Vaughan Williams tops this year’s list, inspired by ABC Classic FM’s popular Swoon programme.

Earlier this year ABC Classic FM invited Australia’s music-lovers to vote for their favourite pieces for 2015’s Classic 100 countdown. This year’s theme was in honour of one of the broadcaster’s longest running and most popular shows, Swoon, which showcases music that inspires calm and contentedness.

During a two-week voting period, thousands of music lovers made tens of thousands of nominations for their person top 10 Swoon-inspired tracks, and over the Queen’s Birthday long weekend, the most popular selections have been revealed, with this year’s top spot being awarded to Vaughan William’s violin concertante, The Lark Ascending. The Adagio from Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings, Arvo Pärt’s Speigel im Speigel, and Allegri’s Miserere were also ranked in the top five.

In total the work of 57 different composers was represented in the Swoon Classic 100, with four Australian’s counted among them, Elena Kats-Chernin, Ross Edwards, Peter Sculthorpe and Nigel Westlake. Contemporary music was also  well represented with 15 of the top 20 works composer in the 20th or 21st Century. Although he failed to reach the top of the rankings, the music of...