Cue No. 1

Celesta and violins begin this film with mysterious but familiar notes. Wand of the Phoenix plays as the Warner Brothers logo passes by the camera. At the reveal of “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”, female chorus swells with the orchestra, followed by the horns in unison playing Hedwig’s Theme.

As the camera pans down, the orchestra follows until we see Harry walking alone through the field. The string section creates a mood that is not commonly associated with a hot summer day. Emotionally, the music is both re-introducing us to Harry’s world and reminding us of the tragic events that took place at the end of the previous film. Hedwig’s Theme plays again, this time by a solo clarinet, emphasizing the loneliness Harry feels.

The music thins out to an open fifth, and Dudley appears with his gang. Harp enters to accompany the strings as Harry’s cousin does not help the current emotional situation. Though this is a bullying scene, the music does not move from the grieving felt by Harry. When Dudley mentions Harry’s mother, Wand of the Phoenix plays in the oboe, as if Harry is recalling the last time he saw her. It’s what feels like a distant memory, taking him back to the graveyard just weeks before, where he battled Voldemort. Harry finally snaps and threatens Dudley. The strings break their mournful tone and tremolo anxiously, accompanied by a sizzle cymbal. As the clouds darken suddenly, a solo muted horn crescendos quickly.

Low trills in the woodwinds create a shocking shift in tone. Male chorus underpins the mood, and strings play harmonics as the wind picks up. The same orchestration follows but octaves higher, utilizing the female chorus and piccolo shrieks, and adding violent strikes on the timpani. The clouds converge and a gong crescendos over them.

The boys run as fast as they can for cover. The low strings play short clusters of notes, and muted horns hold out long sinister dissonances. Once Harry and Dudley make it to an underpass, familiar atonal music begins to play. This is the music that accompanied the first appearance of the Dementors in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004). Some added tremolos bubble up from the texture, and suddenly, a Dementor appears behind Harry. The high strings burst into trills while the low strings slap clusters once again, this time col legno. The “Azkaban” style of writing is utilized here, with key moments being hit by shifts in the musical texture rather than a clear orchestral hit. It is not until Harry grabs his wand and disarms the attacking Dementor that the orchestra reverts to any sort of meter.

Triplet strings accelerate with low thumps below them as Harry runs for his wand. When he finally casts the Patronus, the choir comes in singing its corresponding material, with the piccolo shrieks once again interrupting. Dudley is still being attacked, and Harry guides his Patronus through the underpass to fend off the other Dementor. Another series of instrumental hits emphasize each quick event at the end of this showdown.

As soon as the Dementor is gone, the music calms down and again echoes the Patronus lesson from back in his third year. When the choir and strings begin to dissipate, a strange and unexpected neighbor of Harry’s arrives on the far side of the underpass.