Downton Abbey: The Essential Collection

Downton Abbey: The Essential Collection is the second soundtrack that accompanied the ITV historical television series Downton Abbey. Composed by John Lunn and performed by the Chamber Orchestra of London, the album consisted of 23 songs, mostly comprising the television score and four songs performed by Mary-Jess Leaverland, Rebecca Ferguson and the Scala & Kolacny Brothers. It was released on 19 September 2012 through Decca Records, two weeks after the second season's premiere.

Development
Lunn employed a 35-piece string orchestra in contrast to the previous seasons where he employed a 33-piece orchestra, and comparatively used a piano and an instrument resembling a French horn as the sole instruments for the score. The album featured the main score suite and the song based on it, "Did I Make the Most of Loving You?" performed by Mary-Jess Leaverland, while another original song "I'll Count The Days" performed by Rebecca Ferguson, who co-wrote the song with Don Black. Scala & Kolacny Brothers performed the cover of U2's "With or Without You" (1987) and The Police's "Every Breath You Take" (1983) which was featured in the album, except for their cover of "Last Christmas" (originally performed by George Michael and Wham!).

Personnel
Credits adapted from liner notes.
 * Composer – John Lunn (tracks: 1–18, 20–22)
 * Producer – John Lunn (tracks: 1–18, 20–22), Steven & Stijn Kolacny (track: 19, 23)
 * Orchestra – The Chamber Orchestra Of London
 * Conductor – Alastair King
 * Recording and mixing – Paul Golding
 * Mastering – Nick Watson
 * Piano – John Lunn (tracks: 6, 9, 11, 12, 13, 16, 18)