Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (soundtrack)

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Film score by Nicholas Hooper
Released 10 July 2007
Recorded 2007
Genre Soundtrack
Length 52:22
Label Warner/Sunset
Harry Potter chronology

Goblet of Fire
(2005)
Order of the Phoenix
(2007)
Half-Blood Prince
(2009)
Alternate packaging
Limited Edition Packaging.
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic
Filmtracks
Movie Music UK
Movie Wave
Tracksounds

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the soundtrack to the 2007 film of the same name, based on the book by J. K. Rowling. Nicholas Hooper composed the film's score, following John Williams, who scored the first three films, and Patrick Doyle who did the fourth. Though new to the series, he has worked with director David Yates before. The soundtrack was released 10 July 2007, the day before the film's release.[1]

Development

Hooper incorporated into the new score "Hedwig's Theme", the series' theme originally written by John Williams for the first film and heard in all the subsequent films.[2] In March and April 2007, Hooper and the London Chamber Orchestra recorded nearly two hours of music at Abbey Road Studios in London. Two new main themes were made to reflect the new character Dolores Umbridge and Lord Voldemort's invasion of Harry's mind. A Japanese Taiko drum was used for a deeper sound in the percussion.[2] The trailer features a track by X-Ray Dog, entitled Divine Crusade. Divine Crusade first appeared on the album K-9 Empire before being licensed to Order of the Phoenix.

Hooper said he reviewed the previous soundtracks of the Harry Potter films by John Williams, particularly the third soundtrack, but ultimately "decided that it was best if I moved into my own way of composing rather than trying to emulate John Williams, which is impossible."[3]

Release

The soundtrack was also released in a special edition, with a custom hinged box with Navy velveteen fabric. Inside the box is a 20-page booklet with a foil-embossed front cover.[4]

Reception

Critical reaction to the score was fairly mixed compared to the previous scores in the series. Christian Clemmensen of Filmtracks awarding the score three stars out of five, saying "...it fails to provide continuity within either its own confines or those of the franchise as a whole".[5] Archie Watt of MovieCues said "This isn’t a bad score by any means, but there can be little argument that it is the weakest of all the Harry Potter scores to date".[6]

Chart performance

The soundtrack debuted at number 43 on the U.S. Billboard 200, selling about 16,000 copies in its first week and has since sold a total of 356,000 copies in U.S. and a million copies worldwide.[7][8] The soundtrack also charted at five on the Top Soundtracks Chart.[9]

Track listing

The cues presented on the commercial release do not follow the order they are heard in the film. In the film, the cues are heard in the following order: 3, 4, 17, 15, 10, 13, 2, 16, 5, 8, 9, 14, 1, 11, 6, 12, 7, 18.

Original tracklist
No. Title Length
1. "Fireworks"   1:49
2. "Professor Umbridge"   2:35
3. "Another Story"   2:41
4. "Dementors in the Underpass"   1:45
5. "Dumbledore's Army"   2:42
6. "The Hall of Prophecies"   4:27
7. "Possession"   3:20
8. "The Room of Requirement"   6:09
9. "The Kiss"   1:56
10. "A Journey to Hogwarts"   2:54
11. "The Sirius Deception"   2:36
12. "Death of Sirius"   3:58
13. "Umbridge Spoils a Beautiful Morning"   2:39
14. "Darkness Takes Over"   2:58
15. "The Ministry of Magic"   2:48
16. "The Sacking of Trelawney"   2:15
17. "Flight of the Order of the Phoenix"   1:34
18. "Loved Ones and Leaving"   3:15
Total length:
51:56

References

  1. ""Order of the Phoenix" Soundtrack Due July 10". The Leaky Cauldron. 2007-03-26. Retrieved 2007-03-26.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Carlsson, Mikael (8 May 2007). "Hooper writes new themes for Potter" (PDF). Film Music Weekly (14): 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 July 2007. Retrieved 23 January 2009.
  3. "Harry Potter Countdown: Composer Nicholas Hooper's 'Simpler' style". Los Angeles Times. 7 July 2009. Retrieved 28 November 2009.
  4. "Special Edition of OOTP Soundtrack to be released". MuggleNet. 2007-06-30. Retrieved 2007-07-01.
  5. "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Nicholas Hooper)". Filmtracks. 2007-07-10. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
  6. "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Nicholas Hooper) « MovieCues". Moviecues.com. 2011-04-15. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
  7. Hasty, Katie (July 13, 2007). "T.I. Holds Off Pumpkins, Interpol To Remain No. 1". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media). Retrieved 2009-07-28.
  8. Grein, Paul (July 19, 2009). "Week Ending July 19, 2009: Daughtry Makes "Idol" History". Yahoo! Music. Retrieved 2009-07-28.
  9. Trust, Gary (2010-11-24). "Weekly Chart Notes: Rihanna, Gwyneth Paltrow, the Beatles". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media, Inc). Retrieved 2010-11-25.

External links