"Voldemort" - John Williams (Score Analysis & Reduction)

[@bradfrey]

John Williams’ dedication to showcasing the full ranges and capabilities of the instruments in his concert music is worth paying attention to, and I was hoping to shed some light on that here via the graph at the bottom of the video. The Y axis here indicates the full range of the bassoons, from low to high, with the black line indicating where exactly the instrument is playing within that range at any given time, averaged across all three bassoons. If you like weird music graphs and not being murdered by a Dark Lord, then consider becoming a member by clicking “JOIN” above. Memberships help support the channel, and grant you access to the downloadable analysis PDFs and members-only analysis videos.

[@baptistedelabre3414]

I have to say I love your work! As I saw you did lots of Star Wars scores, can I please ask if you did or plan to do "Duel of the fates", which to me is the greatest John Williams as ever done. Thank you!

[@baswagemakers5699]

Please do Kung Fu Panda 1 2 and 3

[@sebastianmorris4316]

Please do Leaving Hogwarts, that's possibly the best of the Soundtrack

[@suzybean13]

This song is legit bussin bussin no cappity

[@JoeyGirardin]

That connection to peter and the wolf at the end tho

[@murimk]

Joey Edited for auto correct madness... Yeah, that was great! I was just thinking how this reminded me of Prokofiev, and a second later I heard the theme from Peter and the wolf! :-)

[@iLikeTheUDK]

ok voldy

[@ejuramusic]

A bassoon choir is such a creative and brilliant way to contextualize this theme, John Williams is a genius!

[@TheScoore]

biggest dissapointment during the HP movies for me was they totally forgot about Williams them for Voldemort after the 2nd movie. An iconic theme always gives the character even more atmosphere (*caughs in darth vader*). Except for the HP main theme the HP soundtracks turned out to be mostly generic and barely memorable after Williams left.

[@liteoner]

I think Desplat actually did a decent job at reinventing the HP score, but obviously it's close to impossible to approximate the mastery of John Williams.

[@silask.1966]

That is simply not true…… it‘s not generic

[@dzinypinydoroviny]

I agree. While Doyle and Hooper do have some highlights, the music that came after Williams was mostly bland, I'd say. Williams's music is rich and unifies the films thematically.

[@superior_nobody07]

Nah there were so many bangers after williams

[@jast-ow4ju]

On the third slide: “J.K. Rowling once stated that Voldemort prefers bassoonists, and sought to recruit many of them for his army of Death Eaters [...]” Wait, *what* ? Is this a serious remark or just another jolly example of JK "just kidding" Rowling?

[@jast-ow4ju]

@Ethan Sturm So uncivilized :(

[@edwinjacobellis4852]

At first I thought it was more stupid Rowling nonsense, but it does sound like something an old 19th century dictator would do

[@MiloMcCarthyMusic]

@Ethan Sturm bassoon is the monke of instruments, shut up u baffoon haha

[@edwinjacobellis4852]

Oh man this cue is incredible, the last page absolutely killed me, what a genius to do so much which relatively little

[@merlinhlr3553]

Yo omg! Just yesterday I dug this piece out and tried to analyze it which resulted in me thinking "Hey, too bad Brad didn't do a video on it yet". I'm happy as a child on christmas rn. Thanks for your efforts, m8!

[@sammywestenberger9303]

You’re welcome

[@victoza9232]

1:00 "The Imperial March" motif fragment

[@RDurfee]

As a former bassoonist, I find this piece fascinating. Thanks 😊

[@derbar7051]

Do you miss playing?

[@edwinjacobellis4852]

I finally heard the cue, "The Face of Voldemort" on my Spotify shuffle, and that theme was all over it once you get to the point of the big reveal of Voldemort on the other side of the guys head. I never would have caught that if not for this, so thank youuuu!!!!!!!

[@ScoreHeroMusic]

JDubs knowledge of harmony and ability to cascade between polytonality yet still remaining harmonically relevant and character-driven will forever a be a musical gem worth studying for ages to come

[@HECKproductions]

video lenght: 2:30 video lenght when you try to understand and read all the stuff: 8 hours

[@ashleythorpe7933]

The Tarnhelm motif inspired many of Williams' villain themes

[@romanczura4146]

Thats great, and the bassoons match the music of this piece perfectly!

[@DallasCrane]

Wonderful! I've been dying to hear the full suite

very well done! i love the sound of the bassoons

[@FrancescoDAndrea]

Great analysis! Never heard of this, it isn't from the official OST right? Where can be found? Does it come from an album?

