If you have seen the superb final installments of the Harry Potter series, The Deathly Hallows Parts 1 and 2 (and who hasn’t by now, seriously), you already know how seamlessly composer Alexandre Desplat’s (The King’s Speech, Twilight: New Moon, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) beautiful scores fuse with and bolster each films’ stunning visuals.
Now here’s your opportunity to learn how he managed to produce two of the best scores in the popular film series’ history. Read our interview below for an in depth look at the composer’s creative process as well as his thoughts on the finished product …
Were you a fan of the series before you were asked to score the films?
Desplat: Yes, of course. One of my daughters has been a big fan since she was a kid. I followed all the films and read the books because I had to be able to have a connection to her passion for Harry Potter. If I didn’t read the books, I would have been a bad dad! So I had to go through that, and it was a pleasure because these books are very smartly and creatively written. I think J.K. Rowling is a genius writer, and of course I saw all the films, and, mainly, above everything, since I was a John Williams fan for many years, I would always buy the scores from the beginning. When they came out, I would jump on it, so I’ve always been a big Harry Potter fan.
How hard was it coming into this project, when it was essentially handed down from Williams and Doyle?
Desplat: Well, when you come after such a genius composer as John Williams and when you have to use his themes, you have to be respectful and challenge yourself and try to find good ideas. When the theme is good, it’s easy. If “Hedwig’s Theme” was a bad theme, it would have been painful, but it’s such a genius theme that it was just a matter of time and inspiration. It was really fabulous to work around his theme.
Where did you begin in the score writing process when you first got the job on these films?
Desplat: On Part 1, I had such a big task in front of me because it was my first Harry Potter score, and I was under a lot of pressure trying to take over the many years of composers working on the series. I didn’t know David Yates, and it was a bit of a challenge. With Part 2, I knew the team already, so the challenge came with it being the final episode. So there were two different kinds of heavyweight tasks to deal with. On Part 1, it was to find a tone that would still have an echo of the past scores, especially the John Williams scores, which I think you understand that I cherish, and still have my own voice. And on Part 2, it was to find this balance between emotion and epic drama that we need to build together. And also again, keeping my musical integrity and having everyone hear my music and say, “Oh, yes, it’s Desplat, not John Williams.”
What was the first piece of music you wrote for the film and how did the rest follow from that?
Desplat: I think the first piece I wrote was “Lily’s Theme”. I played it on the piano for the producers, and then for weeks, I tweaked it and improved it. They loved it, and we came up with this beautiful idea of this voice as the thread. That’s the theme that started everything.
Given the nature with the backstory of Lily Potter, what was your inspiration for creating “Lily’s Theme”, and what kind of emotion did you hope to convey?
Desplat: I think the goal was to find something as gentle, as sweet, and as kind as a lullaby with a guilty touch to it. It’s a very simple melody that anyone can hum, child or adult, and we found this incredible singer, Mai, who has a very pure voice, almost like liquid gold. So it will haunt the film and Harry all along the last episode.
Did you compose the soundtrack for Part 2 as a follow up for Part 1 or did you treat them as separate projects?
Desplat: When I first was asked to write Part 1, it was not yet signed that I would write Part 2, so, unfortunately, I could not write thinking of the two episodes at the same time. However, there are still some themes of Part 1 which continue in Part 2 like what I call the “Band of Brothers” theme when all the friends reunite at the beginning of Part 1. We hear this theme again in Part 2 and also some of the themes and motifs of “Obliviate,” the thing that opens Part 2, that comes back also in Part 2, so there is some continuity.
How is director David Yates involved in the process of making the score?
Desplat: David is very involved. I would see him in my office every day in London, and I would play him my themes and demos. I write electronic demos, which are very, very precise that sound like the final product and just need an orchestra to sound really good. You can really tell against the picture which part goes where, and the director can really react to it, so we spent a lot of time tweaking things at the studio. Then, we spent a lot of time when recording with the orchestra tweaking again, trying to focus and make it more accurate. So, yes, David is very involved in every aspect of his film: the special effects, the sound, and the music.
Since Deathly Hallows – Part 2 was filmed way before it normally would be, did you got more time to score the film, and if so, did that affect your scoring process at all?
