Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (soundtrack)

The soundtrack to Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (titled Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the United States) was released on 30 October 2001. The film's score was composed and conducted by John Williams. The soundtrack was nominated for Best Original Score at the 74th Academy Awards. The film introduces many character-specific themes (leitmotifs) that are used in at least one sequel as well, although most of the themes are only used again in Chamber of Secrets. These themes include two themes for Voldemort, two themes for Hogwarts, a Diagon Alley theme, a Quidditch theme, a flying theme, two friendship themes, and the main theme ("Hedwig's Theme"). This main theme can be found in all eight of the main Harry Potter films as well as the spinoff film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, although not usually in its unaltered state.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Soundtrack album by
John Williams
Released30 October 2001
RecordedSeptember 2001 at Air Lyndhurst
Length73:35
Label
John Williams chronology
A.I. Artificial Intelligence
(2001)		 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
(2001)		 Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
(2002)
Wizarding World soundtrack chronology
Philosopher's Stone
(2001)		 Chamber of Secrets
(2002)

The soundtrack was certified gold in Canada (50,000 units) by the Canadian Recording Industry Association on 14 December 2001.[1] It was also certified gold in Japan for 100,000 units by the RIAJ.[2] In 2002, the soundtrack was nominated for Best Original Score at the 74th Academy Awards in which Williams took part in conducting the ceremony. However, Williams lost to Howard Shore's score of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

The soundtrack was performed at Air Lyndhurst Studios and Abbey Road Studios in London. It entered the Billboard 200 at No. 48 and also charted at No. 2 on the Top Soundtracks Chart.[3] In UK, the album charted at number 19.

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Prologue"2:12
2."Harry's Wondrous World"5:21
3."The Arrival of Baby Harry"4:25
4."Visit to the Zoo and Letters from Hogwarts"3:23
5."Diagon Alley and the Gringotts Vault"4:06
6."Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters and the Journey to Hogwarts"3:14
7."Entry into the Great Hall and the Banquet"3:42
8."Mr. Longbottom Flies"3:35
9."Hogwarts Forever! and the Moving Stairs"3:47
10."The Norwegian Ridgeback and a Change of Season"2:47
11."The Quidditch Match"8:29
12."Christmas at Hogwarts"2:56
13."The Invisibility Cloak and the Library Scene"3:16
14."Fluffy's Harp"2:39
15."In the Devil's Snare and the Flying Keys"2:21
16."The Chess Game"3:49
17."The Face of Voldemort"6:10
18."Leaving Hogwarts"2:14
19."Hedwig's Theme"5:11
Total length:73:28

Critical reception

Critical reactions to the soundtrack were almost universally positive, praising the score's central themes. However, some critics felt that the score lacked originality and repeated its themes excessively.

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic
Filmtracks
Movie Wave
Tracksounds

Behind the scenes

"Hedwig's Theme" is the leitmotif for the film series. Often labelled as the series's main theme, it first appeared in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in the track "Prologue." A concert arrangement of the same name is included in the end credits. "Hedwig's Theme" has been interpolated in the fourth through eighth Harry Potter film scores, including in those by Patrick Doyle, Nicholas Hooper, and Alexandre Desplat. It also appears in the scores to the last four Harry Potter video games, all composed by James Hannigan. "Hedwig's Theme" has achieved significant pop culture status, being featured as ring tones, trailer music, and other forms of multimedia.

Track No. 10 concludes with "A Change of Season," although in the film, the season's change had occurred before the Norwegian Ridgeback had hatched.

Track No. 18 is also included in the epilogue of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 as a tribute to Williams and the series' end.

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 17 August 2007. Retrieved 19 August 2007.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "GOLD ALBUM 他認定作品 2002年1月度" [Gold Albums, and other certified works. January 2002 Edition] (PDF). The Record (Bulletin) (in Japanese). Chūō, Tokyo: Recording Industry Association of Japan. 508: 12. 10 March 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  3. Trust, Gary (24 November 2010). "Weekly Chart Notes: Rihanna, Gwyneth Paltrow, the Beatles". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 25 November 2010.
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