Whether you prefer your Harry Potter in the form of seven books, eight movies or - of course - not at all, one of the most iconic parts of the entire franchise is the distinctive soundtracks. Following the release of recent WhatCulture! article
Doctor Who: 10 Of Murray Gold's Best Tracks, we thought it was about time to give the boy wizard's backing band the full attention it deserved: here's 10 of the best tracks from all eight Potter movies...
Coming from 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' this track combines a great number of the recurring themes that appear throughout the film. The twinkling theme for Harry as well as the recognizable refrain of Hedwigs theme can be identified at various points but each are over powered by the ominous chords that represent the threat of Voldemort followed by the sinister, skin crawling trumpet tune that hints at his hidden, manipulative Tom Riddle persona. For me, the biggest tragedy of John Williams not staying on as the composer for the later films is the fact that we never got to hear the 'Voldemort Theme' develop into its full potential. Like a man whose only impression on the world is forced out of the back of another man's head, only the smallest implication of this theme's true power can be heard here. Perhaps it's more haunting because of this. The dominance of darkness raises this track to the memorable status that it possesses. Williams strays away from his usual more recognizable melodies that tend to arise in the likes of Indianna Jones and Star Wars, instead maintaining throughout the fear and suspense that the Dark Lord ignites in us all.