Instructions You have recently been hired as a music critique with the local newspaper. You were recently sent
to watch a performance which included music from the Harry Potter movie. Open your Office 365
account and create a word document with your critique of the performance. Remember to include
discussion regarding the instruments and the dynamics of the music. This assignment is worth 50
points and should be at least 3 paragraphs long.

it is very good

Explanation:

Harry Potter & The Philosopher’s Stone (or Sorcerer’s, for the non-British readers) is a pretty amazing movie. It kick-started an incredibly successful franchise that is still spawning films to this day, and that success was in part due to John Williams’ simply sublime score to the series. The Harry Potter theme is one of those especially rare compositions that defines its films (like Star Wars, James Bond etc.) and even people who have no interest whatsoever in film scores would be able to recall the theme pretty much immediately if asked. To say that the theme for Harry Potter is iconic is an understatement, as it is so much more. It contributed heavily to the simply magical atmosphere of the first film as well as setting the tone for all of the sequels. The Harry Potter movies are pretty good on their own, but it was John Williams’ music that raised them high up into their currently legendary status.

The album opens with Prologue, and the first thing Williams hits you with is that iconic Harry Potter theme. It starts out simply, playing through the theme in its entirety once before cycling around again for another rendition, this time backed by accompanying strings. The orchestra builds and the music gets louder and more dramatic until the theme has been fairly fleshed out. The secondary main theme of the score then plays in a similarly simple and short manner to the first, and the track then ends. Prologue works wonderfully as an opening cue as it showcases the main themes, and sets a high bar for the rest of the album.

Harry’s Wondrous World more than meets the bar. In fact, it soars so high above that it became the standout cue almost immediately after I listened to it. The track opens with a strings-based rendition of the main theme before settling into a slow and frankly beautiful introduction of the tertiary main theme (yes, another one). This theme is very upbeat and child-like, but that doesn’t stop it from easily being one of the best compositions for the entire franchise. It gets a wonderful two minute playthrough here before Williams then moves on to the more action-based Quidditch music. This also gets a good introduction here (though a shorter one than the tertiary theme) and it is simply a joy to listen to. The tertiary theme then returns towards the end for a final reprise before the track closes out. All in, Harry’s Wondrous World is absolutely fantastic, and my only criticism would be how oddly it is placed on the album. It is the end credits suite for the film and yet is the second track on the score, so it is slightly jarring to hear all these themes in their swansong before they have actually been fleshed out or even heard in some cases.

hope it helps