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.
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Williams: Conducting |
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: