Soundtrack Review: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
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This is a review of the motion picture score Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by Nicholas Hooper.
“The best thing about it is that it should cause enough of an uproar to bring back John Williams.”
By now the phrase “this score is lacking in references to previously established themes” should go without saying. After Patrick Doyle’s pounding reconstruction of the saga’s identity and Nicholas Hooper’s more pedestrian follow-up, such constant reinvention has become commonplace in the Potter scores. However, with Nicholas Hooper taking the reins of Half Blood Prince, fans hoped he would be able to build the basic constructs of Order of the Phoenix into a much darker achievement. Otherwise, the saga would risk collapsing into mere serviceability, insufficient for such an ambitious fantasy tale.
Primary Themes
To Hooper’s credit he brought along some primary themes this time (a notable improvement from Phoenix). Together the orchestral theme first heard in the middle of “Opening” and the choral piece defining “In Noctem” create an appropriately somber identity for what should be the darkest film yet. Additionally, the he lighter writing seems a bit more secure. Order of the Phoneix’s emphasis on chimes and lightness was acceptable but perhaps too cutesy for the saga, while here the ensemble for cues like “The Story Continues” and “Ginny” seems deeper and more realized. Granted, such writing still lacks the power and intricacy of the scores by Williams and Doyle, but it is still a welcome expansion nonetheless, especially in the joyous “The Weasley Stomp” and the Quidditch cues that references Williams’ motif from “Quidditch, Third Year”.
Lack of Stylistic Cohesion
Yet even if the score does take some steps forward, its lack of stylistic cohesion results in it taking almost as many steps back. I’m not saying a score cannot have multiple identities, but a successful dramatic score, especially one for a fantasy film, should be able to pull everything together into one sonic world. Williams superbly weaved three major identities into one mysterious whole with Azkaban, but here everything feels separated. The guitar-dominated love cues fail to establish anything an emotional hold; one only has to listen to “Harry in Winter” to understand what these tracks lack. Additionally, the modern approach to these moments is not mirrored in any of the other cues. The big band jazz in “Wizard Wheezes” is little more than an average jazz reprise, lacking the spirit and technicality that made “The Knight Bus” memorable. Even the fiddle-based lament in “Farewell Aragog, while admittedly one of the finer cues on the album, is too much of a Celtic throwback to sit comfortably with the rest of the album.
Conclusion
With little cohesion throughout, the score (at least on album, and probably on film) fails to build towards anything. The ominous momentum that so brilliantly worked in Goblet of Fire should have been mirrored here, what with HBP’s plot pushing towards the bleakest moments of the saga so far. Sadly, the two primary themes are curiously absent for the score’s middle; the score has a mostly upbeat nature prior to its closing 8 cues. But even in the finale the music fails to rise to the occasion, rather feeling mostly anonymous (“The Killing of Dumbledore” being the biggest, most subdued culprit). Goblet of Fire’s action went out with an emotionally gripping bang in “Voldemort” as the themes for Voldemort and Harry rose to their finest incarnations. Here the themes go out with a whimper, being performed at the same pace and intensity as they were to start the album. This is music that can do no better than follow the images on the screen. Hooper’s music has little to say emotionally or dramatically, and with the weight of the first four scores weighing down on HBP its minimal nature cannot suffice for a decidedly grander, darker story. For listeners demanding nothing more than a nice listen, the album will pass by without complaint. But for those who want their franchise scores to maintain a comparable level of quality throughout HBP will remain a resounding disappointment. It is frequently unmemorable, occasionally inappropriate, and woefully “unmagical”. Lacking the inherent charm of Hooper’s Order of the Phoenix score, it remains the saga’s weakest entry. The best thing about it is that it should cause enough of an uproar to bring back John Williams.
