Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. In today’s video, we’re going
to be discussing the film score for Harry Potter- one of the most famous and widely
recognized film scores in the entire history of cinema. More specifically- we’re going
to be looking at arguably the most famous track of all of the tracks across all of the
Harry Potter films- Hedwig’s Theme.
Hedwig’s theme is magical, I don’t think that there’s any argument to be made there.
It’s the perfect piece of music to accompany the Harry Potter films, and it was the perfect
introduction to the series, as it served as an impressive accompaniment that fit the story
that we were about to be told like a glove. Film scores are dangerous territory, because
a poor film score can certainly ruin what would otherwise be a good film- they’re
that powerful. On the other side of that, a good film score can enhance an already good
film, and that’s exactly what happened with Harry potter. In fact, the score for Harry
Potter went above and beyond. A ‘successful’ film score blends in to the background and
strengthens the narrative, but a blowout film score takes on a life of its own, and that’s
exactly what happened with the iconic ‘Hedwig’s Theme’. As soon as we hear the opening notes
of Hedwig’s theme, we’re taken away to a magical world- as if we’ve become immersed
in the magic.
So, who’s responsible for creating such a marvellous piece of music? Why, none other
than John Williams of course. John Williams, born in 1932, is perhaps the most prolific
and widely honoured living composer of film music. He’s also received the most Oscar-nominations
for film scores of anyone ever. Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, Home Alone,
Jaws, and many many more- these were all the work of Williams.
Today, I want to discuss the primary instrument behind Hedwig’s Theme- the instrument that,
upon hearing just those first few notes, renders us entirely captivated. I wanted to make this
video because I had never heard of this instrument until just a few years ago, and I thought
you guys might be interested to hear about the sole instrument responsible for the most
widely recognized film track of all time. At first I just didn’t really think about
how those magical notes were created, but a bit later, I did, and I came to the conclusion
that it was probably some kind of digitized piano that was altered substantially in post-production.
However, when I researched it, I came across the ‘celesta’.
It turned out that the primary force behind such an iconic piece of music came from a
little piano type instrument by this name.The celesta was invented in 1886 by the Parisian
harmonium builder Auguste Mustel.
The celesta, also called a bell-piano, is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard.
It looks similar to an upright piano (four- or five-octave), albeit with smaller keys
and a much smaller cabinet, or a large wooden music box (three-octave). The keys connect
to hammers that strike a graduated set of metal (usually steel) plates or bars suspended
over wooden resonators.
Because the Celesta is such an uncommon instrument, it’s sound is almost ethereal, which is
why it’s so captivating and why it has had such a profound impact on cinema. The celesta
is cited to sound ‘heavenly’ and heavenly sounding it is- but what made Hedwig’s Theme
sound absolutely otherworldly was the additional electronic manipulation in post.
Apart from Harry Potter, the Celesta was also famously used in ‘Dance of the Sugar Plum
Fairy’ from Tchaikovsky’s ‘The Nutcracker’.
Anyway, that’s it for this video. I hope you enjoyed this different style of video
for a change.
If you enjoy the content please like the video and subscribe to the channel
Until next time
Remember
YER A WIZARD ARRY