A Song of Wands and Owls (Theme Music) - Polysthetic

I solemnly swear that I am up to no good. After getting a claim for adapting the composition of “Game of Thrones” for my Battle of Polytopia video, I knew I had to do something different this time.

“A Song of Wands and Owls” 3/8 time, B minor, 58 bpm Timbres: Celesta, First and Second Violins, Viola, Cello, Double Bass, Flute, Clarinet, French Horn, Timpani, Bass and Snare Drums

I almost gave up halfway when making the track. Combining two, quite different musical scores: John William’s iconic “Hedwig’s Theme” is nearly synonymous with Harry Potter, and Ramin Djiwadi’s “Game of Thrones”, was predictably not so simple. Here’s a breakdown of why:

• Hedwig’s Theme is amazing melodically, with many calls and responses. As it’s so famous, splicing the melody and modifying it can be jarring as the brain is predicting the next phrase. • Hedwig’s Theme is written in 3/8 whilst Game of Thrones” is written in 3/4. Thankfully, both are in threes. • Instrumentally, Hedwig’s Theme is mostly quiet early on with harp rolls, beautiful string glissandos, and the iconic celesta. Game of Thrones is loud from the beginning with pounding drums and a swelling string section. • Rhythmically, Hedwig’s Theme is very fluid (an effect I unfortunately could no replicate with MIDI, in particular the flowing strings and harp rolls), whilst Game of Thrones is quite rigid and militaristic.

In the end, I’m mostly happy with the result:

1. The intro is quite like Hedwig’s Theme, but the drums slowly kick in where they remain to the end. The motifs from Game of Thrones are spliced with phrases from Hedwig’s Theme, all played on the celesta, the lead instrument.
2. The A section is similar to the intro, splicing phrases from the both theme, but with a loose-flowing string section now backing the celesta, and horns kicking in half way through.
3. The B section is primarily an adapted Hedwig’s Theme melody, extended and varied, but with some of the Game of Thrones melodies played with some of the backing instrument.
4. The outro is Game of Thrones, played on all instruments in unison, with the horns thickening and the celesta moved up an octave in the second half.
5. The coda is played on the celesta, slightly modified from Game of Thrones’ pizzicato coda.

Mischief managed, hopefully this is unique enough not to be considered a cover track.

In the alternate Eevee render video on my channel, I used Aaron Kenny’s “Happy Haunts” from the YouTube music library. When I thought about abandoning “A Song of Wands and Owls” I liked how this music fit with the video (in particular the Theremin with Azkaban and the Celesta at the end of the video).

Main Video: https://youtu.be/iJjaJyHD5yY Full Post: https://polysthetic.com/harry-potter-game-of-wands/ Audiomack link: https://audiomack.com/polysthetic/song/a-song-of-wands-and-owls

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