A list of all music in Midsomer Murders. Please note: this is a tracking list, which means it is not yet complete.

Already watched: Pilot, Seasons 01-15, as well as information that I have already compiled before.

Note: There isn’t much to discover just yet – essays will be published gradually from late May. Until autumn, think of this more as a gateway than a library.

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A wide variety of music is played in Midsomer Murders. I’m collecting all of it – except for the background score. First, I’ll list all pieces composed specifically for the series, regardless of genre. Then I’ll sort them by genre.

 

Music composed specifically for Midsomer Murders

• Agnus Dei (Jim Parker) (S01E02: Death of a Hollow Man)
• NN (‚Find your life / Why should all my love just turn away? / Pretending it’s not needed in my life / And why is love a game. / Even if I show…‘) (S07E04: Sins of Commission)
• NN (‚… banished from our heart is she / Firelight and sing refrain / Vanquish darkness with her name / Evil spirits…‘) (S07E06: The Straw Woman)
• Libera Me (Jim Parker) (08×06: Hidden Depth)
• Midsomer Rhapsody (probably Jim Parker) (S08E08: Midsomer Rhapsody)
• NN (‚You gotta rock it in the cradle / Roll under the table / Never take it easy / Gotta live it nice and sleazy / Party till you’re drunk / Ain’t never gonna stop / Got nothing to lose / Sing the doll house blues with me / Well ,yeah, yeah, yeah,…‘)  (After these ‚yeahs‘, Mimi dies from electric shock) (S10E04: The Axeman Cometh)
• The Ballad of Midsomer County (Seth Lakeman) (S17E03: The Ballad of Midsomer County)

 

Traditionals and children’s songs

• Auld Lang Syne (S06E02: Death and Dreams)
• Irish Jig – at the party, Troy plays the spoons (sorry, can’t recognise it) (S06E02: Death and Dreams)
• Sumer is icumen (Medieval English round) (S02E01: Death‘s Shadow, S09E01: The House in the Woods)
• Calon Lân (walisisches traditional hymn) (S10E05: Death and Dust)
• And the Green Grass Grows All Around (folk song from the Appalachians) (S12E05: Small Mercies) – it’s not a British song, but US-American
• Irish Reel – at the start of the Crazy Craft Race (sorry, can’t recognise it) (S12E05: Small Mercies)
• Drink to me only with thine eyes – Joyce and Cully listen to it at the concert (Ben John) (S13E04: The Silent Land)
• The North Country Lass („The Oak and the Ash“) – Joyce and Cully listen to it in the car radio (S13E04: The Silent Land)
• The Unquiet Grave – Joyce (and later Tom) listens to it at home (S13E04: The Silent Land)

 

Songs that were popular during the Great War and World War II

• Give Me the Moonlight: Give Me the Girl (And Leave the Rest to Me) (Albert von Tilzer) (S08E03: Orchis Fatalis)
• We’ll Meet Again (Ross Parker, Hughie Charles) (S08E08: Midsomer Rhapsody)
• Hokey Cokey (Hokey Pokey) (Al Tabor) (S10E01: Dance with the Dead)
• Goodnight Sweetheart all my prayers are for you) (Ray Noble) (S10E01: Dance with the Dead)
• I‘ll Be Seeing You (Sammy Fain) (S10E01: Dance with the Dead)
• Chattanooga Choo Choo (Harry Warren) (S10E01: Dance with the Dead)
• Mademoiselle from Armentières (Traditional French army song) (S11E01: Shot at Dawn – sung by “Lionel Hicks” before he picks up the RC car rigged with explosives, S13E05: Master Class – in the pub)
• The Galloping Major (Fred W. Leigh) (S11E01: Shot at Dawn) – sung by “Kate Hammond” during the re-eanctment
• Colonel Bogey March Kenneth Alford) (S11E01: Shot at Dawn) – whistled by the soldiers of the Yeomanry 
• Soldiers of the Queen (Leslie Stuart) (S11E01: Shot at Dawn) – sung by “Lionel Hicks” at the very end

