Famous Songs and Melodies 2 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Nimrod

"Nimrod" is a very popular piece of classical music, a slow, stately, very moving work that's become associated with funerals, memorial services and other solemn occasions such as the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph.

The Variation gets its name from a bit of lateral thinking: the dedicatee of the piece is named Jaegar - Jaegar or Jager are German words for hunter - and in the Bible (Genesis 10:8-12) a man called Nimrod is described as "a mighty hunter before the Lord". Jaegar had been very helpful to Elgar, encouraging him to carry on writing music at a time when he was depressed and was about to give it all up.

The three incorrect answer options are the names of other Variations in the work.

Answer: France

"La Marseillaise" is the national anthem of France It was written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg after the declaration of war by France against Austria in the early days of the French Revolution. It proved so popular that in 1795 the Convention adopted it as the first French national anthem.

Answer: By the Sleepy Lagoon

The theme music to "Desert Island Discs" is "By the Sleepy Lagoon", written by the British composer Eric Coates in 1930 when he was inspired by a warm summer evening on the beach at Selsey. In 1940 the American songwriter Jack Lawrence chanced upon a solo piano arrangement of the tune and wrote some lyrics to set to the music. Bandleader Harry James recorded it in 1942 and it got to number one in the US Billboard Best Seller chart. Other hit versions were recorded by Glenn Miller and - appropriately - by Dinah Shore.

The instrumental version of the tune was picked up by the producer of the brand-new radio programme "Desert Island Discs" as its atmosphere and mood fit perfectly with the idea of a desert island - waving palm trees, lapping waves, bird calls and so on.

There's now a Blue Plaque at Selsey commemorating the composition of "By the Sleepy Lagoon" by Coates. He also wrote "The Dam Busters March" for the film about the RAF's 617 Squadron attacking dams in Germany using "bouncing bombs".

Answer: Greensleeves

"Greensleeves" first appeared in England in about 1580; in September 1580 it was registered at the London Stationer's Company by Richard Jones as "A Newe Northen Dittye of ye Ladye Greene Sleves". The song was composed in an Italian style that didn't reach England until after Henry's death in 1547, so the idea that he composed it, charming though it is, can be ruled out. The song can now be heard in many places and has been used by other composers such as Holst, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Jacques Brel and Leonard Cohen.

It needs to be said, however, that in Tudor times green was a colour frequently worn by prostitutes.

All the incorrect answer options are songs by Fairport Convention included on the album "Liege and Lief" - award yourself a gold star if you spotted that!

Answer: I Vow to Thee, My Country

Holst cooperated in adapting the tune of "Jupiter" to fit "I Vow to Thee, My Country", despite the lyrics being totally out of character with the original music. It has to be said that Holst's daughter, the composer Imogen Holst, felt that the original music had been compromised by its use as the melody for a solemn patriotic hymn.

Looking at the incorrect answer options, "Heart of Oak" is the official march tune of the Royal Navy and was written in 1759 by William Boyce to celebrate Britain's many notable military victories that year. "There'll Always Be an England" dates back to 1939, when it was a favourite of Vera Lynn's, and the hymn "Jerusalem" is the great words of William Blake in his poem "And did those feet in ancient time" set to music by Sir Hubert Parry in 1916. Many people think that this latter piece of music would make an ideal replacement for the current dirge that is the National Anthem.

Answer: Ralph Vaughan Williams

The piece of music is called "The Lark Ascending" and it was written by Ralph Vaughan Williams, who took his inspiration from a poem written in 1881 by George Meredith. Originally scored just for violin and piano, an orchestrated work is now more frequently performed.

It's am absolutely beautiful work, with the ethereal solo violin rising and rising in a series of cadenzas. It's also one of the most frequently chosen pieces of music on "Desert Island Discs", being voted listeners' favourite track in 2011.

The incorrect answers are all 20th century English composers.

Answer: False

It's false - an average performance of the work lasts about two minutes. The word "minute" in the title is used in its sense of small or miniature, rather than in the sense of the unit of time. It's also known as "Valse du petit chien" ("Waltz of the Puppy") - it's said that Chopin was inspired to write the piece as he was watching a small dog chase its tail.

It's perhaps most famous for its use as the theme music for the BBC Radio 4 show "Just a Minute", in which competitors are invited to talk for 60 seconds on a given subject "without hesitation, repetition or deviation". The show has been running since 1967.

Answer: Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1932

"Happy Days Are Here Again" was written in 1929 by Milton Ager (music) and Jack Yellen (lyrics), and rapidly became a standard after being featured in the 1930 film "Chasing Rainbows". Its use by Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1932 Presidential campaign came about by accident - at the Democratic National Convention that year Roosevelt's favourite song, "Anchors Aweigh", was played over and over again without really rousing the delegates. Eventually somebody shouted "For God's sake, have them play something else", which prompted the band to play "Happy Days".

This brought cheers and applause, and it become the Democratic Party's theme song for years to come.

Answer: Henry Purcell

"Dido and Aeneas" was composed by the great 17th century composer of Baroque music, Henry Purcell (1659-1695). He's generally considered to be among the finest of English opera composers. He was also the appointed organist of Westminster Abbey and of the Chapel Royal; he's buried beside the organ at the Abbey.

"Dido's Lament" is played every year by the massed bands of the Guards Division at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday.

The incorrect answers are all 16th and 17th century English composers.

Answer: Silent Night (Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht)

"Silent Night" was first performed on Christmas Eve in 1818 in the little town of Oberndorf bei Salzburg in Austria. It was then picked up by two travelling families of folk singers, and has since spread around the world. Since first being recorded in 1905 it's become the most recorded Christmas song in the world, with over 137,000 known recordings, and it's been translated into over 300 languages.

The incorrect answer option are all hymns written in the 19th century by Cecil Frances Alexander.