Alexandre Desplat -- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 2: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

8/10

And now I have to put my money where my mouth is. Here is a soundtrack for a film I have only seen once, and must mostly judge on its own merits. Part 2 picks up immediately where its predecessor left off. The difference, of course, is that this film is the bombast the previous films have built toward, and while Desplat was afforded time to be subtle and intricate in Part 1, here he has to be blunt and intense. This means that this soundtrack is great for getting the blood pumping, but Desplat does find time to work a few new themes into the mix. The most emotionally moving is "Lily's Theme,"

though he does get a few other chances to shine in that element, most notably in "Severus and Lily" and "The Resurrection Stone." Mainly, though, it is full speed ahead to the end, which is a bit unfortunate for Desplat, a composer who has relatively just joined the party. I would like to hear what Desplat could have done with the other six films. Not that their soundtracks were bad--they were quite good as well--but Desplat's work has been so interesting, it's a shame that he is finished almost as soon as he was allowed the chance to begin.
POSTSCRIPT NOTE: After finally seeing the film again, it is beautiful how Desplat uses elements of Lily's theme at different moments for Harry, Snape, AND Voldemort, contrasting the two former characters who knew and understood love (and loss) versus the tragedy of the latter, who never did. However, I must say, after listening to Nicholas Hooper's soundtrack for Half-Blood Prince and this one, it appears that the producer's actually inserted Hooper's theme for Dumbledore's death here as a theme for Lily's death...and it isn't on this soundtrack. Still, that doesn't take much away from Deathly Hallows -- Part 2...it is quite good, despite the omission.

2011 Watertower Music
1. Lily's Theme 2:28
2. The Tunnel 1:09
3. Underworld 5:26
4. Gringotts 2:24
5. Dragon Flight 1:44
6. Neville 1:40
7. A New Headmaster 3:26
8. Panic Inside Hogwarts 1:53
9. Statues 2:24
10. The Grey Lady 5:51
11. In The Chamber of Secrets 1:37
12. Battlefield 2:13
13. The Diadem 3:08
14. Broomsticks and Fire 1:24
15. Courtyard Apocalypse 2:00
16. Snape's Demise 2:51
17. Severus and Lily 6:08
18. Harry's Sacrifice 1:57
19. The Resurrection Stone 4:32
20. Harry Surrenders 1:30
21. Procession 2:07
22. Neville the Hero 2:17
23. Showdown 3:37
24. Voldemort's End 2:44
25. A New Beginning 1:41