# Classic 100 Swoon

In 2015, the Australian radio station ABC Classic FM held the thirteenth of its annual Classic Music countdowns, during which the public votes for 100 favourite pieces. The chosen theme was "Swoon", which refers to a fainting and in this context is used to mean "little parcel of [musical] rapture" or music "that makes [the listeners'] world stand still." The Classic 100 Swoon countdown was broadcast in reverse order from 5 to 8 June.

## Countdown results

The results of the countdown are as follows:
| Rank | Composer | Work | Genre | Date |
| 1 | Vaughan Williams, Ralph | The Lark Ascending | Violin, piano | 1920 |
| 2 | Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | Clarinet Concerto, K. 622 (Adagio) | Concerto | 1791 |
| 3 | Barber, Samuel | Adagio for Strings (orchestral and vocal versions) | Orchestra, Choral | 1936 |
| 4 | Pärt, Arvo | Spiegel im Spiegel | Tintinnabuli | 1978 |
| 5 | Allegri, Gregorio | Miserere | Choral | 1630s |
| 6 | Massenet, Jules | "Méditation" from Thaïs | Orchestral | 1894 |
| 7 | Elgar, Edward | Enigma Variations Op. 36 (includes Variation 9, Nimrod) | Orchestral | 1898–99 |
| 8 | Morricone, Ennio | The Mission (Includes Gabriel's Oboe original version) | Film soundtrack | 1986 |
| 9 | Fauré, Gabriel | Requiem Op.48 (includes Introit and Kyrie, Pie Jesu, Agnus Dei et Lux Aeterna, In Paradisum) | Choral, mass | 1887-90 |
| 10 | Albinoni, Tomaso/Remo Giazotto | Adagio in G minor | Strings, organ | |
| 11 | Satie, Erik | Gymnopédies | Piano | 1888 |
| 12 | Elgar, Edward | Cello Concerto in E minor (includes Adagio) | Concerto, for cello | 1919 |
| 13 | Rachmaninoff, Sergei | Piano Concerto No. 2 (includes Adagio sostenuto) | Concerto, for piano | 1900–01 |
| 14 | Mahler, Gustav | Symphony No. 5 (includes Adagietto) | Symphony | 1901–02 |
| 15 | Beethoven, Ludwig van | Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major | Symphony | 1809–11 |
| 16 | Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | Ave verum corpus, K. 618 | Choral, motet | 1791 |
| 17 | Bizet, Georges | The Pearl Fishers (Includes "Au fond du temple saint", "Je crois entendre encore") | Opera | 1863 |
| 18 | Vaughan Williams, Ralph | Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis | Orchestral | 1910 |
| 19 | Strauss, Richard | Four Last Songs | Orchestral, with voice | 1948 |
| 20 | Shostakovich, Dmitri | The Gadfly Suite | Suite, orchestral | 1955 |
| 21 | Khachaturan, Aram | Spartacus (Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia) | Ballet score | 1954 |
| 22 | Puccini, Giacomo | Madama Butterfly (includes "One Fine Day", "Humming Chorus") | Opera | 1904 |
| 23 | Rodrigo, Joaquín | Concierto de Aranjuez | Orchestral, with guitar | 1939 |
| 24 | Bruch, Max | Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor | Concerto | 1866 |
| 25 | Bach, Johann Sebastian | St Matthew Passion BWV 244 | Oratorio | 1727 |
| 26 | Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | Requiem in D minor K.626 | Choral, Mass | 1791 |
| 27 | Pachelbel, Johann | Canon in D | Strings | |
| 28 | Bach, Johann Sebastian | Cello Suite No. 1 in G major BWV 1007 (includes Prelude) | Suite, cello | |
| 29 | Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major K.467 (Includes Andante) | Concerto | 1785 |
| 30 | Purcell, Henry | Dido and Aeneas (includes "Dido's Lament") | Opera | 1688 |
| 31 | Mascagni, Pietro | Cavalleria rusticana | Opera | 1890 |
| 32 | Delibes, Léo | Lakmé | Opera | 1881–81 |
| 33 | Saint-Saëns, Camille | The Carnival of the Animals (includes "Aquarium", "The Swan") | Suite, chamber | 1886 |
| 34 | Rachmaninoff, Sergei | Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini | Concerto, for piano | 1934 |
| 35 | Dvořák, Antonín | "O silver moon" from Rusalka | Opera, aria | 1901 |
| 36 | Westlake, Nigel | Antarctica Suite | Film soundtrack | 1991 |
| 37 | Verdi, Giuseppe | Nabucco | Opera | 1841 |
| 38 | Bach, Johann Sebastian | Concerto for two violins in D minor BWV 1043 (includes Allegro ma non-tanto) | Concerto, for violin | 1717–23 |
| 39 | Grieg, Edvard | Peer Gynt | Play incidental music | 1875 |
| 40 | Debussy, Claude | Suite Bergamasque (includes "Clair de Lune"; "Passepied") | Suite, piano | 1905 |
| 41 | Holst, Gustav | The Planets Op.32 | Suite, orchestral | 1914–16 |
| 42 | Handel, George Frideric | Messiah HWV 56 (includes "Comfort Ye"; "I Know that my Redeemer Liveth") | Oratorio | 1741 |
| 43 | Tallis, Thomas | Spem in alium | Choral | c.1570 |
| 44 | Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | Così fan tutte K.588 (includes soave sia il vento) | Opera | 1790 |
| 45 | Dvořák, Antonín | Symphony No. 9 Op. 45 "From the New World" (includes largo) | Symphony | 1893 |
| 46 | Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich | The Nutcracker Suite (Includes "Waltz of the Snowflakes"; "Danse Arabe"; "Waltz of the Flowers") | Suite, ballet score | 1892 |
| 47 | Jenkins, Karl | The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace | Choral, mass, orchestral | 1999 |
| 48 | Canteloube, Joseph | Songs of the Auvergne (includes Baïlèro) | Arranged folksongs | 1923-30 |
