The Classic 100 – ABC Classic FM's annual survey of listener favourites – returns with a celebration of the musical instrument with which we are all born: the human voice.

Composers have created some of the most beautiful classical music for singers – whether it's the drama of the opera stage or the delights of operetta, the sublime beauty of great choral music or the intimate intensity of classical song.

Singing is as old as human society. We lift our voices to celebrate and remember, to pour out our deepest emotions and to make our spirits soar, to tell one another stories and to make ourselves laugh. Long before music was written down, we sang to one another to pass on legends and traditions, and to express love and praise.

In the Middle Ages, song was a vital part of religious and secular life. From the Renaissance, vocal music evolved from simple chants to more complex music, often with instrumental accompaniment. Over time, music written for the voice has become central to the classical tradition.