[3] Desplat followed John Williams, Patrick Doyle, and Nicholas Hooper in composing music for the Harry Potter series.
"[6] Desplat commented on the other various major themes that he developed for the soundtrack, saying, "Since Harry, Ron and Hermione are now on the road being chased by the dark forces of Voldemort, they are never twice in the same place.
"[7] The recording sessions started on 14 August 2010 with a 105-piece of the London Symphony Orchestra performing the score, with orchestrations provided by Desplat, Conrad Pope, Jean-Pascal Beintus, Nan Schwartz, Richard Stewart, Clifford Tasner and Alejandro de la Llosa.
[9] Kloves wrote the scene, which does not exist in the books, during filming of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, describing it as "strange", and was surprised it was well received by J.K. Rowling, Producer David Heyman and Yates.
[11] Music Supervisor Matt Biffa initially read the scene as upbeat, "like two teenagers going for it" but after discussing its nuances with Yates, decided it had to be uplifting without being too romantic.
[13] Aiming for an old, soul song along the lines of James Carr and Otis Redding, and more modern material such as Oasis and Radiohead, it was determined these musicians offered too much of the Muggle world.
"[11] During Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts, Watson admitted she initially thought the dance was awkward and wasn't sure about it, but it became one of her favourites in the franchise, "there was so much said in the scene.
"[18] Jorn Tillnes of Soundtrackgeek.com gave the score a 9/10 and remarked, "When challenged, Desplat brings out some great stuff as he proved with New Moon last year.
[22] Charlotte Gardner from BBC commented that "Pope's orchestration is a work of genius, heightening the music's drama with a myriad of different instrumental colours" and the score "is equally affective – menacing, comforting, magic-tinged, powerful and fragile all in one.
It's particularly striking for its smooth beauty, which remains present even when painting scenes dripping with evil or fraught with pain."
"[23] Eric Goldman from IGN wrote, "Desplat's score starts off extremely strong with 'Obliviate', which immediately sets the scene for a sad, mournful story – which is entirely appropriate, given the content of The Deathly Hallows Part 1... On one hand, it's a bit sad to not hear the wonderful Potter theme much, yet on the other hand, this is, after all, a somber story.
Desplat’s score is both subtle and huge, lending quiet emotional depth ('Harry & Ginny'), playful wickedness ('Death Eaters'), and tense, robust action ('The Oblivation') with masterful precision.
Film series that employ this many different composers (and directors, for that matter) rarely find cohesion, and this first installment of Deathly Hallows does nothing in the way to tarnish that achievement.