# Can anyone identify this classical music please?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-classical-music-please/800803
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [November 5, 2017, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-classical-music-please/800803 "2017-11-05T19:29:56Z")
**Posts on this page:** 13
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@The\_Piranha\_Brothers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Piranha_Brothers)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2017, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-classical-music-please/800803/1 "2017-11-05T19:29:56Z")
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mj1ylrqypKo)
The one at the start is Rule Brittania - that one isn’t the problem… But (apart from one brief marchlike sound) there is one piece of classical music used several times, most clearly audible at 6m50s. But what is it?
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### Author:  [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2017, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-classical-music-please/800803/2 "2017-11-05T21:42:28Z")
Not placing it…but it _feels_ like something written specifically for the show, i.e., not “classical” at all, just in a kind of Brahms-like style.
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### Author:  [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2017, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-classical-music-please/800803/3 "2017-11-05T21:52:21Z")
Moved to Cafe Society.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
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### Author:  [@The\_Piranha\_Brothers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Piranha_Brothers)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2017, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-classical-music-please/800803/4 "2017-11-05T21:55:50Z")
> [@Trinopus](#):
>
> Not placing it…but it _feels_ like something written specifically for the show, i.e., not “classical” at all, just in a kind of Brahms-like style.
Hmm… It would surprise me if that were the case. I’d say that was beyond the range of a simple light entertainment series (it looks good but it’s actually a BBC comedy from 1969).
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### Author:  [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2017, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-classical-music-please/800803/5 "2017-11-05T23:42:29Z")
To me it sounds a lot like Elgar and bears a strong resemblance to his Pomp and Circumstance March #3, but I’m pretty sure that’s not it. It may be another Elgar piece or something else.
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### Author:  [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)
#### Post date: [November 6, 2017, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-classical-music-please/800803/6 "2017-11-06T00:33:18Z")
Probably stock music, the BBC has metric tons of it, even back then. But perhaps you could ask one of the creators, [he is on Twitter](https://twitter.com/GraemeGarden1).
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### Author:  [@The\_Piranha\_Brothers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Piranha_Brothers)
#### Post date: [November 6, 2017, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-classical-music-please/800803/7 "2017-11-06T10:43:52Z")
Thanks for the tips so far. The quiet bits of an Elgar march, best option so far.
> [@GuanoLad](#):
>
> Probably stock music, the BBC has metric tons of it, even back then. But perhaps you could ask one of the creators, [he is on Twitter](https://twitter.com/GraemeGarden1).
It’s nearly 50 years ago, I’d be surprised if he knew. Unless he has kept every script he ever was involved in and it’s mentioned there.
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### Author:  [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)
#### Post date: [November 6, 2017, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-classical-music-please/800803/8 "2017-11-06T11:06:18Z")
> [@The\_Piranha\_Brothers](#):
>
> Unless he has kept every script he ever was involved in and it’s mentioned there.
You’d be surprised. He is that kind of guy.
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### Author:  [@The\_Piranha\_Brothers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Piranha_Brothers)
#### Post date: [November 6, 2017, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-classical-music-please/800803/9 "2017-11-06T16:04:56Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#):
>
> You’d be surprised. He is that kind of guy.
I’m not that into twitter but I can try. However, it’s not at all certain if it was him (them) who picked the incidental music, or if they got to keep scripts.
So if anyone can get closer than “Elgary” that would probably still work faster.
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### Author:  [@DooWahDiddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DooWahDiddy)
#### Post date: [November 6, 2017, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-classical-music-please/800803/10 "2017-11-06T17:17:21Z")
That information wouldn’t be in the script, assuming the music doesn’t play a major part of the story (i.e. “Johnny B. Goode” in _Back to the Future_ or something). Music is added post-production by the music supervisor, and the writer probably wouldn’t know what was used.
Your best bet, if you really want to know, is to look in the credits and see who the music supervisor was, and ask them what they used. They should have cue sheets with that information.
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### Author:  [@The\_Piranha\_Brothers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Piranha_Brothers)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2017, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-classical-music-please/800803/11 "2017-11-07T10:05:21Z")
> [@DooWahDiddy](#):
>
> That information wouldn’t be in the script, assuming the music doesn’t play a major part of the story (i.e. “Johnny B. Goode” in _Back to the Future_ or something). Music is added post-production by the music supervisor, and the writer probably wouldn’t know what was used.
>
> Your best bet, if you really want to know, is to look in the credits and see who the music supervisor was, and ask them what they used. They should have cue sheets with that information.
Oh I’ve seen it sometimes in camera scripts. But the main problem: This is from 1969 TV - episodes are lost, music supervisor could be uncredited or dead, cue sheets could be anywhere. That’s why I was hoping for someone to simply recognize it.
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### Author:  [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2017, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-classical-music-please/800803/12 "2017-11-08T10:21:59Z")
If I were to guess, I’d agree with Elgar… I’d also offer up William Walton, who’s kind of the “not nearly as good as Elgar, but’ll do in a pinch” composer from the '50s and later. [Sample from his Imperial March](https://youtu.be/zGY3L_NCHjw?t=2m4s).
I’d also think **GuanoLad** has the right of it re: stock music. I know most of Monty Python’s music cues from the same era were taken from the BBC’s massive stock music vault–much of _Holy Grail_ used some pretty awesome themes from the archive.
But now I’m curious… I’m gonna check with a group that might be a good source of info.
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### Author:  [@The\_Piranha\_Brothers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Piranha_Brothers)
#### Post date: [November 17, 2017, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-classical-music-please/800803/13 "2017-11-17T17:05:07Z")
It certainly sounds very similar in arrangement to either two!
Needless to say, soundhound wasn’t able to do the trick.