1. Opening (2:54)
2. In Noctem (2:00)
3. The Story Begins (2:05)
4. Ginny (1:30)
5. Snape & the Unbreakable Vow (2:50)
6. Wizard Wheezes (1:42)
7. Dumbledore’s Speech (1:31)
8. Living Death (1:55)
9. Into the Pensieve (1:45)
10. The Book (1:44)
11. Ron’s Victory (1:44)
12. Harry & Hermione (2:52)
13. School! (1:05)
14. Malfoy’s Mission (2:53)
15. The Slug Party (2:11)
16. Into the Rushes (2:33)
17. Farewell Aragog (2:08)
18. Dumbledore’s Foreboding (1:18)
19. Of Love & War (1:17)
20. When Ginny Kissed Harry (2:38)
21. Slughorn’s Confession (3:33)
22. Journey to the Cave (3:08)
23. The Drink of Despair (2:44)
24. Inferi in the Firestorm (1:53)
25. The Killing of Dumbledore (3:34)
26. Dumbledore’s Farewell (2:22)
27. The Friends (2:00)
28. The Weasley Stomp (2:51)
Listen to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by Nicholas Hooper below:
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(15 votes, average: 7.73 out of 10)
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Comments
I gave this score a strong 3.5 of out 5 on my blog , but mainly because of short track times, and the restraint of the screenplay and the way the director handled this particular HP film – I have watched the Half Blood Prince twice in theaters now and the music fits and works perfectly… this film really has less action than any other HP movie and has a lot to do with the teenage love triangles and memories long forgotten…
I really do not understand how Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen , which is a rehash of every Zimmer, Glennie-Smith, and obviously Jablonsky score obtained such a high score on this website, while this score was given such a low rating.
In Nicholas Hooper’s defense I have come to the conclusion that he did a serviceable, original job. He holds his own sense of style, staying within the director’s and screenplay’s apparent agenda, “less is more” and being very “British” and restrained.
Matt´s last blog ..Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince 
Jorn Tillnes Reply:
July 24th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
One reason why the scores of T:RotF and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince are different is because of different reviewers. I did the Transformers review, but if I were to review HP and the Half-Blood Prince I would have given it a 7 or 8.
I love Hooper’s style. I think his scores provide the best “ensemble” performance as a commentary of what is happening. He doesn’t distract from the screen action (like Williams. I’m sorry, I may have to poke my ears out if Williams comes back). I quite like both OoTP and HPB. I particularly like the delicate sound Hooper brings; it’s fragile, vulnerable, yet strong in character. To me it is so much more suitable to the stories than previously, particularly these last two, which need a particularly deft hand to paint the seriousness without overkill. I also like the choice of often adding non-traditionally orchestral instruments. I LOVE the addition of piano. One thing about soundtracks in general…anymore they are over the top orchestral, or they are a melange of pop music. At any rate, I heartily hope that whoever does the last two keeps this ability to create the atmosphere and not just pound out themes.
to kic.
John williams is the maestro of film music. the master. even masters make bad or disapoiting scores, but john williams have made it trough 50 years so far 
To say that williams music distract from the screen action is a rather stupid thing to say. his music makes the films better. lifts the action, makes us feel magic only with his brilliant music and it all sounds verry listenable on an album. John Williams has just been officialy hired as composer to the next two harry potter films ( deadly hallows part 1 & 2) so i would cut my ears of if i was you 
KIC Reply:
August 7th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
I still don’t see any confirmation JW is doing the music.
It is not a *stupid* thing to say. It is my educated opinion on the matter. You may disagree. But it is certainly sad artistically, for people to continue to laud *everything* Williams does just because of work of his that *is* good and even great. I think his style was quite good for the character of the first few movies. I do not believe it will work for the rest, especially not after Doyle and Hooper who, IMO, have a far more “atmospheric” hand that have helped shape the feel of 4,5, and 6.
Do I think Williams *could* provide a great score? Maybe. If he focused on completely serving the character of the movie and continuing the style of the last three, but I can’t see him accomplishing this.
I personally really like this score. I would give it a 7 out of ten. I think Nicholas Hooper has done a great job. I personally don’t like John William’s Potter scores much. And I can’t stand listening to the Goblet of Fire.
Jeremiah Pena´s last blog ..My Site Was Attacked
Don’t you even like PoA?
I have listen to JW’s HP scores and i can agreed that 1&2 is not better than 4&5. but HP3 is really outstanding, and that is his latest HP score so i think it would be wise to use JW as a composer on HP 7.
I found a interwiew at JWfan.com where Nicholas Hooper stated that he will not return for HP7 an he hopes JW will do it.
I disagree. I thought this soundtrack was very moving and beautiful. Hooper did a fantastic job of taking the earlier scores invented by John Williams and maturing them to fit the tone of the story in Half Blood Prince. Every single track captured the emotion in the scene and the really brought the film alive.
John Williams’ scores are OK if you like being hit over the head with a mallet!
