Soundtrack Review: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Video Game (2009)

Posted by Jon Blough

August 2, 2009

Welcome back! Have you subscribed to my RSS feed yet? Make sure you don't miss anything by getting all Soundtrack Geek posts by Email. Also check out Soundtrack Fans, a new social network for soundtrack fans. Thanks for visiting!

James Hannigan - Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince (Vg) This is a review of the video game score Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by James Hannigan.

“Too fragmented too be great, but it is made up of very VERY strong parts”

When James Hannigan’s work for the Order of the Phoenix video game far outshone Nicholas Hooper’s effort for the film companion, I believe it was the first instance of a video game spin-off score outdoing its big-screen rival. Fans jumped up and embraced Hannigan’s score for its magical orchestrations, powerful actions, and superb variations on Hedwig’s theme, and many score lovers put Hannigan’s Half-Blood Prince score on their respective lists for “Most Anticipated of 2009”. For those disappointed by Hooper’s score for the Half-Blood Prince film, Hannigan’s work will be immensely preferable, even a great score for those who don’t demand thematic continuity or development. For those who do (yes, like me), the resulting review should serve as a guide for how to approach the music.

Similar to Williams

Hannigan’s own interpretations on the styles of John Williams did make for a strong, often stirring listen in Order of the Phoenix, but there were numerous moments where his own style begged for further exploration. With Half-Blood Prince, Hannigan manages to continue the same spirit and broad orchestrations of Williams’ scores for the films, but there are very few moments that produce thoughts like “hey, this is similar to this track by the maestro.” Tracks like “Quidditch Tryouts” and “Race Ginny” put the whole ensemble to work to entertain you with playful grace and generally put to shame the similar but smaller and more anonymous cues that Nicholas Hooper composed for his two efforts for the films. Rather than trending towards anonymity like some of the straight comedy cues for the films and Soule’s VG scores, Hannigan’s comedy material in cues such as “Mixing Potions” and “Slughorn” are boisterous and playful, although the fat slurring brass of “Lovesick Ron” may repel a few listeners. The more understated moments are beautifully reflective, with “The Boathouse At Night” having a restrained feel of John Barry-like romance. There’s a lush, epic, and charming feel throughout the majority of the work, and I hope future Hannigan scores explore such whimsy and grace with the same passion shown here.

One selling point of Hannigan’s Phoenix score was its mammoth, aggressive action material, especially the big Silvestri-like chorus in “The Phoenix and the Snake”. While the near absence of rumbling choral power may disappoint some listeners, the material is still as grand and driving as before. “Slytherin Combat” takes the crisp brass statements of Williams’ Star Wars action material and gives them a rampaging lower section of the orchestra for as sensational a 2:21 stretch as you’ll ever hear, with the closing forty seconds bringing the brass and strings to a melodic fury. “Quidditch” continues the epic, aggressive feel with a powerful choir behind the orchestra, while those looking for tracks more dominated by choir will obviously gravitate towards the bombastic “The Final Battles” and its Carmina Burana feel. Only “Bellatrix” and “Fenrir Battle” repulse with their bizarre shift towards synthetic constructs that feel like Media Ventures asleep at the wheel.

Conclusion

Even with all that resounding praise, the score does register a notch lower than its predecessor for one reason: its lack of thematic development. Phoenix’s commercial release contained three well-developed themes for Harry, Umbridge, and the action scenes, and the promo release added Williams’ Hedwig for added power and magic. Save for a light reprise of the action theme, those themes are abandoned, and only an innocent theme in the bookend cues represents a stab at identity, even if its choral unleashing in “Return to Hogwarts” is an album highlight. Even if you’re charmed by the Quidditch-related cues, blown away by the action material, or impressed by a very consistent style, the score is too fragmented to be great. Hannigan’s work is a bit less than the sum of its parts, even if it is comprised of many very VERY strong parts. I will note that the commercial release of Hannigan’s Phoenix score would have attained the same rating as this score, thus perhaps a future promo containing variations on John Williams’ themes could produce higher praise.

Promo Album (57:39)
1. Return to Hogwarts (3:25)
2. Quidditch Tryouts (1:31)
3. Wandering Night (2:44)
4. Race Ginny (3:02)
5. Duelling Clun (2:04)
6. Mixing Potions (1:58)
7. Slytherin Combat (2:21)
8. Slughorn (0:40)
9. Hogwarts by Night (1:45)
10. Quidditch (3:30)
11. Get to Potions (1:49)
12. Get to Quidditch (1:20)
13. Fred and George Return (1:29)
14. Wandering Day 5 (1:02)
15. Lovesick Ron (2:50)
16. The Boathouse At Night (2:49)
17. Wandering Stealth (2:20)
18. Loss At Hogwarts (1:09)
19. Bellatrix (1:18)
20. Fenrir Battle (1:14)
21. Wandering Day 4 (1:35)
22. Chase Draco (1:08)
23. More Potions (1:37)
24. Exploring With Luna (2:30)
25. Wandering Day 3 (1:47)
26. Wandering Day 1 (0:54)
27. The Final Battles (3:42)
28. Sadness At Hogwarts (2:00)
29. Friendship Theme (2:14)