Brass Band

• Blue Tail Fly (Traditional) (S08E01: Things That Go Bump in the Night) – it’s not a British song, but US-American
• A brass band performing a swing number I can’t identify (S08E03: Orchis Fatalis)
• Two brass pieces whose names I cannot identify (for the arrival of the bus from Causton and for the reception of the mayor) (S13E02: The Sword of Guillaume)
• And anonther unidentified brass piece during the Midsomer Classic Car Competition (S14E01: Death in the Slow Lane)

 

Blues, Rock, Swing

• I‘m Walkin‘ (Fats Domino) (S01E01: Written in Blood)
• Tangerine (Jack Dorsey) (S04E05: Dark Autumn)
• When You Lose the One You Love (David Whitfield) (S04E05: Dark Autumn)
• The Creep (Ken Mackintosh) – runs in the background with every murder (S04E05: Dark Autumn)
• Witchcraft (Frank Sinatra) (S07E06: The Straw Woman)
• Don‘t Worry, Be Happy (Mobby McFerrin) (S08E06: Hidden Depths)
• Dimples – I love the way you walk (Delroy Wilson); In this case, intoned by Tom Barnaby and Jack McKinley (S10E04: The Axeman Cometh)
• That’s the Way (I Like It) (KC and the Sunshine band), spoken by Jessica Wingate while blackmailing her mother (S14E01: Death in the Slow Lane)

 

Church Hymns

• For those in Peril on the sea (Tom Barnaby mentions it as a possible hymn that could be sung at a silver wedding anniversary service – and sings it) (S02E01: Death‘s Shadow)
• All Things Bright and Beautiful (Joyce Barnaby mentions it as a possible hymn that could be sung at a silver wedding anniversary service) (S02E01: Death‘s Shadow)
• There is a Green Hill (Joyce Barnaby mentions it as a possible hymn that could be sung at a silver wedding anniversary service) (S02E01: Death‘s Shadow)
• Onward, Christian Soldiers (Joyce Barnaby mentions it as a possible hymn that could be sung at a silver wedding anniversary service) (S02E01: Death‘s Shadow)
• Glory to thee, my God, this night (Thomas Tallis) (S08E01: Things That Go Bump in the Night)
• Abide with me (S16E02: Let Us Prey)

 

Christmas Carols

• God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (uncredited) – Carol Singers mit Joyce (S11E06: Days of Misrule)
• Hark, the Herald Angels Sing (Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy) – Carol Singers mit Joyce (S11E06: Days of Misrule)
• O Come All Ye Faithful (disputed authorship) – Carol Singers mit Joyce (S11E06: Days of Misrule)
• Joy to the World (Lowell Mason) (S11E06: Days of Misrule)
• We Wish You a Merry Christmas (uncredited) (S11E06: Days of Misrule)
• Good King Wenceslas (Thomas Helmore) (S11E06: Days of Misrule)

 

Choral Works

• Jerusalem (Hubert Parry) (S05E04: Murder on St Malley‘s Day)
• unknown piece at the beginning (S09E07: Death in Chorus)
• Fair Phyllis (John Farmer) (S09E07: Death in Chorus)
• Calon Lân (Welsh traditional) (S10E05: Death and Dust)
• Daisy Bell (Harry Dacre) – programmed into an IBM 704 in 1961 at Bell Labs as the earliest demonstration of computer speech synthesis“ (IMDB) (S12E04: The Glitch)
• Kyrie (David Hewson) (S13E01: The Made-to-Measure Murders)
• Lacrimosa (from Requiem by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) (S13E01: The Made-to-Measure Murders & S24E01: The Devil‘s Work)
• Dies irae (from Requiem by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) (S24E01: The Devil‘s Work)

 

Arias

• An aria from Madame Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini (S03E01: Death of a Stranger)
• Habanera from Carmen by Georges Bizet (S01E02: Death of a Hollow Man)

 

