Top 25 British Classical Pieces

For this week’s blog post we’re venturing into the world of classical music, and more specifically our top 25 favourite British classical pieces.

Originally conceived as a wonderful distraction from normal work (especially as this was all done during a Friday afternoon!), drawing up this seemingly harmless list quickly turned into a rather ‘spirited’ discussion in the office. “You can’t include Handel, he wasn’t British!” was one of the main discussion points, although the fact that he moved from Germany and became naturalised as a British subject in 1727 soon put that matter to rest. The matter of Britishness was also overlooked for Johann Pachelbel’s Canon & Gigue, mainly because it’s a favourite of the office and we often have this playlist on repeat!

Our list starts with Edward Elgar’s Nimrod, moves on to classics such as Greensleeves and Pomp and Circumstance March, and finishes off with some patriotic Rule Britannia and God Save The Queen. We have also included the entire of Holst’s The Planets Suite, as we were all agreed that it is best listened to in its entirety.

To listen to our selection you’ll need Spotify, which for the uninitiated is like an enormous online jukebox (and more importantly it is free!). If you already have Spotify and would like to listen to our playlist, then please click here.

Historic UK’s Top 25 British Classical Pieces

Enigma Varations: Nimrod Jerusalem Imperial March Pomp and Circumstance March Greensleeves Canon & Gigue The Lark Ascending The Planets – Mars The Planets – Venus The Planets – Marcury The Planets – Jupiter The Planets – Saturn The Planets – Uranus The Planets – Neptune The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra Trumpet Voluntary Arrival of the Queen of Sheba Water Music in D: Hornpipe No. 12 Messiah: Hallelujah Chorus Requiem – Pie Jesu Mass A 4: Kyrie The Lamb Ubi Caritas Rule Britannia God Save the Queen

Edward Elgar Sir Charles Hubert Parry Edward Elgar Edward Elgar Ralph Vaughan Williams Johann Pachelbel Ralph Vaughan Williams Holst Holst Holst Holst Holst Holst Holst Benjamin Britten Henry Purcell George Frederic Handel George Frederic Handel George Frederic Handel John Rutter William Byrd Thomas Tallis Paul Mealor Thomas Arne Thomas Arne

Finally, if you think we’ve left any pieces out of our list, please send us a message through the “Contact Us” button at the top of this page.