Nicholas Hooper’s work on HBP proves that ‘less is more’ as his soundtrack is subtle, emotional, beautiful.
Well deserved Grammy nomination Mr Hooper – good luck I hope you win.
Jorn Tillnes Reply:
December 9th, 2009 at 5:17 pm
Ouch… harsh on the ever young John Williams. It seems to be two camps on the whole Nicholas Hooper conundrum. I have one foot in both camps as I liked it, but Williams and Doyle did a better job overall in my opinion.
This review is outrageous! I haven’t read such total ignorance in my life, it’s laughable that this is a soundtrack review website lol.
Nicholas Hooper’s Score’s to the Half-Blood Prince and Order of the Pheonix are absolutely groundbreaking. He worked his arse off on these scores and it shows beyond measure. This Score far outreaches Williams’ Score’s for the first 3 combined. His Cue’s in Half Blood Prince were phenominal. The beginning gave me chills when Dumbledore was comforting Harry with that beautiful and heartbreaking piece showing the sadness he was going through after just witnessing the death of his only connection to his past. Then I cried my eyes out when he used it again brilliantly repeating it in Dumbledore’s Farewell. It was heartbreaking to hear.
Every track is amazing. Journey to the Cave builds beautiful tension and then reveals when they are on the rock out to sea. The Drink of Despair is heartwrenching at the end, but the build up of fear and then the part that shows Dumbledore’s bravery and determination when he casts the tempus spell is slow and doesn’t blow up in your face like a typical Williams piece would, instead it’s like someone slowly peeling back a sheet to expose beauty underneath and not a hideous horn or a thrash of symbols or a huge bang of a drum which Williams seems to only have in his repertoire.
The Truth is, Hooper has reinvented the Score and made it an up to date dramatic masterpiece, just because his name isn’t John Williams, seems to immediately make people think, ‘oh it must not be as good as Williams then.’ People need to realise that John Williams recycles old styles and almost all of his work on Harry Potter sounds like his old work on Home Alone, Star Wars and Indiana Jones.
Personally I can’t wait for Alexandre Desplat’s Score who is one of my all time favourite composers, and who created pure beauty for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Twilight Saga: New Moon. He is going to throw it around again and bring us something fresh and new instead of the Bring back John Williams club who just want old, boring, repetitive, Harry Potter to cover our screens again.
John Williams expressed interest in coming back but they chose Alexandre Desplat because they know he will be original.
Jorn Tillnes Reply:
February 14th, 2010 at 10:14 am
Seriously?
Also looking forward to Alexandre Desplat’s score. Love what he did with the Twilight series and can’t wait to hear what he does with the Harry Potter series.
Personally I think John Williams was always the first choice, but they couldn’t get him so they chose Desplat instead.
Thanks for the comment!
Lee Allen Reply:
February 14th, 2010 at 11:42 am
Yes seriously, and if you can’t take me seriously then I can’t take you seriously as a reviewer. just completely ignoring others opinions when you have a comment section lol it’s a disgrace. You’re mistaken as well by the way. John Williams put in a request to return because that’s what happens with composers for large film trilogies or saga’s where they don’t have a fixed composer like Howard Shore was for the Lord of the Rings.
For Harry Potter they put out an open request where composers can tell the producers what they would do with the Score if they were given the job. John Williams put in a request and so did Alexandre Desplat and Nicholas Hooper didn’t put forward a request because he wanted to take a break and spend time with his family. Many composers put in requests, but they chose Desplat because they know he will be original and they turned down! yes turned down John Williams, because they knew he would just use his base he set up in the first 3 and he wouldn’t take risks and cannot handle the drama of the final chapter.
Look it up you might learn something.
Jorn Tillnes Reply:
February 15th, 2010 at 5:14 pm
It was just a question. No need for that 
. Of course i respect your opinion even though i disagree withiæ it for the most part.
I don’t think that you have heard on the Prizoner of Azkaban soundtrack. POA is not a repetion of star wars! Williams’ style has changed drasticly since star wars came in 1977. For me it sounds like you just try to take williams of the throne by saying that he is outdated and repetive, without listen to it. Just listen to ” the whomping willow and the snowball fight” from POA. It is not just completely different from his past HP soundtracks, but it is not ” bombastic” like you say he is. You also say that he is not going to do something new. Are you basing that on the fact that POA ( his last potter score) was VERY different from his previous work, not just on HP?
