Donald Ibrahim Swann (30 September 1923 – 23 March 1994) was a British composer, musician, singer and entertainer. He was one half of

Flanders and Swann Flanders and Swann were a British comedy duo and musicians. Michael Flanders (1922–1975) was a lyricist, actor, and singer. He collaborated with Donald Swann (1923–1994), a composer and pianist, in writing and performing comedy music, comic ...

, writing and performing comic songs with Michael Flanders.

Early life

Donald Swann was born in

Llanelli ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire and the Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is on the estuary of the River Loughor and is the largest town in the Principal areas of Wales, ...

, Carmarthenshire, Wales. His father, Herbert Alfredovich Swann, was a Russian doctor of English descent, from the expatriate community that started out as the

Muscovy Company The Muscovy Company (also called the Russia Company or the Muscovy Trading Company; ) was an English trading company chartered in 1555. It was the first major Chartered company, chartered joint-stock company, the precursor of the type of business ...

. His mother, Naguimé Sultán Swann (born Piszóva), was a Turkmen-Russian nurse from

Ashgabat Ashgabat (Turkmen language, Turkmen: ''Aşgabat'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Turkmenistan. It lies between the Karakum Desert and the Kopet Dag, Kopetdag mountain range in Central Asia, approximately 50 km (30 ...

, now part of

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

. They were refugees from the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

. Swann's great-grandfather, Alfred Trout Swan, a draper from

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

, emigrated to Russia in 1840 and married the daughter of the horologist to the tsars. Some time later the family added a second 'n' to their surname. His uncle Alfred wrote the first biography of Alexander Scriabin in English. The family moved to London, where Swann attended Dulwich College Preparatory School and

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

. It was at the latter that he first met Michael Flanders, a fellow pupil. In July and August 1940 they staged a revue called ''Go To It''. The pair then went their separate ways during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, but were later to establish a musical partnership. In 1941 Swann was awarded an

exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibiti ...

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, to read modern languages. He was a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

and pacifist. In 1942 he registered as a

conscientious objector A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...

and served with the Friends' Ambulance Unit (a

relief organisation) in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

and

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. After the war, Swann returned to Oxford to read Russian and

Modern Greek Modern Greek (, or , ), generally referred to by speakers simply as Greek (, ), refers collectively to the dialects of the Greek language spoken in the modern era, including the official standardized form of the language sometimes referred to ...

. His musical work with Michael Flanders involved writing songs with intelligent patter and light opera, Flanders providing the words and Swann composing the music.

Career

When by chance Swann and Flanders met again in 1948 it led to the start of their professional partnership. They began writing songs and light opera, Swann writing the music and Flanders writing the words. Their songs were performed by artists such as Ian Wallace and

Joyce Grenfell Joyce Irene Grenfell (''née'' Phipps; 10 February 1910 – 30 November 1979) was an English diseuse, singer, actress and writer. She was known for the songs and monologues she wrote and performed, at first in revues and later in her solo show ...

. They subsequently wrote two two-man revues, '' At the Drop of a Hat'' and '' At the Drop of Another Hat'', which they performed all over the world until their partnership ended in 1967. At the same time, Swann was maintaining a prolific musical output, writing the music for several operas and operettas, including a full-length version of

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer, literary scholar and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Magdalen College, Oxford (1925–1954), and Magdalen ...

's '' Perelandra'', and a setting of

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson ...

's poems from ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually d ...

'' to music in ''

The Road Goes Ever On ''The Road Goes Ever On'' is a song cycle first published in 1967 as a book of sheet music and as an audio recording. The music was written by the entertainer Donald Swann, and the words are taken from poems in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth ...

'' song cycle. In 1953–59 Swann provided music for seven plays by Henry Reed on the

BBC Third Programme The BBC Third Programme was a national radio station produced and broadcast from 1946 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 3. It first went on the air on 29 September 1946 and became one of the leading cultural and intellectual forces ...

, generally known as the Hilda Tablet plays after one of the fictional characters, a lady composer of avant-garde "musique concrète renforcée". Besides incidental music, Swann composed for this character an opera, "Emily Butter" and several other complete works. A lifelong friendship with Sydney Carter resulted in scores of songs, the best known being "The Youth of the Heart" which reappeared in ''At the Drop of A Hat'', and a musical ''Lucy and the Hunter''. After his partnership with Flanders ended, Swann continued to give solo concerts and to write for other singers. He also formed the ''Swann Singers'' and toured with them in the 1970s. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, he continued performing in various combinations with singers and colleagues and as a solo artist. One such was a jazz partnership with trumpeter Digby Fairweather and vocalist Lisa Lincoln for the ''Swann in Jazz'' series of concerts and the 1994 CD. It is estimated that Swann wrote or set to music nearly 2,000 songs throughout his career. He wrote a number of

hymn tune A hymn tune is the melody of a musical composition to which a hymn text is sung. Musically speaking, a hymn is generally understood to have four-part (or more) harmony, a fast harmonic rhythm (chords change frequently), with or without refrain ...

s which appear in modern standard hymn books. In the later years of his life he 'discovered' Victorian poetry and composed some of his most profound and moving songs, settings of

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of the Roma ...