Desplat: I think I had a lot of time to write, a very comfortable amount of time to write, because all together writing it and composing took about three and a half to four months for each episode. When you’re filming on set, you can decide on shooting all the scenes that belong to this set and then you can still change them. It’s very different with the score. I had to wait until I saw Part 2 edited to be able to start putting ideas together and try to find a sense of an arc and a dramatic sense for the film. There was enough time, and it was hard work for many months but also still very inspiring.
There are quite a few deaths in this [latest] film. Which was the most difficult to write, for and were there any that hit you harder than the others?
Desplat: Death is very present in the Harry Potter story from the beginning because it starts with an orphan who lost his parents, and, actually, the theme of death is very present in this episode, since Lily, Harry’s mother, is the lead character of this episode. We start the film with hearing Lily’s theme, which will kind of ghost the film all along and be the music thread that will take us from the beginning to the end of the film. So that’s one element of death, the people that you miss, the people that you long for, the sorrow, and the question about death and the resurrection stone and how you cope with the death of the people you love. That’s very present in the themes that are used and you see it when you see the film and hear the soundtrack that I’ve tried to be very sensitive and emotional on these matters. The other side of death is, of course, also the battles, the duels, the final battle between Harry and Voldemort, and they are both fighting for death, and there’s no mercy. So I wrote some epic and lyrical pieces for these battle moments.
Did you find it challenging to write for large battle scenes or was that something that was fun?
Desplat: It is fun and challenging because there have been many movies with battles and action scenes in the past, so you have to find your own path and your own voice through that. It is a different approach than an intimate scene, but I like having a big orchestra rolling, and I’m going to say that in many places, we alternate from action cues to very lyrical memento, more operatic to counterbalance the action. It’s a real balance between emotion and action. Sometimes it’s good to feel the adrenaline of the battle, and sometimes it’s good to take it from a bird’s eye view and have more of a distant look to it. With this bird’s eye view, you can sometimes create a deeper emotion. We played a lot with balancing these moments with David Yates.
Out of the entire score, which was the piece you were most personally connected to?
Desplat: I think the “Obliviate” cue of Part 1. It’s one of the themes I’d be able to listen to again, while usually I don’t listen to my music. I can’t stand hearing it, and I tend to think it sucks! So, I think the “Obliviate” cue is a cue that I would be happy to hear again, and, as I said before, the “Lily’s Theme” in its opening title form would be okay for me to hear again. The rest I’m very cautious about, and I try to be very distant from my work and keep it in a computer or iPod that I don’t listen to for years because I get very frustrated, and I feel like everything is wrong.
Do you have a favorite piece from the films?
Desplat: Yes, I think “Lily’s Theme”, which opens the film, might be the one I like the most because it has the kindness and mysteriousness that we need to feel when the movie starts even though everything isn’t explained yet about how Lily influenced Harry and other characters’ destinies in the film, so its the theme that I think I like the most and cherish a lot.
We like his choice; “Lily’s Theme” is arguably the best HP theme next to Hedwig’s out of all eight film scores. Where one emphasizes the initial whimsy and wonder of Harry’s world, the other underscores the tragic hardships he has to face once the whimsy has worn off and the chapter is about to close. One marks a precious beginning, the other signifies a glorious end just like the films Sorcerer’s Stone and Hallows respectively. What especially impressed us is how Desplat weaved “Hedwig’s Theme” into different pieces on the Hallows’ score as a reminder that those times of innocence aren’t lost forever.
Desplat’s “The Grey Lady” is another haunting and superbly effective theme that intensified it’s scene in the film, giving it an eerie, mystery-thriller tone. Listening to it apart from the film, on it’s own, the track is even more chilling. “The Diadem”, “Courtyard Apocalypse”, “Snape’s Demise”, “Severus and Lily”, “The Resurrection Stone”, and “Harry Surrenders” are also among our absolute favorites on this latest score.
Alexandre Desplat, like David Yates, has added tremendously to the Harry Potter legacy, rounding out and completing the world with utter gems. We’re happy that the series has ended on such a high note, and urge to you go out and buy the film scores just like we already know you will.
