My favourite soundtrack moments - Binary Sunset from Star Wars Episode IV

I distinctly remember being very young and getting a copy of Star Wars Episode IV on VHS from a friend of my dad's who was visiting us.

I was, naturally, mesmerised by the film; Darth Vader's ominous entrance; the mystical and mysterious Force; the Lightsabers; and of course the space battles (only many years later did I learn that Peter Cushing did all of his scenes wearing slippers...which does kind of soften the Empire's Nazis-in-Space aesthetic).

While a love of  Star Wars accompanied me throughout my formative years, it wasn't until I was in my early twenties that I really started to appreciate the film's score.

The big, chunky themes - the blaring horns of the main theme and the draconian, staccato Imperial March in particular - are pervasive through their sheer omnipresence. But it was the smaller, softer pieces of music that I came to appreciate the most.

Williams: Conducting

John Williams's scores are peppered with leitmotifs and the Star Wars franchise is a perfect example, with many of the characters and locations having their own distinctive themes. Princess Leia's and Yoda's themes are two of my favourites, alongside 'Binary Sunset', or the Force Theme.

Featuring early in Episode IV, this piece is played after Luke sees the full message to Obi-Wan Kenobi that Leia stored inside R2D2 as the Empire was boarding her Blockade Runner. Standing outside his aunt and uncle's farmstead, he watches Tatooine's twin suns setting.

Starting softly and played on lone brass, the melody swells to a crescendo of strings that never fails to raise the hairs on the back of my neck.

So if you have three minutes spare today, why not give this a listen: