James Newton Howard has a long list of composing credits to his name including “The Hunger Games” franchise, “The Dark Knight,” “Snow White and the Huntsman,” “Maleficent,” and many others. His latest is the spellbinding score for “Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them,” which you can listen to below.
Recorded at the iconic Abbey Road Studios, the Academy Award-nominated composer worked with an orchestra of 97 musicians to create the magical sounds of J.K. Rowling’s wizarding world. The soundtrack features 17 songs, with the deluxe version including nine additional tracks. The album is also available for purchase on vinyl.
The title theme will definitely resonate with “Harry Potter” fans since it includes a bit from the enchanting “Hedwig’s Theme,” written by John Williams.
“You hear the main theme song of the movie play when the main crew arrive at the MACUSA the first time and various other times,” Howard told Pottermore. “You hear this haunting kind of theme. If you had to say what is the theme for ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ for now and in the future, it would be that theme. I wrote it on my piano because I believe that if that kind of thing is going to be good, it should be done that simply.”
The composer also commented on writing for the many exciting action sequences.
“One thing you can expect in any J.K. Rowling story is that there’s going to be a lot of excitement and action so the basic idea is you’ve got to be able to write a good action sequence,” he explained. “I approached it very, very seriously. I just wrote it like I would write any human drama but I tried to give it a distinct sound. Because it is magical, after all.”
Howard’s next projects include composing the music for Francis Lawrence’s “Red Sparrow,” “Inner City,” and the new “Jumanji,” out in theaters on December 22, 2017.
Listen to the deluxe version of the “Fantastic Beasts” soundtrack below. The film is now in theaters.
Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
