Your Hundred Best Tunes

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Your Hundred Best Tunes
Genre Music
Running time 60 minutes
Country Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom
Home station BBC Light Programme
BBC Home Service
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 2
Starring Alan Keith
Richard Baker
Air dates to date
No. of episodes approximately 2500

Your Hundred Best Tunes was a long-running BBC radio music programme, always broadcast on Sunday evenings, which presented popular works which were mostly classical excerpts, choral works, opera and ballads. The hundred tunes which made up the playlist were initially selected by the creator and presenter, Alan Keith. Subsequently, the tunes were suggested by requests and polls of listeners. [1]

It was first broadcast on November 15, 1959 on the BBC Light Programme under the title 'The Hundred Best Tunes in the World' which it used until February 7, 1960, when Alan Keith's personal list of one hundred had all been played. The more familiar title was adopted from February 14, 1960 onwards. At this point it ran for half an hour from 10-10.30 pm, but from December 25, 1960 it was extended and moved earlier in the evening, running from 7.35-8.30 pm. From March 12, 1961 it adopted the 9-10 pm time slot which it would occupy for the rest of its life, on four different networks; it moved from the Light Programme to the Home Service from January 5, 1964, and remained there after it became Radio 4 from October 1, 1967, but returned to what had been the Light Programme, now renamed Radio 2 from April 5, 1970.

The last show was transmitted on January 21, 2007 — a remarkable run of over 47 years. For most of this time, it was presented by the original creator, Alan Keith who continued up to the age of 94. After his death in 2003 [2], Richard Baker presented the show until its conclusion. [3] Holiday guest presenters included Earl Spencer (father of Princess Diana) and Rosalind Runcie. [4]

[edit] The hundred best tunes

Polls were taken to confirm the choice of the hundred best tunes. The results of the last poll in 2003 are below. The previous poll was in 1997 and the position of each work in that earlier poll is shown in parentheses.