| 49 | Kats-Chernin, Elena | Wild Swans suite (includes Eliza's Aria and Green Leaf Prelude) | Ballet score | 2003 |
| 50 | Wagner, Richard | Tristan and Isolde (includes Prelude and Liebestod) | Opera | 1857–59 |
| 51 | Williams, John | Schindler's List (Main Theme) | Film soundtrack | 1993 |
| 52 | Edwards, Ross | Dawn Mantras | Orchestral, choral | 1999 |
| 53 | Beethoven, Ludwig van | Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2 Moonlight (includes I. Adagio sostenuto) | Sonata for piano | 1801 |
| 54 | Handel, George Frideric | Xerxes, HWV 40 (includes "Ombra Mai Fu" – Largo) | Opera | 1738 |
| 55 | Debussy, Claude | Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun | Symphonic poem | 1894 |
| 56 | Sculthorpe, Peter | Small Town | Orchestral | 1976 |
| 57 | Pärt, Arvo | Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten | Tintinnabuli | 1977 |
| 58 | Beethoven, Ludwig van | Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61 (includes II. Larghetto) | Concerto, for violin | 1806 |
| 59 | Mendelssohn, Felix | The Hebrides' Overture, Op. 26 (Fingal's Cave) | Overture | 1830 |
| 60 | Rachmaninoff, Sergei | Vespers, Op. 37 (All-Night Vigil) | Choral | 1915 |
| 61 | Mendelssohn, Felix | Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64 (includes II. Andante) | Concerto for violin | 1845 |
| 62 | Bach, JS/Hess, Myra | Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring | Cantata | 1926 |
| 63 | Beethoven, Ludwig van | Für Elise | Piano | 1810 |
| 64 | Beethoven, Ludwig van | Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 Choral (includes III. Adagio molto e cantabile) | Symphony, choral | 1824 |
| 65 | Ravel, Maurice | Pavane for a Dead Princess | Piano | 1899 |
| 66 | Mendelssohn, Felix | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Orchestral | 1826, 1842 |
| 67 | Beethoven, Ludwig van | Symphony No. 7 in A major (includes II. Allegretto) | Symphony | 1811–12 |
| 68 | Bach, Johann Sebastian | Cantata, BWV 147 Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben (includes "Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring") | Cantata | 1716, 1723 |
| 69 | Gluck, Christoph Willibald | Orpheus and Euridice (includes "Dance of the Blessed Spirits") | Opera | 1762 |
| 70 | Morricone, Ennio | Cinema Paradiso (includes Main Theme; Love Theme for Nata) | Film soundtrack | 1988 |
| 71 | Bach, Johann Sebastian | Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 (includes Aria) | Keyboard | 1741 |
| 72 | Schubert, Franz | Impromptu in G-flat major | Piano | 1827 |
| 73 | Bach, Johann Sebastian | Mass in B minor, BWV 232 | Choral, mass | 1749 |
| 74 | Lloyd Webber, Andrew | Requiem (includes "Pie Jesu") | Choral, mass | 1984–85 |
| 75 | Fauré, Gabriel | Cantique de Jean Racine | Choral, with piano | 1864–65 |
| 76 | Handel, George Frideric | Rinaldo (includes "Lascia ch'io pianga") | Opera | 1711 |
| 77 | Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major (includes II. Adagio) | Concerto for piano | 1786 |
| 78 | Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | Clarinet Quintet, K581 (includes II. Larghetto) | Chamber | 1789 |
| 79 | Brahms, Johannes | A German Requiem, Op. 45 | Choral, mass | 1868 |
| 80 | Górecki, Henryk | Symphony No. 3, Op. 36 (Symphony of Sorrowful Songs) | Symphony, with voice | 1976 |
| 81 | Bach, Johann Sebastian | Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, BWV 1050 | Concerto, chamber | 1721 |
| 82 | Saint-Saëns, Camille | Samson and Delilah (includes "Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix") | Opera | 1877 |
| 83 | Fauré, Gabriel | Pavane, Op. 50 | Orchestral, with chorus | 1887 |
| 84 | Gershwin, George | Porgy and Bess (includes "Summertime") | Opera | 1934 |
| 85 | Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | Concerto for Flute, Harp, and Orchestra, K. 299 | Concerto | 1778 |
| 86 | Korngold, Erich Wolfgang | Die tote Stadt (includes "Glück das mir verblieb") | Opera | 1920 |
| 87 | Satie, Erik | Gnossiennes | Piano | 1890s |
| 88 | Beethoven, Ludwig van | Symphony No. 6, Op. 68 (Pastoral) | Symphony | 1808 |
| 89 | Chopin, Frédéric | Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11 | Concerto for piano | 1830 |
| 90 | Schubert, Franz | Ave Maria | Choral | 1825 |
| 91 | Sculthorpe, Peter | Little Suite | Suite, for strings | 1983 |
| 92 | Dvořák, Antonín | Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104 | Concerto for cello | 1894–95 |
| 93 | Pergolesi, Giovanni Battista | Stabat Mater | Oratorio | 1736 |
| 94 | Tavener, John | Song for Athene | Choral | 1997 |
| 95 | Albinoni, Tomaso | Oboe Concerto in D minor, Op. 9, No. 2 | Concerto for oboe | 1722 |
| 96 | Bellini, Vincenzo | Norma (includes "Casta diva") | Opera | 1831 |
| 97 | Strauss, Richard | Morgen! | Song | 1894 |
| 98 | Bach, JS/Gounod, Charles | Ave Maria | Choral | 1853 |
| 99 | Bach, Johann Sebastian | Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068 (includes Air on a G string) | Suite | 1730 |
| 100 | Puccini, Giacomo | "O mio babbino caro" from Gianni Schicchi | Opera, aria | 1917–18 |

