by William Ross, John Williams
Audio CD (November 12, 2002)
Label: Atlantic
ASIN: B00006IR5S
Editorial Reviews
Another multi-gazillion-dollar Hollywood franchise, another chapter in the remarkable career of John Williams. Though he's already been responsible for scoring some of the most overwhelmingly successful film series of all time, in tackling the second installment of the Harry Potter saga, Williams once again proves why his name is held in such high regard in scoring circles. While he utilizes the themes he established in Sorcerer's Stone, Williams's restless inventiveness still manages to cast this chapter in a fresh new musical light. Since many of the cues here are action or atmospheric-oriented, and thus lacking in need for strong melodic hooks, the veteran composer's mastery of orchestral color and no small amount of stylistic reinvention infuses the proceedings with a sense of wholeness and a surprising maturity that's a key element in conjuring up the film's crucial suspension of disbelief. Harry Potter may be but a fictional wizard, but John Williams proves yet again he's the real thing.
Album Description
Full title - Harry Potter & The Chamber of Secrets. The soundtrack to the second Harry Potter movie! This Australian special edition 2 CD set includes 5 collectable covers and a bonus disc containing multi media features, exclusive screensaver, PC wallpaper, downloadable sheet music, website link and 2 film trailers. Atlantic. 2002.
Songs Title:
Customer Reviews
Even better than "Sorcerer's Stone", July 30, 2003
Reviewer: Lam Lai Shun from Tai Po, Hong Kong
It's a very good thing John Williams kept melodies in the first movie and improved it. "Fawkes The Phoenix", "The Chamber of Secrets" and "Gilderoy Lockhart" was especially good. They really got the gist of the feeling. "The Flying Car" was also catchy. This is even better than the last HP soundtrack!
A great CD! John Williams is Wonderful!, July 29, 2003
Reviewer: A music fan from British Coloumbia, Canada
I bought Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets soundtrack and it is great! My favourite pieces are "Prologue: Book II and Escape from the Dursleys", "Fawkes the Phoenix' and "Harry's Wondrous world". This is a great cd for any Harry Potter fan! John Williams (the composer) did a wonderful job capturing Harry in music. It includes all of the pieces featured in the movie. The music expresses the excitement of the flying car and the darkness of the Chamber of Secrets. It has the happiness of everyone being together again at the end of the movie and the the magic of Fawkes the Phoenix. If you love the Harry Potter movie then you'll love the soundtrack!
Unique meets Unifying, July 19, 2003
Reviewer: zsmurfy1 from Pa
I was at first hesistant to purchase this soundtrack because I expected it to be much like the soundtrack to the "Sorceror's Stone." However, I happened to hear the song "Fawkes the Phoenix" and decided to splurge.
Much to my delight, I found that, while some themes and melodies are re-visited in this second Harry Potter soundtrack, this album is very capable of standing on its own. There are plenty of original songs from the strong and soaring aforementioned "Fawkes the Phoenix" to the lighthearted and fun "Gilderoy Lockhart." There is also just the right sprinkling of melodies from the first soundtrack to create a pleasing unity between the two soundtracks.
My only complaint, I must admit, is a petty one. The songs on this album are out of chronological order and I find it distracting. At one point, the song order goes from "Meeting Tom Riddle" to "Cornish Pixies" to "Polyjuice Potion." One minute you're in the chamber saving Ginny and the next, you're back in Lockhart's classroom saving Neville. It simply doesn't flow. Despite this minor flaw, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" is well worth your time and money whether you're a Harry Potter fan, a John Williams fan, or just a fan of good instrumental music.
