Most families love a trip to the cinema, and most people enjoy becoming engrossed in a film’s gripping plot. Few, however, get to experience a beloved classic in the imposing surroundings of an opera house auditorium with a world-famous orchestra performing the score live in front of them at a ‘CineConcert’. That is exactly what members of the public were able to do last weekend when the Royal Opera House Muscat brought the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra to the stage to accompany the very first film in the Harry Potter franchise.
The iconic British movie series began an impressive twenty-four years ago, when the child wizards were barely eleven years old and at the start of their blossoming careers. Other stalwarts of the silver screen made cameo appearances or performed supporting roles as professors at the legendary ‘Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry’. One of the elements that makes Director Chris Columbus’s ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ so engaging and compelling is its stupendous orchestral score. Its composer, John Williams, has become one of America’s most accomplished and successful composers for film and remains one of the most distinguished and contributive musical voices of this era. He has over a hundred films to his credit, including all nine Star Wars films, Superman, and the first three Harry Potter films. His half-century partnership with Steven Spielberg produced classics of the screen such as Jaws, E.T., Schindler’s List, Close Encounters, and many more.
This 2001 composition is one of Williams’ most expressive and evocative scores in his filmic canon. The music underlies the mood and atmosphere integral to each scene, making it hard to imagine any other soundtrack achieving such an effect. Both evenings, the 84-strong Armenian State Symphony Orchestra took to the stage to perform this almost 160-minute soundscape under the versatile, multi-genre Dutch conductor, Ernst Van Tiel. Before the film’s opening, Maestro Van Tiel welcomed the audience and praised the superb beauty of the Royal Opera House Muscat—one of many venues in which he has been a guest conductor. He invited the audience to engage and react to the performance they were about to watch; they were encouraged to sing and dance along if they felt so moved. In fact, the viewers were spellbound into silence throughout the entire programme, with barely any movement from even the youngest attendees.
From the famous opening theme, passing from woodwind to glockenspiel, the spell was cast, and this fine orchestra created a perfect yet subtle execution of Williams’ score. The forces employed to colour each shade of the narrative are vast: the score includes six percussionists and three pianists for the various keyboard instruments, including celesta and piano. The brass section excelled in both muted and unmuted guises, playing at the extremes of their registers, while the woodwinds created a smorgasbord of sounds, effects and colours to complement the smooth, atmospheric playing of the massive string section. It was a true reflection of the breadth of orchestral language possible in John Williams’ artistic palette and a tribute to his inspired creative genius. In a scene during the second half, a spell is cast on a harp to put the three-headed guard dog, “Fluffy”, to sleep. Here, the orchestra’s harpist, Arpine Babayan, performed an exquisite solo to evoke the surreal and magical quality of the crypt. The effect of watching ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ with an orchestra performing live on stage created a three-dimensional experience, superimposed upon the visual and recorded soundtrack.
Occasionally, the grand swells of the accompanying orchestral crescendo seemed to overpower some deeper voice dialogue—though it may equally have been a result of lower-quality sound reproduction. In general, the balance and sound projection were excellent. The film features a veritable who’s who of British cinematic legacy, such as Hagrid, played by the now sadly departed Scottish actor Robbie Coltrane. Dame Maggie Smith portrayed the daunting Minerva McGonagall, Alan Rickman the semi-evil Professor Severus Snape, and Richard Harris a lovable Dumbledore—all of whom have now passed away. This film, based on the 1997 novel by J.K. Rowling, bears witness to their lasting contributions to celluloid history and the future shape and quality of talking movies to come.
Photos by Khalid al Busaidi
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