And they didn’t choose away williams in favour of Alexandre Desplat, williams was their first choise, but he didn’t have time.
Williams may return for DH part 2, since Desplat is just contracted for part 1.
Lee Allen Reply:
February 14th, 2010 at 5:29 pm
I have listened to the entire soundtrack and I own all of them so don’t tell me to listen to it so I notice something that isn’t there. His Scores are enjoyable but not revolutionary and heartbreaking. You don’t hear Star Wars in Buckbeaks flight? lol you must be deaf. the entire note structure is almost identical to a track on the phantom menance and the last 30 seconds is the exact generic music he uses on all phases between important scenes in Star Wars, you must hear this? if not then you are a lost cause.
I don’t and will never understand why so many people put him so high up on a pedestal that they believe him to be flawless and untouchable. The greatest Score to a film is for the lord of the rings and Howard Shore beat all of Williams’ music in just one film lol.
John Williams was good in his prime, in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s but now he is just outdated and can’t stand up with the new big dogs of the past decade like Howard Shore, Alan Silvestri, James Newton Howard, Alexandre Desplat, Nicholas Hooper and Michael Giacchino, who don’t live off of past success.
Lee Allen Reply:
February 14th, 2010 at 5:42 pm
Oh I forgot to reply to the last paragraph. You really don’t know anything so please don’t comment on that. John Williams wasn’t their first choice, he requested to do it but they turned him down. Alexandre Desplat was chosen over him because he is better these days.
John Williams’ last score was Indiana Jones lol and that was in 2007 and most of the music was just old indiana jones anyway, so he had no work to do really. In the next 3 years he has 2 films to do, one of them, Tintin, he has already completed the Score for and is putting it together with the film along with Speilberg and Jackson. He has plenty of time to do Harry Potter, but they don’t want him, can’t anyone understand this lol.
Jon Blough Reply:
February 14th, 2010 at 9:31 pm
I’ll spare debating over the merits of the score. Anyone who considers Half-Blood Prince to be a groundbreaking masterpiece has, at best, a limited exposure to film music, even if they like Desplat. A lot of Lee’s phrasing also demonstrates he is too juvenile to engage in a constructive debate. The rate of “lols” is too much for me to take him seriously, as is his notion that Williams’ only musical technique is noise.
I will, however, dispute the notion that Williams was “rejected” from Deathly Hallows. There is no evidence to support this claim. Williams wanted to score Deathly Hallows and both he and the producers were, as I last checked, negotiating whether it was feasibly for Williams to schedule in both scores. At the time producers did not think the man could make it for part two, but they obviously wanted him to. The following link proves this.
Considering the events that followed, we must assume Williams could not schedule in both films. There are many possible explanations for this that also suffice to mitigate Lee’s claim, but the following two seem the most persuasive. Williams is scoring Tintin, of which the first sessions have already happened and the second will happen over the summer. Even for a composer of his stature, it would be impossible to score two event films at once. One must also factor in his age; 30 years ago perhaps he could pull off Star Wars, Close Encounters, Superman, Empire, Raiders, ET, and Return of the Jedi in succession, but I think 2005 will stand as the last year of prodigious output for the composer (though I hope for another like it down the road).
Lee Allen Reply:
February 15th, 2010 at 4:31 pm
How dare you call me juvenile, I was stating that I am amused. what would you rather me do, say (I am laughing whilst typing) in brackets. you are rediculous. it shows you have no cemented arguments at all if you would rather insult my writing style than comment on my valid and completely true statements.
I have been listening to film music since my birth and have been more interested in film scores than the films themselves. I have thousands of cd’s of film soundtracks and the only music I enjoy listening to is film scores whilst I do my daily activities like running, or when I’m at work or when I’m writing my novels.
Please don’t assume anything about a person unless you fully know that person, not just from a comment.
This website obviously has shown me that it reviews films based on whether it’s as good as john williams.
I won’t be visiting this site again, there are plenty of other film music websites that have actual valid opinions and can give constructive reviews on film scores without their comment section being filled with haters and John Williams fan club member.
thank you and goodbye.
Jon Blough Reply:
February 15th, 2010 at 8:28 pm
Actually, the amount of Williams scores reviewed here are very small. Had I the time, I would probably have reviewed his weaker works as well as his stronger works. Besides, Chamber of Secrets received only a decent rating on this site, and I consider Patrick Doyle’s Goblet of Fire score the easy choice for the best of the series.