The best soundtrack i'v ever heard, July 3, 2003
Reviewer: A 9-year old music fan
This is my favorite C.D. The prologue is better than the sorcerers stone prologue it is mostly where Ron comes with a flying car 4\5
Fawkes the phoinex is great because it is a nice and calm but it does have some loud music 4\5
The chamber of secrets is very loud and it is one of my favorites 5\5
Gilderoy Lochart has the fame thing going on and it is not that great 3\5
The Flying car is awsome it is one of my favorites 5\5
Knockturn ally is a wierd creepy song and i don't like it 3\5
Introducing Golin is O.K. it is mostly when malfoy calls Hermionie a mudblood 3\5
The deling club does have some tence moments but then it dies down 4\5
I love Dobby The House Elf it realy reminds you of dobby 5\5
I'm all over the spiders and it is one of my favorite songs and I bet it will be yours too 5\5
Moaning Myrtle is spooky it reminds you of all of the ghosts in Hogwarts 3\5
Meeting Aragog is good but the spiders is better 4\5
Fawkes Is Reborn is one of my favorite songs 5\5
Meeting Tom Riddle is boring in the beggining but good in the end 4\5
Cornish pixies is pretty action packed 4\5
Polyjuice Potion starts out in Borgin And Burkes then it is the Polyjuice Potion 4\5
Cakes for crabbe and goyle starts out with cakes for crabbe and goyle and than it is when justin and nick get petrified 4\5
Dueling the basilisk is the best song on the whole C.D. it has action packed written all over it 5\5
Renunion of friends is a very good song it is a longer version of leaving Hogwarts 5\5
Harr's Woundrous World is awsome it is from the sorcerers stone exept with a better ending 5\5
A lot better than the Sorcerer's Stone!, June 12, 2003
Reviewer: A music fan from USA
I love this soundtrack! And I thought it was a lot better than Sorcerer's Stone. The best songs on the c.d. are "The Prologue, Fawkes the Phoenix, The Chamber of Secrets, The Flying Car, Dobby the House elf, The Spiders, Dueling the Basilisk, and Harry's Wonderous World."
"The Prologue" is kind of like a mix of a lot of songs off of Sorcerer's Stone put together.
"Fawkes the Phoenix" is easily the most beautiful song off the soundtrack. It starts out really soft and then builds and builds.
"The Chamber of Secrets" is the darkest song. It seems to let you know that this movie is a lot darker. And I liked how they did this spooky part on the organ, it was great.
"The Flying Car" is most fun to listen too. I love this song!
"Dobby the House Elf" sounds very Dobby-ish. And like "Fawkes and the Phoenix," this song starts out soft and then builds as it goes on.
"The Spiders" is so cool! You can really imagine spiders crawling along when you listen to this song.
"Dueling the Basilisk" is my favorite out of the whole soundtrack. It's really action packed and it's really fun to listen to.
"Harry's Wonderous World" is also on the first soundtrack, but this song is kind of different on the second soundtrack. It sounds better.
Overall... this is a great soundtrack and you should buy it!
Even better than the Sorcerer's Stone, May 28, 2003
Reviewer: Michael J. Tuccio from Fredonia, NY United States
No one can review themes and past melodies like John Williams. He can rearrange a theme five different ways, keep the magic, but have you believing that you're hearing a different piece. He has done that, yet again, with The Chamber of Secrets. Familiar themes return and new music emerges: Fawkes' theme is my absolute favorite!! It reminds a bit of Yoda's Theme from the Star War trilogy. Anyone who buys is going to have to realize that it's part of the Harry Potter saga, so it will have much of the music heard before. However, this is an incredible CD and I think stronger than the first. Williams' use of leit motiff, a certain theme for certain characters is illustrated on this CD beautifully with Fawkes and Lockhart. If you're a Harry fan, you should pick this up. If you're a Williams fan, you must pick this up.
Great for anyone but Williams, May 27, 2003
Reviewer: Brian Donohue from Brooklyn, NY United States
There are some marvelous moments in this music: among them the solemn walk onto the stairs to Dumbledore's office, the humorous ditties for Myrtle the ghost and the vain Prof. Lockhart, the Ravel-like variations on the Dobby theme, and rich development of the deceptively simple Fawkes music. There are also some rather stiff and iterative moments, as in the Flying Car sequence and some of the spider music is rather over the top. On balance, this is outstanding film music, as one would expect from Williams, though not as uniformly engaging and evocative as the first film's music (Sorcerer's Stone). It is clearly not Williams' best effort, however, and I'm looking forward to a fresh inspiration from him for the pivotal Prisoner of Azkaban film, now in production. This is a story that should certainly stimulate the deepest vein of Williams' rich talent, and with a new director involved (Alfonse Cuaron), there is even more to look forward to in this film. But we will have to wait until next June for that; in the meantime, enjoy the music to these two films: the first is some of Williams' greatest work of his brilliant career, and the second, if somewhat uneven in quality, is still enjoyable.