OK, I didn’t mean for today to be Harry Potter day. It’s purely a coincidence that I have three posts in a row that mention it. But I was listening to Fumio Hayasaka’s score to The Seven Samurai all the way through for the first time this afternoon when I was struck my the similarities between a certain thematic passage and, (possibly because i had recently listened to the rock version), John Williams’ Hedwig’s Theme.

Now I’m not suggesting anything ill towards Mr. Williams. I think he’s a great composer who has written some of the best contemporary music for orchestra and I absolutely adore his work for the Harry Potter franchise. But a simple listen should reveal, despite differences in orchestration and arrangement, that the two piece sound similar.

First, The Seven Samurai. This excerpt is taken from the 5 minute intermission interlude. It was written in 1954.

[audio:http://www.tunequest.org/matrix/uploads/2006/05/interlude.mp3]

Then there’s Hedwig’s Theme, written in 2001.

[audio:http://www.tunequest.org/matrix/uploads/2006/05/hedwig.mp3]

What say you? Separated at birth? Coincidence? Or am I reading too much into this one?