Based on your sour mood in your last post, you seem to have the mental capacity of Ford Thaxton. Yikes.
I agreed with John Blough!
All those negative things said here about Williams is not true/made up by people who don´t like him!
Hello to all,
I would be really really grateful to anyone who can tell me the chronological order (as appears in film) of the soundtrack. I’ve tried looking at it myself but can’t seem to get it right.
Thanks to anyone who answers, I’m pulling my hair out here!
Sorry haters:
wikipedia quote:
“Alexandre Desplat has been confirmed as the composer for part one of the film, which is currently in post-production. Williams will compose the score for part two.”
Lee Allen Reply:
March 10th, 2010 at 7:51 pm
I don’t know where you got that from lol. probably your imagination.
Wikipedia ACTUAL quote – ‘In January 2010, Alexandre Desplat was confirmed to produce the score for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I. The composer for Part II remains to be verified.’
And I’m not a hater of Williams, I’m just not a kiss ass and someone who is obsessed so much they think he’s flawless. Listen to his main theme for Harry Potter and you’ll hear, well everyone I’ve shown have heard, that it’s identical, absolutely identical to his main violin theme for Schindler’s List.
Fail! lol
Jorn Tillnes Reply:
March 11th, 2010 at 5:36 pm
Hmm… Wikipedia… I trust my sketchy neighbor more these days, but it’s certainly food for thought. Thanks for bringing it to our attention.
Well, as of march 11th it says that williams will compose part II. Just look for your self. On williams’ page.
And yes Harry Potter main theme and schinlers lis main theme is similar, but there Are 20 other tracks on HP :p
well that’s not a very good defence, one of the most famous pieces in the world, the harry potter theme, as in MAIN THEME is the same as Schindler’s List MAIN THEME, not just little bits of music, but both main themes that are the only pieces that are remembered by the world are the same lol.
But anyway I’m here to reply to your statement. As you have noticed its unsourced, meaning that whoever put it have made it up without evidence, secondly, the person to put that probably thought that because Desplat is only signed for part 1, Williams is automatically returning for part 2.
As I have also stated before, I don’t hate williams, I love his music. I mean for god sake I’m going to see Star Wars in Concert in London next month, shows I hate his music right? that I’ll pay £100 pounds a ticket to listen to his brilliance. I only say that John Williams isn’t the best, and he isn’t flawless, I just believe he is the greatest composer of all time at creating main themes, the rest of his music tends to be weak.
Here’s a test, ask someone you know to hum music from a Williams film, and they will guaranteed, hum the main theme and won’t remember any other piece in his scores.
Meeh, hate to say it,but you are probably right. On that concerning williams’ music i am not agred though. Look at the soundtrack for SW 3. Tracks like “General Grievous”, “Enter Lord Vader” and “Anakin’s Dream” are for me great. They are not copying any other themes and they are not the main theme.
yes he is brilliant at star wars because he has loads to build on, think about it, he could focus on all the themes for the emotional bits and important bits like he does his main themes because he already had the entire main theme in place.
i loved battle of the heroes and many others, but truly, if you ask someone to hum it would they be able to? they would just hum the original star wars theme, so tbh if you look at the new trilogy, then he has made no impact on the world of film scoring because the average joe will just hum his theme from 1977.
but i do agree, he creates brilliance, but to me not as good as he did 10 years ago, and then not as good as he did 20 years, then 30 years and so on. I mean where has he been for a decade? he did star wars yes, but he’s done tht before, he’s done indiana jones, done that before, nothing new, done 2 harry potter sequels, did that before in philosopher’s stone. I love the terminal, war of the worlds and munich, but compared with hans zimmer, James newton howard and howard shore, he’s been taken over this last decade as themost wellknown.
until he does something big again, he’s going to unfortunately fade away and be taken over by these new fresh sounds that composers are creating. and i mean not tin tin cause its not live action, and im not interested in the slightest even if it is peter jackson who i love.
Well, he has composd alot in the 21th centuri… And seriously. How many can hum the main theme og Avatar or 2012 or Up? It is not my fault that no one can hum General griveveos. It is like on the pop charts. Lady Gaga sucks, but everyone listen to it. Just becase every single person out ther can’ hum The Snowballfight from POA dodsnt mean it is bad.
Soundtrack Seek
This music was such a disappointment. Makes me sad
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