Classical, instrumental music

• The Wedding March (from A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy) (Pilot: The Killings at Badger’s Drift)
• See the Conqu‘ring Hero Comes (from Judas Maccabaeus by Georg Friedrich Handel) (S03E03: Judgement Day)
• Piano Sonata No. 11 („Rondo Alla Turca“) (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) (S06E02: Death and Dreams, S13E05: Master Class – someone auditions in front of the Fielding sisters)
• Nocturne op. 9 no. 1 in B flat minor (Frédéric Chopin) (S09E01: The House in the Woods)
• Plaisir d‘Amour (Jean-Paul-Égide Martini) (S09E01: The House in the Woods)
• Für Elise (For Elise) (Ludwig van Beethoven) (S09E02: Dead Letters)
• Au fond du temple saint (Tenor-baritone duet from Georges Bizet‘s Les pêcherurs de perles/The Pearl Fishers) (S09E04: Down Among the Dead Men)
• Prelude and Fugue in C major (Johann Sebastian Bach) (S09E04: Down Among the Dead Men)
• Zadok the Priest (George Frederic Handel) (S09E05: Four Funerals and a Wedding)
• Bridal Chorus („Treulich gefuehrt“ from Lohengrin by Richard Wagner) (S11E02: Blood Wedding – two times: First for Beth Porteous & Sir Edward „Ned“ Fitzroy, at the end for Cully Barnaby & Simon Dixon)
• Nocturne in C#m (Gary Schmidt) (S13E02: The Sword of Guillaume)
• A piece that I couldn’t identify (S13E05: Master Class – Zoë Stock auditions in front of the Fielding sisters)
• Children‘s Corner L. 113 (Claude Debussy) (S13E05: Master Class – Benedict Marsh auditions for Sir Michael Fielding‘s Masterclass)
• Étude Op. 10, No. 12 („Revolutionary Étude“) (Frédéric Chopin) (S13E05: Master Class – Orlando Guest auditions for Sir Michael Fielding‘s Masterclass)
• Arabesque in C major, Op. 18 (Robert Schumann) (S13E05: Master Class – Francesca Sharpe auditions for Sir Michael Fielding‘s Masterclass)
• Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13 („Pathétique“) (Ludwig van Beethoven) (S13E05: Master Class – Zoë Stock auditions for Sir Michael Fielding‘s Masterclass)
• Solfeggio in C minor, H. 220, Wq. 117/2 (Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach) (S13E05: Master Class – Zoë Stock’s rehearsal with Sir Michael)
• (not sure) Prelude and Fugue in E minor, BWV 548 (J.S. Bach) (S13E05: Master Class – Zoë playing the organ)
• Étude Op. 10, No. 3 (Frédéric Chopin) (S13E05: Master Class – Francesca Sharpe’s rehearsal with Sir Michael)
• Liebestod (from Tristan und Isolde by Richard Wagner) (S13E05: Master Class – Sir Michael’s tryst with Mrs Sharpe)
• Impromptu No. 3 in G flat Major, D. 899 (Op. 90) (Franz Schubert) (S13E05: Master Class – Zoë Stock and Sir Michael during her next rehearsal, followed by the evening when Zoë is shown into his presence, and finally, during Sir Michael’s declaration of love)
• Nocturne No. 2 in E flat minor, Op. 9, No. 2 (Frédéric Chopin) (S13E05: Master Class – Benedict Marsh playing the piano in the restaurant)
• Vestri La Giubba (from Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo) (S19E02: Crime and Punishment)
• Cellosuite Nr. 1 in G-Dur (Johann Sebastian Bach) (S23E02: The Debt of Lies)

 

Other Music

• Who Killed Cock Robin (nursery rhyme used as a reference for the title of an episode) (S04E04: Who Killed Cock Robin?)
• We Shall Overcome (Protest song that played an important role in the US civil rights movement) (S11E03: Left For Dead)
• Soul Limbo (Booker T. & the M.G.s) – typical tune of the BBC’s coverage of Test matches (S12E04: The Glitch)
• West End Girl von Pet Shop Boys (S12E06: The Creeper)

 

Back to the overview

 

🤓 Read more about Midsomer Murders & History

The Chronology of Midsomer County by Year or by Episodes
Deep Dives into Midsomer & History

This is an independent, non-commercial project. I am not connected to Bentley Productions, ITV or the actors.