  1. Au fond du Temple Saint from The Pearl Fishers by Georges Bizet (1)
  2. Nimrod from Enigma Variations by Edward Elgar (16)
  3. Va, pensiero from Nabucco by Giuseppe Verdi (22)
  4. Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor by Max Bruch (12)
  5. Canon in D by Johann Pachelbel (52)
  6. Clarinet Concerto in A by Wolfgang Mozart (33)
  7. Symphony No. 6 in F (Pastoral) by Ludwig van Beethoven (27)
  8. Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor by Sergei Rachmaninoff (8)
  9. Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana by Pietro Mascagni (23)
  10. Lark Ascending by Ralph Vaughan Williams (-)
  11. Finlandia by Jean Sibelius (2)
  12. Symphony No. 9 in D Minor 'Choral' by Ludwig van Beethoven (5)
  13. The Planets by Gustav Holst (9)
  14. Ombra mai fu from Serse by George Handel (17)
  15. Piano Concerto No. 21 in C by Wolfgang Mozart (25)
  16. Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber (14)
  17. Piano Concerto No. 5 in E Flat 'Emperor' by Ludwig van Beethoven (24)
  18. Méditation from Thaïs by Jules Massenet (39)
  19. Symphony No. 9 in E Minor 'From the New World' by Antonin Dvořák (36)
  20. Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis by Ralph Vaughan Williams (-)
  21. Ave Verum Corpus by Wolfgang Mozart (28)
  22. Miserere mei, Deus — Psalm 51 by Gregorio Allegri (-)
  23. Hallelujah! from Messiah by George Handel (32)
  24. Laudate Dominum from Solemn Vespers by Wolfgang Mozart (-)
  25. Romance from The Gadfly by Dmitri Shostakovitch (29)
  26. Zadok the Priest, one of the Coronation Anthems by George Handel (68)
  27. Arrival of the Queen of Sheba from Solomon by George Handel (38)
  28. Piano Concerto in A minor by Edvard Grieg (-)
  29. Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring by Johann Bach (85)
  30. Cello Concerto in E Minor by Edward Elgar (6)
  31. What is Life? from Orfeo Ed Euridice by Christoph Gluck performed by Kathleen Ferrier(30)
  32. Bailero from Songs of the Auvergne by Joseph Canteloube (18)
  33. The Blue Danube by Johann Strauss II (-)
  34. Listen to the Mocking Bird by Septimus Winner (as Alice Hawthorne) (42)
  35. Song to the Moon from Rusalka by Antonin Dvořák (4)
  36. Bells Across The Meadow by Albert Ketèlbey (-)
  37. Symphony No. 3 (Organ) by Camille Saint-Saëns (-)
  38. Pomp and Circumstance No. 1 by Edward Elgar (31)
  39. Violin Concerto in E Minor by Felix Mendelssohn (40)
  40. Che Gelida Manina from La bohème by Giacomo Puccini (89)
  41. The Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi (-)
  42. Symphony No. 5 by Ludwig van Beethoven (-)
  43. Panis Angelicus by Cesar Franck (13)
  44. I Dreamt I Dwelt In Marble Halls from The Bohemian Girl by Michael Balfe (-)
  45. Piano Concerto No. 1 by Pyotr Tchaikovsky (-)
  46. Grand March from Aida by Giuseppe Verdi (26)
  47. Londonderry Air — traditional, arranged by Percy Grainger (59) — this was the theme tune
  48. The Merry Widow by Franz Lehár (67)
  49. Nessun Dorma from Turandot by Giacomo Puccini (51)
  50. Cantique de Jean Racine by Gabriel Fauré (-)
  51. In Paradisum from Requiem by Gabriel Fauré (-)
  52. Symphony No. 7 by Ludwig van Beethoven (-)
  53. Toccata and Fugue by Johann Bach (-)
  54. Adagio in G minor by Albinoni (-)
  55. Judex from Mors et Vita by Charles Gounod (-)
  56. Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini by Sergei Rachmaninoff (-)
  57. Warsaw Concerto by Richard Addinsell (-)
  58. Adagio from Spartacus by Aram Khachaturian (-)
  59. Romeo and Juliet by Pyotr Tchaikovsky (-)
  60. Don't Be Cross from The Master Miner by Carl Zeller (79)
  61. Sanctus (German Mass) by Franz Schubert (20)
  62. I Know That My Redeemer Liveth from Messiah by George Handel (10)
  63. Love Duet from Madame Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini (15)
  64. Fantasia on Greensleeves from Sir John in Love by Ralph Vaughan Williams (-)
  65. Symphony No. 2 by Sergei Rachmaninoff (-)
  66. Fingal's Cave by Felix Mendelssohn (-)
  67. Polovetsian Dances from Prince Igor by Alexander Borodin (-)
  68. The Yeomen of the Guard by Gilbert and Sullivan (-)
  69. Schindler's List Theme by John Williams (-)
  70. Symphony No. 5 (Adagietto) by Gustav Mahler (-)
  71. Sanctus from St. Cecilia Mass by Charles Gounod (-)
  72. Scheherezade by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (-)
  73. Old Comrades by Karl Teike (11)
  74. Marriage of Figaro by Wolfgang Mozart (-)
  75. Nuns' Chorus from Casanova by Johann Strauss II (7)
  76. 1812 Overture by Pyotr Tchaikovsky (-)
  77. Jerusalem by Hubert Parry (58)
  78. Morning Mood from Peer Gynt by Edvard Grieg (47)
  79. Concierto de Aranjuez by Joaquin Rodrigo (-)
  80. Dance of the Blessed Spirits from Orfeo Ed Euridice by Christoph Gluck (-)
  81. Casta Diva from Norma by Vincenzo Bellini (-)
  82. The Nutcracker Suite by Pyotr Tchaikovsky (-)
  83. Softly Awakes My Heart from Samson and Delilah by Camille Saint-Saëns (49)
  84. Eine Kleine Nachtmusik by Wolfgang Mozart (-)
  85. Ave Maria by Franz Schubert (43)
  86. O Mio Babbino Caro from Gianni Schicchi by Giacomo Puccini (-)
  87. Moonlight Sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven (-)
  88. Sheep May Safely Graze by Johann Bach (-)
  89. Where Corals Lie from Sea Pictures by Edward Elgar (-)
  90. Concerto for 2 Violins in D Minor by Johann Bach (-)
  91. Clair de Lune by Claude Debussy (-)
  92. The Creation by Joseph Haydn (77)
  93. Crown Imperial by William Walton (-)
  94. On the Road to Mandalay by Oley Speaks (-)
  95. Romance No. 2 in F Major by Ludwig van Beethoven (-)
  96. The Watermill by Ronald Binge (35)
  97. The Holy City by Frederick Weatherly and Stephen Adams (-)
  98. Bredon Hill from A Shropshire Lad by Graham Peel (-)
  99. The overture to William Tell by Gioachino Rossini (-)
  100. Hear My Prayer by Felix Mendelssohn (-)

[edit] Other media

Alan Keith published a book about the music played in the show. [5] The Decca Record Company published a successful nine-volume series of records with the title The World of Your 100 Best Tunes. The BBC published a six-CD collection of the music selected by the final poll listed above.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Bizet's The Pearl Fishers named nation's favourite tune, BBC, 12 October 2003, <http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2003/10_october/12/pearl_fishers.shtml>. Retrieved on 28 December 2007 
  2. ^ “Alan Keith (obituary)”, The Daily Telegraph, 18 March 2003, <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/03/19/db1902.xml>. Retrieved on 28 December 2007 
  3. ^ Plunkett, John (10 January 2007), “Titchmarsh replaces Radio 2's Your Hundred Best Tunes”, The Guardian, <http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/jan/10/bbc.radio>. Retrieved on 28 December 2007 
  4. ^ Donovan, Paul (21 January 2007), “End Game”, The Sunday Times, <http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/article1293876.ece>. Retrieved on 28 December 2007 
  5. ^ Keith, Alan (1975). Your Hundred Best Tunes. J.M.Dent & Sons Ltd.. ISBN 0 460 04214 9.