instead of the Nutcracker, and the theme is used in every movie and theme park. This episode focuses on the journey of this theme from its creation by John Williams for the original trailer, to telling the story of Harry Potter in 8 films and through 4 composers.