The soundtrack to The Lord Of The Rings has been voted the nation’s favourite film music in the Classic FM Movie Music Hall Of Fame 2023.

The Canadian composer Howard Shore’s score beat the likes of Schindler’s List, which was runner-up, and Star Wars, which came in third.

More than 10,000 votes were cast by members of the public in a poll to find the nation’s most popular piece of film music, which saw the soundtrack for the films based on the books of Oxford author JRR Tolkien come out on top.

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Oxford Mail: File photo dated 29/2/2004 of Howard Shore

The top 100 were played on Classic FM before the number one was revealed by chat show host and radio presenter Jonathan Ross just before 7pm on Monday.

He said: “I’m so thrilled to see The Lord Of The Rings make it to number one in this incredible celebration of history’s greatest film scores in the Classic FM Movie Music Hall of Fame.

“JRR Tolkien’s adventures are beautiful, spectacular films, but the experience is so enhanced by the incredible score that I’m delighted to see Howard Shore’s music getting this much love.”

Reacting to the news, Mr Shore said: “Many thanks to all the Classic FM listeners. I’m very happy that I was able to bring you a little closer to JRR Tolkien’s Middle-earth.”

Other music in the top 20 included the soundtracks of Gladiator, Chariots Of Fire, Titanic, Pirates Of The Caribbean, and Interstellar.

John Williams proved to be the nation’s favourite composer in the list with five entries in the top 20 alone – Schindler’s List, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Jurassic Park, and Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone.

The first Lord Of The Rings film in the trilogy premiered in 2001 and won Oscars for visual effects, make-up, cinematography, and music for its original score.

More recently, it has enjoyed a resurgence with the launch of The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power TV series, after season one was released in 2022.

It comes as an Oxford pub could get a new Tolkien tribute under new plans lodged with the council. 

Refurbishment plans for the Eagle and Child, the watering hole that was once a favourite of fantasy writers' group The Inklings, include a brickwork representation of the Star of Fëanor taken straight from the pages of Tolkien’s celebrated book.

If Oxford City Council approve the plans, an abstract depiction of both the star and the door would be built in a section of brickwork at the pub in St Giles’.