Music of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two in Four Contemporary Suites

In July of 2016, the two-part play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child opened in the West End. An official spin-off of the J.K. Rowling franchise, it's set 19 years after the seventh and final Harry Potter book, The Deathly Hallows. During early rehearsals, the production used songs from Imogen Heap's 2014 album Sparks as a stand-in before deciding to approach the alt-pop singer/songwriter about composing the score for the show. Though she borrowed heavily from her own existing songs, Heap's themes were newly arranged, recorded, and generally repurposed for the stage. (Elements of her song "Tiny Human," for instance, can be heard in the very different "Dragon!")
Two years after the play's London premiere, Heap presents a reworked version of the score "in four contemporary suites," which piece together over 100 music cues from the live production. Consisting of offbeat, partly electronic chamber music with (mostly) wordless singing in the mix, it drifts in and out of new agey keyboard atmosphere; sparkling, drum machine-driven electronica; and dramatic, plot-inspired score. An example of the latter can be heard on the brisk "Anything from the Trolley, Dears?" It conveys a fantastical trolley ride via melodic and staccato strings, mallet percussion, ethereal vocals, crescendoing cymbals, and wind effects. In a similar vein, Suite Two's "Dragons!" makes playful use of horns, plucked strings, keys, and marching and rock-style drums. Later, Dumbledore is introduced with plucked harp and airy female voice, and Moaning Myrtle is represented by muted, vibraphone-like tones. Rare lyrics are delivered choral-style on "Edge of the Forest," also from Suite Two. Suite Three opens on a darker, more rock-edged note, while a track like Suite Four's "Something Written" is led by more pastoral arpeggiated piano. Like the rest of the album, however, both of the latter are anchored in an otherworldly, part-mechanical atmosphere. Whimsical and relatively bright throughout despite the lurking threat of high-stakes danger, Heap captures the magical spirit and energy of the Harry Potter world on Four Contemporary Suites with a synthy palette quite distinct from the familiar John Williams film scores. To her credit, it's just as fitting and effective. ~ Marcy Donelson