Harry Potter Theme Song

Having a single, all-out theme song for the Harry Potter series of films is, I think, impossible. After all, each film has its own soundtrack—making the official soundtrack count eight. Yes, there are 8 official soundtracks, 1 for each film. There are seven books, but Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, the last book, is split into two parts.

However, if you ask me, and I think many would agree, there is a single standout recurring tune in the Harry Potter movies. The song is “Hedwig’s Theme” from the first soundtrack—Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. It was composed by John Williams, performed by Isobel Griffiths, and orchestrated by Conrad Pope (more on that later).

Listen to the song below and tell me if its the song you had in mind.

Update

I just found out that Hedwig’s Theme is a leitmotif. What that means is it is a recurring theme—it is a musical term. So I guess then, that it is really the one associated in Harry Potter. Besides, the song, or bits of the song, is also heard in the succeeding films.

The Soundtracks

Just in case you are interested, the film series has 8 unique soundtracks—one for each film. The soundtracks are widely available.

The songs from the first three discs—Philosopher’s Stone (Sorcerer’s Stone), Chamber of Secrets, and Prisoner of Azkaban—were all composed by John Williams. The fourth disc, Goblet of Fire was composed by Peter Doyle. The 5th and 6th discs, Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince, were composed by Nicholas Cooper. The seventh, Deathly Hallows: Part 1, by Alexandre Desplat, and the last still TBC.

See each soundtrack below.

  1. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (contains original Hedwig’s Theme)
  2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – Music From and Inspired by the Motion Picture
  3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
  4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
  5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
  6. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
  7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I (Enhanced)
  8. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II (pending)

Awards & Nominations

  • Philosopher’s Stone’s soundtrack was nominated for Best Original Music Score at the 74th Academy Awards but lost to The Lord of the Rings.
  • Chamber of Secret’s soundtrack was nominated for a Grammy in 2003.

More on this later.