I
will examine John Williams’ “Hedwig’s Theme” from the Harry Potter soundtrack and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s “Dance of
the Sugar Plum Fairy” from The Nutcracker
ballet. The two musical cultures to be examined are Romantic Russian ballet and
twenty-first century film soundtrack. I will compare and contrast the pieces’
uses of the celesta and their structures in terms of theme.
First,
let’s look at the background and instrumentation of each piece.
A
contemporary American film score composer, John Williams composed “Hedwig’s
Theme” to reflect the mysticism of the wizarding world for the 2001 film Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Unlike
many of Williams’ other compositions for film, the motif in “Hedwig’s Theme” is
not directly linked with one character, but rather a general portrayal of the
protagonist’s victories. In contrast, “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” portrays
the single motif for the Sugar Plum Fairy character in the ballet The Nutcracker.
Unlike
most staunchly nationalistic Romantic Russian composers, Tchaikovsky
incorporated elements of Western music into his pieces. Tchaikovsky composed
“Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” in 1892 for his Russian ballet The Nutcracker. Like “Hedwig’s Theme” is
based on J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books,
The Nutcracker ballet is based on
E.T.A. Hoffmann’s book The Nutcracker and
the Mouse King (NPR Staff). Both
pieces, then, focus on conveying the mood of a particular aspect of their
respective book. The ballet is comprised of fifteen musical numbers that lead
the audience through the Christmastime story of Clara and her nutcracker doll.
“Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” accompanies a solo performance by the Sugar
Plum Fairy, and its theme conveys her grace and happiness, just as the theme in
“Hedwig’s Theme” conveys mystery and magic.
In
terms of instrumentation, both pieces are performed by full orchestras, and they
both incorporate the iconic celesta, which creates a magical mood appropriate
to both stories.
