I've listened to the soundtrack twice through now, and
http://lukewood.blogspot.com's reaction is a mixed one. The biggest danger of turning each Potter book into a film is that we lose the sense of it being a series. This is something I felt Peter Jackson dealt with effectively when making Lord of the Rings: he kept three distinct films without losing the sense of continuity. Having Howard Shore produce one coherent set of scores for the work played a big part in that. John Williams could have done the same for Harry Potter, but sadly he's been replaced, and the music in Goblet of Fire pays little homage to its musical predecessors.
Instead of honouring the legacy that has helped create the success and distinctiveness of the project, Doyle has only paid it lip-service. He has chosen instead to follow his own route. Some call it brave. Others call it foolish. I'm going to wait and see how it fits in with the film before I make a final judgement. But in the meantime...
I'm in love with Harry Potter's Love. I have been on the verge of tears listening to it, it's absolutely beautiful. Perhaps exactly what you'd expect from a non-Williams love theme in style, but I can't wait to see how it's going to be used in the film.
"The Story Continues" and "Foreign Visitors Arrive" are both strong, memorable tracks. And "Voldemort" sounds surprisingly familiar, with very similar chord patterns to Shore's score for Tolkien's trilogy. "Magic Works" is my favourite of the Weird Sisters tracks.
Some have suggested that (particularly in light of the "international" flavour of The Quidditch World Cup) Doyle has made the soundtrack "broader in terms of culture and expression". Well, only in the sense that the storyline required that of the soundtrack. The story itself is more broad in those terms. The same people observe that Williams' theme for Hedwig was "happy-clappy" wheras Doyle has made it more approriately sinister. These critics seem to have forgotten the nature of the stories. They are getting darker as the story goes on you see? To have a sinister Hedwig's Theme in Philosopher's Stone (note I'm deliberately resisting dumbing-down the title for my American friends) would have made no sense, as would a happy-clappy one in Goblet of Fire. Such comments add no more to the discussion than to say "Oh good, the composer knows the story then!"
I hope I'm proved wrong in my criticisms. I desperately want to love everything about the film and I hope that the way these pieces are used puts my criticism to shame. But the fact that the music needs the film to come to its defence already shows its weakness. A real score can stand up for itself.
Listen to the entire 'Goblet of Fire' Soundtrack online NOW 