## By composer

The following composers were featured in the countdown:
| Composer | Nationality | Works |
| Albinoni | Italian | 2 |
| Allegri | Italian | 1 |
| JS Bach | German | 9 |
| Barber | American | 1 |
| Beethoven | German | 7 |
| Bellini | Italian | 1 |
| Bizet | French | 1 |
| Brahms | German | 1 |
| Bruch | German | 1 |
| Canteloube | French | 1 |
| Chopin | Polish-French | 1 |
| Debussy | French | 2 |
| Delibes | French | 1 |
| Dvořák | Czech | 3 |
| Edwards | Australian | 1 |
| Elgar | English | 2 |
| Fauré | French | 3 |
| Gershwin | American | 1 |
| Gluck | German | 1 |
| Gorecki | Polish | 1 |
| Gounod | French | 1 |
| Grieg | Norwegian | 1 |
| Handel | German-British | 3 |
| Hess | British | 1 |
| Holst | English | 1 |
| Jenkins | Welsh | 1 |
| Kats-Chernin | Australian | 1 |
| Khachaturian | Armenian | 1 |
| Korngold | Czech | 1 |
| Lloyd Webber | English | 1 |
| Mahler | Austrian | 1 |
| Mascagni | Italian | 1 |
| Massenet | French | 1 |
| Mendelssohn | German | 3 |
| Morricone | Italian | 2 |
| Mozart | Austrian | 8 |
| Pachelbel | German | 1 |
| Pergolesi | Italian | 1 |
| Puccini | Italian | 2 |
| Purcell | English | 1 |
| Pärt | Estonian | 2 |
| Rachmaninoff | Russian | 3 |
| Ravel | French | 1 |
| Rodrigo | Spanish | 1 |
| Saint-Saëns | French | 2 |
| Satie | French | 2 |
| Schubert | Austrian | 2 |
| Sculthorpe | Australian | 2 |
| Shostakovich | Russian | 1 |
| Strauss | German | 2 |
| Tallis | English | 1 |
| Tavener | British | 1 |
| Tchaikovsky | Russian | 1 |
| Vaughan Williams | English | 2 |
| Verdi | Italian | 1 |
| Wagner | German | 1 |
| Westlake | Australian | 1 |
| Williams | American | 1 |
Note: Bach had 10 entries on the countdown, including Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring as part of Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben and as a separate entry.