Last weekend, we ventured back to Hogwarts, one of our favorite places to visit. This time we accompanied Harry Potter to the Chamber of Secrets. Surprisingly, we didn't dive back into the book. Instead, we visited the Hartford Symphony Orchestra to see the movie in HD with the orchestra performing John Williams' incredible score live.
I love being able to experience stories in different ways. When I originally read the Harry Potter series, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Hogwarts come to life in my imagination. When we first saw the movie, I loved seeing the world I imagined. Visiting the Hartford Symphony to hear the music live with the movie on a giant screen gave me goosebumps. The story I imagined then saw on a regular screen in my house was now larger than life and the music that I fell in love with when it played through my small home stereo was taken to a new magical level when performed live. While I love many of the John Williams' movie scores, "Hedwig's Theme" in Harry Potter is by far my most favorite piece he composed. Hearing it live while watching the movie made the story truly come to life for me in such a special way. (I will confess I'm listening to the soundtrack as I write this, specifically "Hedwig's Theme.")
As a reader,I often talk about how I want to dive inside my favorite books. I want to walk the halls of Hogwarts and watch a real Quidditch match. While I haven't found a way to actually climb inside my favorite books yet, the more ways we find to experience them, the more ways we enjoy favorite stories. I don't believe movies take away from books but rather for those who love stories, just give us additional ways to visit our favorite characters. While the whole day technically did not involve an actual book in our hands, our appreciation for a favorite book grew.
D