In the “old days” music scores and soundtracks were in the “once heard, once forgotten” category.
It was simply background colour, but the likes of Erich Korngold and Ennio Morricone set a pattern of music and movie equality, where both served each other to ensure that box office success was one of parity.
Nowadays, you have partnerships made in heaven, no more so in the Harry Potter film franchises where the music of John Williams, Patrick Doyle, Nicholas Hooper and Alexandre Desplat has come as important to the films as any of their central characters.
But just how good are the soundtracks to the eight Harry Potter films? Well, any doubt was well and truly snuffed out on Thursday night in the Caird Hall courtesy of the RSNO and conductor Stephen Bell.
They proved that the music is just a magical as any spell a young bespectacled wizard could conjure up. You don’t take the films for granted – neither should you dismiss the scores as simple add-ons.
Variety is spice of movie-music life
The variety of sound, mood and texture was all too evident throughout, and in many cases the composers take a simple theme and turn it into an orchestral extravaganza.
Hedwig’s Theme – a Williams’ composition that has carried through all of the Potter films – is a prime example. A basic melody on celeste transformed into full-orchestra magnificence.
There were some marvellous sectional or individual moments peppered throughout the evening. The brass section’s fanfare-like Quidditch theme and the woodwind’s Nimbus 2000 theme particularly impressed in ensemble contribution.
For solos, Katherine Bryan’s magical and virtuosic flute performance in the Prisoner of Azkaban suite stands out a mile.
The most wonderful thing about the music associated with the Harry Potter films is the composers’ knack of painting pen pictures of characters or occasion. These, in turn, lead to marvellous contrasts.
One minute you have Dobby the House Elf and a Rossini-like Aunt Marge’s waltz before a mood swing to the soft oboe-harp combination in A Bridge to the Past.
Variety is the spice of life and this diversity certainly adds spice to any concert.
Jerome Dowling’s presentation joined the dots, so to speak, adding some explanation to the proceedings, but I guess the majority of the audience were dyed in the wool Potter enthusiasts and who needed little colouring in.
I did, however, and found it a great help – although I could rely on some personal explanation from daughter and granddaughter!
Another great night with the RSNO, one with a difference but one with a definite five-star rating.
The Magical Music of Harry Potter by RSNO will be performed in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen on June 16, 17 and 18 respectively. For more information and tickets, please visit the RSNO website.
