Harry Potter Soundtrack, #2

John Williams

The piece begins by establishing a compound duple meter, accenting the two beat notes with and eighth-quarter, eighth-quarter rhythm. The solfege is sol- sol-me-sol-me-le-sol-fi-fi-sol-me-do-sol-me-do, the first sol starting on an eighth. There is a sort of pattern established with the direction of the rhythm, the rhythm leaping down certain intervals each time but always expected to reach back to a note above it. This phrase uses a V/V of fi, used to emphasize sol and create some dissonance to accompany the minor key. It ends with an IAC. The next phrase begins a period, and the main motif emphasized througout the piece. to signal this change to the listener, the key in the first phrase changes modes from minor to major. This new theme has a smoother feel to it, due largly to the contrast to the first theme in the lack of leaps; more legato. The phrase ends with a brief new motif in the high winds. This motif, along with the previous, is stated several times throughout the song to bring a more energetic feel. This is because, it is almost always paired with smoother motif, and its rhythms are faster and more lifted, repeated to reinforce its influence. In other words, the first part of the phrase is the antecedent, and the second the consonant. This second phrase ends in a HC, and begins the way it started, signaling a parallel period. This phrase is very much the same, but ends with a IAC. As you might have noticed, there is not a lot of harmonization, only emphasis on seperate melodic lines. The lack of any real base is one of the aspects that make it so carefree and simple sounding. There is also the fact that it is film music, and the goal is to be in the background. The latter of the rest of the song is the same thing over and over, but it manages to keep the attention of the listener by simply changing instruments. There is not a lot of strong cadence so there will not be a break in the connection of each phrase. It also keeps the listener's attention by simply moving to a different already stated motif-there a basically two, energetic and legato, both of which have the goal of being happy sounding- through a HC. It still, however, manages to generate some sense of higher emtion by crescendoing, or combining all the instruments. Anytime there is the slightest harmonization, it is very effective because the listener is not used to it. The latter of the piece is very lite and legato, so creating a good finale was simple. It uses more staccato and abrupt rhythms to build up, and ends with full orchestra. Although this piece was very simple, I liked it. The melodic lines, although predictable, were pretty. I also liked hearing the contrasts between the two lines, and some of the variations of them inbetween, and it was nice to be able to predict the cadences.