Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

The music in the 3rd Harry Potter film was also composed by John Williams, the original creator of Hedwig's Theme. It may or may not be due to this fact that all usages of Hedwig's Theme in this movie are almost the exact same as the original score for movie 1. Let's take a look at the few times the theme is heard in this movie.

#1

The first time you hear Hedwig's Theme  in this movie is the introductory title screen that moves from the Warner Bro's logo to Harry practicing "lumos maxima" in his bedroom (in fact, I believe the track is titled "Lumos (Hedwig's Theme)" on the soundtrack). As such, the piece of music is in the forefront of the film, perhaps more important than what's going on in the story just yet. This instance of Hedwig's Theme has the same orchestration and style of the original version in movie 1, apart from the ending of the clip. At the end, the harp trails off with an echo of the beginning of the theme of the piece.

The purpose of this instance of Hedwig's Theme seems to be to welcome the audience back into the wizarding world of Harry Potter before the story really begins. Once the film focuses on the opening scene of the film, Hedwig's Theme ends and the music takes a secondary, background role. Maybe it's also worth noting that the theme seems more attached to Harry and the idea of the Harry Potter world rather than Hedwig herself, as Hedwig is nowhere to be seen in this beginning. 

#2

The next time Hedwig's Theme is heard is immediately after Harry stops talking with Professor Lupin about learning how to do a patronus in the forest overlooking the lake. Hedwig is actually present, this time, and the theme begins to play as soon as Lupin finishes talking and Hedwig takes flight. The film follows Hedwig's flight as a transition to Winter takes place, snow suddenly falling from the sky and Fred and George making a snowman in the courtyard of the castle.

The theme is used here as a compliment to the visual transition. As such, it is as much in the foreground as Hedwig is, and is only as long as necessary for the transition to take place. In other words, it is an abbreviated version of the theme, taken from the section with constant, quick runs in the strings and a horn playing the melody. It also has a slightly different ending, probably to better fit the visual segment as it transitions to different music. The melody line, which normally ends on "fi-me-do" in solfege, still plays those three notes, but elongates them, holding "fi" out for 6 eighth notes, then "me" for three, then ends with "do-ti-do-re-me-re-do", transitioning easily into the next piece of music. The orchestration used is the same, with a horn carrying the main melody line as mentioned before.

#3

The last time you hear Hedwig's Theme in this movie is at the very end, as Harry unwraps the Firebolt he's been sent. It starts out the same way it does in the original version, but soon skips to the contrasting section of Hedwig's Theme  that is not heard in any other part of this movie when Harry runs outside to try out his new broom. This more active section of the piece lasts for only a minute before the marauder's map is shown and the credits begin. As the map opens and Harry's voice is heard saying "lumos," the main melody of Hedwig's Theme returns in a more powerful, brassy, energetic way. It states the opening "So-do-me-re-do-so-fa-re-do" of the song with brass and chimes, but lands that final "do" on a major chord. It then leads into a variation of "Double Trouble," the most important musical theme played with on this particular soundtrack.

The way the theme is used here at the end is a little different than the previous times, as it acts like background music to drama (Harry finding the firebolt) instead of being the main focus. However, it still acts like a transition and a bookend, leading into the credits just as it led into the opening scene.