If the commercial constraints of genre and chronic Hollywood sequelitis threaten to musically straitjacket even a legend like John Williams, the veteran playfully rebuffs such cynicism in his rich, mirthful score for this third chapter of the Harry Potter cycle. Whether inspired by a wilful desire not to repeat himself, the continued reinvention of his jazz roots that brightened his scores for Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can and The Terminal, or the story's requirement for a handful of fresh themes, Williams informs his work here with an often dizzying range. The warm mysticism of "Hedwig's Theme" and classical farrago of "Aunt Marge's Waltz" can scarcely prepare one for the swinging, off-kilter "Knight Bus," a romp that suggests a head-on collision between the big-band bombast of 1941 and the loopy, Cantina Band kitsch of Star Wars. From there Williams skips back a half-millennium or so for inspiration, conjuring the ancient children's chorus "Double Trouble" (its text adapted from no less than MacBeth), a medieval theme that becomes one of the score's inspirational foundations. Those with a taste for the composer's patent orchestral thunder won't be disappointed either, as the Herrmann-influenced percussion/brass bombast of "Buckbeat's Flight" and "The Whomping Willow" attest with rousing zeal. It's arguably Williams' best Potter score to date, a soundtrack whose inspirations sprawl across six centuries--and as many disparate musical styles. --Jerry McCulley

While the philosopher's stone score is amazingly original and frankly a work of pure musical genius, the score to the prisoner of azkaban lacks any real direction and serves as a pure bare bones narrative to the visuals and additional audio. The minimum any score should provide is a narration of the emotions of the characters, and generally reveal the structure of the film in order to pace the audience, and that's all you get here.
The best scores ever written, which includes several by the genius mr williams, have to have a strong direction, unifying universal themes, and powerful rhythm forcing the audience to cry, laugh and jump at all the right moments, unfortunately the score neither achieves or approaches any of these.
Generally deflated when compared to the philosopher's stone and the chamber of secrets.
While several tracks on this disk are interesting, even enjoyable, overall the score is poor in comparison to some of his more famous works.
The prisoner of azkaban film is slower paced than the first two and suffers from a general lack of direction and meaning itself, resulting in quite a significant pacing problem, i'm sure this greatly affected mr williams when he was writing, as there was very little inspiration to be gained from the edit.

So i give the score to the prisoner of azkaban a 3. Average, some good tracks, but otherwise generally indifferent. Majority woodwind score, so lacking necessary force of emotion.
Do yourselves a favour and buy the philosopher's stone!

This is a classic John Williams soundtrack. He's the best, simple as. Why he's the best is probably evidenced by the sheer number of brilliant scores he's composed and how many of them are memorable and popular beyond the boundries of the film, yet remain forever conncted with the characters they help to portay. It works brilliantly here, the score just feels magical and slightly mischievous. I tink the overwhelming theme throughout is the tragedy of Harry mixed with the excitement of his time at Hogwarts.
One for the fans maybe, but I think anyone who loves classical music will enjoy this.

I'm a big fan of John Williams, less so the Harry Potter films. You don't need to know anything about HP to enjoy this, which I think is among JW's best works. Just relax and enjoy the quirky variety of instrumentation and mood. The whole thing has a Christmassy or holiday feel to it, and features maybe JW's best piece ever, A Window to the Past. Brilliant.

If you only buy one Harry Potter soundtrack, make it this one. It's in a different league to the previous two, and shows that John Williams definitely hasn't lost his touch - or his sense of humour.

There seems to be a wider variety of musical styles this time around, from dramatic to reflective to just plain fun.

My personal favourite? Aunt Marge's Waltz, of course. You've got to love that discord on the second to last note. It's almost worth buying the album for that track alone, but fortunately you don't have to - it's all good.

I decided to buy Prisoner Of Azkaban soundtrack over Chamber Of Secrets and Philosopher's Stone, because I was immediately impressed by the variety of themes and particularly the mediaeval quality to it.

I have to say, that since purchasing it from Amazon, I have just not stopped playing it. It is so enjoyable and relaxing to listen to.

The first tune returns to Hedwig's Theme which is the opening tune for the film, it promises much excitement and does not disappoint. The great thing about this soundtrack is that it is cleverly written to suit the scene of the film it is referring to. You can visualise the theme in your mind.

The tracks I particularly adore are:

Hedwig's Theme Lumos.
Aunt Marge's Waltz.
The Knight Bus.
Apparition On The Train.
Double Trouble.
Buckbeat's Flight.
A Window To The Past.
Secrets Of The Castle.
Mischief Managed.

DOUBLE TROUBLE is a fantastic mediaeval number with choir, which incorporates harpsichord, organ and probably a few obsolete instruments to create an authentic and melodic piece. The words are taken from Shakespeare's Macbeth. This is a great piece for your selection of Halloween music.

AUNT MARGE'S WALTZ A great piece of music, full of grandeur and humour, which perfectly fits with the scene of Aunt Marge floating into the sky in the film. There are parts of this tune that are reminiscent of Saint-Saens.

THE KNIGHT BUS Is a clever mix of classical instruments and modern jazz to create a busy and confused piece. There is plenty of use of brass, creating the sound of a car horn, and screeching of tires which fits with the Knight Bus as it takes its mad journey through the streets of London. I particularly like the bit with the clever use of accordian, that is meant to depict the part where the Knight Bus has squeeze in to get through 2 buses. It makes you feel kind of weird and dreamlike.

APPARITION ON THE TRAIN Well this is damn spooky and haunting to say the least. When you listen to this, you feel that you are surely faced with death or worse! But it doesn't make you feel depressed, its just extremely powerful. There is a lot of strings in this one. Even if you hadn't watched POA film you would know that this piece is meant to reflect some impending horror, and it surely relays this to full effect.

BUCKBEAT'S FLIGHT Absolutely amazing, I think this piece has to be my very favourite on the whole album. It is truly majestic and powerful. I am close to tears when I listen to this. This is so fitting for the scene of Harry Potter flying on Buckbeat its incredible. I turn it up loud in the car, and when no-one is looking I spread my arms out and pretend I am also flying. It sounds crazy but try it, it will make you feel truly out of this world.

A WINDOW TO THE PAST My other favourite. The haunting and melancholy flute/whistle makes you feel several emotions at once. Sadness, sentiment,nostalgia, happiness and hope. This is used in the scene where Harry talks with Lupin about his parents and his past. It is also one of my favourite scenes in the movie, and you play the scene again and again in your mind with this piece. The flute is then joined by the most beautiful strings to create a soaring and powerful melody which tugs upon your heartstrings, truly wonderful.

SECRETS OF THE CASTLE Starts with a very mystical and magical twinkling of glockenspiel and harp and then changes to this beautiful little pause which is the most sentimental and romantic little piece of music I've ever heard. This part is played in the film where a little leaf from the Whomping Willow floats down the to ground, it is just lovely.

MISCHIEF MANAGED This one is a medley of all the themes, and revisits each one, with the interlocking tunes as well. So its a good one if you want to listen to each theme again without breaks in between.

I would like to comment on all of them, but there isn't time, so I've selected my very favourites. If you are considering buying a Harry Potter Soundtrack, then start with this one, it is absolutely superb.