Soundtrack Review: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)

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This is a review of the motion picture score Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by John Williams.

“With few moments of obvious stylistic reprise Azkaban is the definitive fantasy score we had been waiting for in the series”

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban may be the best film adaptation of the series because it was the first film to actually take some risks and create a convincing sense of glom. Falling in with the sense of increased freedom would be composer John Williams, who nearly reinvented the wheel by almost entirely disposing of his previous themes for the series.  If continuity is a MUST for your franchise scores the score may seem a bit less than great.  Yet all of the new ideas function at a comparable, and in many cases higher, level, and with few moments of obvious stylistic reprise (no cut-and-paste moments ala Lockheart’s theme aping “No Ticket”) Azkaban stands as the first great and thoroughly enchanting entry in the series.

Three Main Themes

While the dominant tones for the previous Potter score were the moments of whimsy and fanfare, here things seem to be centered around three main ideas.  The most creative would be the “Double Trouble” theme, a quirky little melody that is surprisingly enjoyable when sung (after “Christmas at Hogwarts”, low expectations were obvious) and makes for a delightfully playful atmosphere to the darker, oddball moments of the score as well as some of the suspense moments. “Hagrid the Professor” throws in a hopping Renaissance feel to the proceedings.  An additional racing flute solo to close “Secrets of the Castle” provides a beautiful light contrast.

The second thematic identity, certainly the most beautiful statement in the franchise to date and the first to have any serious emotional heft, is the theme for Harry and his family.  The recorder solos are simply stunning, and their combination more soaring strings of “A Window to the Past” creates one of the finest cues of the decade for the composer.  It could have benefited from more performances (the whole film shows there are many more, though some are certainly redundant), but its rarity on album doesn’t diminish its beauty.

Darker

Indeed, such rarity probably helps further the power behind the third identity, which doesn’t have a real theme but is instead a consistently dark feel. Certainly it isn’t definitive; the Dementors seem to have no real theme, rather being represented by slow, dissonant strings in parts that fail to stand out from the composer’s standard creepy fare.  But most exist comfortably in their own world.  Even if the darker action moments are similar to the composer’s Star Wars prequels, they have much more personality (read: no cutting-and-pasting) and get a fairly diverse presentation, whether the racing timpani hits in “The Whomping Willow” or the pounding, more determined approach to “Lupin’s Transformation” and “The Werewolf Scene”.  The best way to notice the shift is to compare the slightly redundant “The Quidditch Match” in the first score with the epic, racing reformatting that is “Quidditch, Third Year”.  The apocalyptic highlight would be the dark choral raging in “The Dementors Converge” and “Finale”, contrasting wonderfully with the ethereal choral backup to the family theme in the latter cue.

Certainly favorite cues for some will be those where Williams obviously had a ball composing.  “Aunt Marge’s Waltz” builds its pomp to a hilariously soaring conclusion; some of the best addictive momentum of the year.  After a jolting smash of drum thwacks, “Buckbeak’s Flight” morphs into the saga’s first real moment of melodic grandeur, with a graceful background that is unmistakable Williams bliss.  In contrast to such organization, “The Knight Bus” is perhaps the first cue by the composer where it feels like everything including the kitchen sink got thrown in, as frenetic jazz beats and whistles throw musical caution to the wind.  Some listeners will probably flee in terror, but most should be able to appreciate the offbeat nature.  The clock-like percussion in parts of “Saving Buckbeak” and “Forward to Time Past” proves engrossing and mysterious even if it is a bit predictable.

Conclusion

Overall, it seems odd saying that the score’s excellence is a surprise given the composer we’re addressing, but after two somewhat familiar predecessors I wasn’t expecting the score to exist so comfortably in its own world.  Had most of the end credits not simply altered the order for the majority of music from the first seven cues the score may have shot to near-classic status; regrettably the album does leave a slight “bummer” feeling to close.  Still, with no major flaws Azkaban is the definitive fantasy score we had been waiting for in the series, and outside of Memoirs of a Geisha it currently stands are the composer’s last great composition.

Album (68:36)
1. Lumos! (Hedwig’s Theme) (1:38)
2. Aunt Marge’s Waltz (2:15)
3. The Knight Bus (2:52)
4. Apparition on the Train (2:15)
5. Double Trouble (1:37)
6. Buckbeak’s Flight (2:08)
7. A Window to the Past (3:54)
8. The Whomping Willow and the Snowball Fight (2:22)
9. Secrets of the Castle (2:32)
10. The Portrait Gallery (2:05)
11. Hagrid the Professor (1:59)
12. Monster Books and Boggarts! (2:26)
13. Quidditch, Third Year (3:47)
14. Lupin’s Transformation and Chasing Scabbers (3:01)
15. The Patronus Light (1:12)
16. The Werewolf Scene (4:25)
17. Saving Buckbeak (6:39)
18. Forward to Time Past (2:33)
19. The Dementors Converge (3:12)
20. Finale (3:24)
21. Mischief Managed! (12:10)

Listen to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by John Williams below:

Find more videos like this on Soundtrack Fans

Other articles of interest:

• Soundtrack Review: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
• Soundtrack Review: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001)
• Soundtrack Review: Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)
• Soundtrack Review: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
• Soundtrack Review: Saving Private Ryan (1998)

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