The sixth installment in the Harry Potter film franchise was released in 2009 to general acclaim. Harry, now in his sixth year at Hogwarts, becomes obsessed with a textbook that belonged to someone named “the half-blood Prince” while also falling in love with Ginny Weasley (Ron’s little sister). Voldemort and his Death Eaters are on the move (Draco Malfoy has been assigned a mission by the Dark Lord himself) and Harry and Dumbledore are searching for the key that could destroy Voldemort once and for all.

It turns out that the secret of Voldemort’s power lies in the fact that he constructed Horcruxes: magical objects that contain a portion of a wizard’s soul and thereby prevent death if anything happens to that wizard’s body (this is why Voldemort wasn’t outright killed when his Killing Curse rebounded onto him the night Harry’s parents were killed).

The only way to kill Voldemort once and for all is to first destroy every last Horcrux. It won’t be easy, with Death Eaters lurking everywhere and a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher (in the form of Professor Slughorn), it might be impossible even for Harry Potter. One thing is for sure, this story has an ending you’ll never see coming.

The score for this film was composed by Nicholas Hooper, who first provided the music for the fifth film: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007). The footage above comes from one of the scoring sessions held at the famous Abbey Road Studio. There you see one of the conductors, an orchestrator, as well as the composer himself. This particular session involves recording the opening cue of the film, which, as always, features a reprise of “Hedwig’s Theme” (possibly the most famous theme from the entire Harry Potter film series).

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Enjoy this behind the scenes look at recording the score for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince!

And for more Harry Potter, see also:

 Alexandre Desplat talks Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (2010)

Thoughts on Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)

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