Double Trouble
John Williams
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Eye of newt and toe of frog,
Wool of bat and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg and howlet's wing.

Double, double, toil and trouble
Fire burn and cauldron bubble
Double, double, toil and trouble
Something wicked this way comes.

Along with Alfonso Cuarón’s clever direction and Stuart Craig’s arresting production design, part of what made the third Harry Potter film not just a good Harry Potter film but a good film, period, was John Williams’s refreshingly mischievous score, a soundtrack that was quite removed from his previous efforts in the franchise. Double Trouble, a reworking of a famous spell cast by the Weird Sisters in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, instantly became one of my favorite tracks in the entire Harry Potter film series of scores. The playful music coupled with the children’s choral singing was unexpectedly unforgettable. No wonder it ended up being the leitmotif for the soundtrack and hence one of the great composer’s most brilliant, if unfamiliar, accomplishments.

A Window To The Past by John Williams
Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban

Yet another proof to the Maestro’s musical mastery, this beautiful (there’s just no other word to describe it) recorder solo piece is my absolute favorite track from the entire Harry Potter series.

Also, current mood.

Ron’s Victory by Nicholas Hooper
Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince

David Yates’ sophomore outing in the Harry Potter film series failed to dethrone Alfonso Cuaron’s undeniably movie-magical Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban as my top favorite, BUT I do consider it second best. Sure, there are less set pieces this time around, but the lack of action (which most people cite as their reason for concluding that Transformers 2 is way better) is more than made up for by some awesome acting (Alan Rickman, Jim Broadbent, Michael Gambon), mind-blowing cinematography (courtesy of Amelie’s Bruno Delbonnel, for whom an Oscar nod is in order) and a fantastic score by Nicholas Hooper.

When it comes to Harry Potter music, John Williams’ score for Prisoner Of Azkaban is definitely the one to beat. Neither his own pieces from the first two movies nor Patrick Doyle and Hooper’s scores for Goblet Of Fire and Order Of The Phoenix, respectively, could hold a candle to his wicked Azkaban notes. Hooper sort of acknowledges this in his score for Half-Blood Prince, which I’ve also awarded the honor of being second best after listening to it for hours on end, as he alludes to Williams’ Quidditch, Third Year in the latest film’s sport-on-phallic-broomsticks scene with a track aptly titled Ron’s Victory.

Lumos! (Hedwig’s Theme) by John Williams

With exactly a month to go before the sixth Harry Potter movie finally apparates in theaters, I thought a little magical sound-tripping would be a great idea.

One of my favorites among John Williams (Sorcerer’s Stone, Chamber Of Secrets, Prisoner Of Azkaban), Patrick Doyle (Goblet Of Fire) and Nicholas Hooper’s (Order Of The Phoenix) compositions, this piece by the great Wagnerian can be heard during the opening scene of Prisoner of Azkaban. In that scene, Harry is shown playing with his wand under his bed sheets, later bringing about a climactic explosion of wandlight. It is worth noting that the movie was directed by Alfonso Cuarón, who previously directed the risqué road trip movie, Y Tu Mama También. Double entendre, anyone?