[@bradfrey]

It's not from the official OST, but the recent "Harry Potter John Williams Soundtrack Collection" from La-La Land Records features many previously unreleased cues and arrangements, including this one.

[@FrancescoDAndrea]

@@bradfrey Thanks!

[@sammywestenberger9303]

You’re welcome

[@moonrockinmynose5689]

Would you consider analysing the Diagon Alley motif that appears in the first movie? Or perhaps Fluffy's Harp? And maybe Quidditch 3rd Year from The Prisoner of Azkaban Orchestral Suite? So much great music by Williams in the third movie. Thank you so much for your work, it's truly special and I can't wait to see more of your analyses :-)

[@bradfrey]

I'll be posting an analysis of the entire Diagon Alley sequence in the near future, and "Quidditch, 3rd Year" will come later this year. "Fluffy's Harp" isn't currently on my schedule, but I will probably still do it at some point.

[@sammywestenberger9303]

You’re Welcome

[@ConnorGriffinMusic]

FilmScoreAnalysis curious which Diagon Alley we’re talking about. The one that appears in the film (aka the Great Hall music tracked in), or the version originally written for the scene?

[@bradfrey]

@@ConnorGriffinMusic The version originally written for the scene

[@andycarter9845]

Amazing body of work here. The first film can be hard watching at times due to the youthful cast, but there is so much hidden in the score. Did you ever get round to Fluffys Harp?

[@ashpaton7979]

What a beautifully written piece of music.

[@lucpraslan]

At last, the contrabassoon and bassoon's time to shine 👍👍

[@evolvedturtleproductions7600]

The new “Anthem of Evil” from Rise of Skywalker reminded me of this.

[@ComposerConductor]

The augmented second (the B-flat going up to the C-Sharp) has me curious. Obviously the B-flat makes for the minor feel, so I'm curious as to the what the c-sharp is doing. Would it have mattered if John Williams respelled the C-sharp to a D-Flat?

[@enricozaro3185]

No words. A very very very good job, thank you!

[@diego99cambass]

Omg, the content we need thanks

[@qwerty_and_azerty]

I’m getting The Elfking vibes from this

[@juleeez628]

It’s very similar to the emperor theme from return of the Jedi

[@andreafilidei3071]

Wolf's Theme by prokofiev... that's perfect!

[@MePeterNicholls]

It does feel like a variation on the imperial March theme....

[@kaiden2003]

I know I may get hate for this, but the first two Harry Potter films are more memorable than the later films. The overall tone and music of the first two just fits a lot better in my opinion.

[@sternmel9993]

great work dude

[@devinblackwood5885]

Where did you find a recording of this? I’ve never been able to find a recording of the complete children suite 😩

[@alonzobighorse1147]

You should do John Williams score of Lincoln. Malice towards none.

[@jb1980ist]

Now you just need to analyze The Face of Voldemort to get the best versions of his themes haha.

[@bradfrey]

Working on it 😉

[@339lenny]

Isn't the main theme from the Beethoven piano sonata no. 32?

[@steealconwyrick1999]

Maybe it's just me, but I always find it funny comparing _The Sorcerer's Stone_ to _Voldemort._ One manages to use an orchestra to wring dread, terror, and suspense out just one motif...and then you have a colorful, fascinating (if somewhat over-the-top) collection of three motifs, brought to bizarre life by a bassoon trio to add a final splash of odd color to it all. John Williams' genius is as admirable as it is strange and unique.

[@claytonr.young-music912]

By the way, "vol de mort" is French for flight of death.

[@markusschultz4637]

2:12 What's the title of this music?

[@FantasiusTriton1993]

Don't say it!

[@pirpp3345]

Great video, I just wanted to know how you get the scores for the Harry Potter movies? Above all continue what you do.

[@sennescheijvens1396]

Wich program do you use for the graphics?

[@derbar7051]

Amazing video! Reminds me when I has to write Schenkerian Analysis at uni lol what do you use to write your music? Sibelius?

[@edwinjacobellis4852]

Do you know where I can find the pdf or the file of this cue? I really want to learn this!

[@sebastianmorris4316]

Please do Leaving Hogwarts, that's possibly the best of the Soundtrack

[@williamholke3325]

Yas bassoons!!!!!! Bassoons rule!!!!

[@YonatanSetbon]

Cool!

[@TheLibrarianUU]

Ook!