Emily Dickinson Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry. Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massac ...

Christina Rossetti Christina Georgina Rossetti (5 December 1830 – 29 December 1894) was an English writer of romanticism, romantic, devotional and children's poems, including "Goblin Market" and "Remember". She also wrote the words of two Christmas carols well k ...

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

and others. A selection of his solo songs were recorded on a Hyperion double CD issued in 2017.

Personal life

Donald Swann was married twice; he married Janet Oxborrow in 1955 and they were divorced in 1983. His second wife was the art historian Alison Smith. From 1961 until his death his address was 13 Albert Bridge Road, London SW11. In the 1970s, Swann became a Sponsor of the Peace Pledge Union.

Death

In 1992 he was diagnosed with cancer. He died at Trinity Hospice in South London on 23 March 1994.

Discography

Flanders and Swann

* 1957 – ''Excerpts from at the Drop of a Hat'' ( EP) * 1957 – ''More Excerpts from at the Drop of a Hat'' (EP) * 1957 – ''More out of the Hat!'' (EP) * 1959 – ''Little Drummer Boy/The Storke Carol'' (EP) * 1960 – ''At The Drop of a Hat'' (produced by

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the Beatle ...

) * 1961 – ''The Bestiary of Flanders & Swann'' (EP) * 1964 – ''At The Drop of Another Hat'' (produced by George Martin) * 1964 – ''Favourites from at the Drop of Another Hat'' (EP) * 1964 – ''More out of the New Hat'' (EP) * 1966 – ''EMI Comedy Classics'' (''Hat'' and ''Another Hat'' on two cassettes) * 1967 – ''The Bestiary of Flanders & Swann'' (produced by George Martin) * 1975 – ''And Then We Wrote...'' * 1977 – ''Tried by the Centre Court'' * 1994 – ''The Complete Flanders & Swann'' (first three albums in a boxed set) * 1994 – ''A Transport of Delight: The Best of Flanders & Swann'' * 1997 – ''More out of the Drop of a Hat – Again!'' (double cassette) * 1999 – ''The Flanders and Swann Collection'' * 2000 – ''A Drop of Hilarity from Flanders & Swann'' * 2007 – ''Hat Trick: Flanders & Swann Collector's Edition''

Other audio

* 1951 – ''The Youth of the Heart'' (

78 rpm A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English) or a vinyl record (for later varieties only) is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The g ...

) * 1958 – ''London Sketches'' (Donald Swann & Sebastian Shaw) * 1963 – ''Festival Matins'' (EP) * 1964 – ''Songs of Faith & Doubt'' (EP) * 1965 – ''For The Love of Betjeman'' (Donald Swann & John Betjeman, EP) * 1966 – ''Donald Swann & the Choir of the Friends' School, Saffron Walden'' (EP) * 1967 – ''

Poems and Songs of Middle Earth ''Poems and Songs of Middle Earth'' is a studio album of Spoken word, spoken-word poetry by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien and art songs composed by the English musician Donald Swann. On the first half of the album, Tolkien recit ...

'' (J. R. R. Tolkien, Donald Swann, and William Elvin) * 1968 – ''Sing Round The Year'' (Boys of Westminster School and Girls of Mayfield Putney) * 1970 – ''An Evening in Crete'' (Donald Swann & Lilli Malandraki) * 1971 – ''The Song of Caedmon'' (Donald Swann & Arthur Scholey, EP) * 1973 – ''A Crack in Time'' (The Swann Singers) * 1973 – ''Wacky & His Fuddlejig'' (Donald Swann & Arthur Scholey, narrated by

Peter Ustinov Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov (16 April 192128 March 2004) was a British actor, director and writer. An internationally known raconteur, he was a fixture on television talk shows and lecture circuits for much of his career. Ustinov received #Awa ...

, EP) * 1973 – ''The Rope of Love'' (The Swann Singers) * 1975 – ''The Five Scrolls'' or "The Five Seasons of God" (Donald Swann & Rabbi Albert Friedlander) * 1975 – ''The Parable of the Lost Sons'' (Donald Swann & The

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

Youth Choir, EP) * 1980 – ''Radio Orwell'' (The Olive Quantrill Singers) * 1981 – ''Swann with Topping'' (Donald Swann & Frank Topping) * 1984 – ''Requiem for the Living'' (Donald Swann &

Cecil Day-Lewis Cecil Day-Lewis (or Day Lewis; 27 April 1904 – 22 May 1972), often written as C. Day-Lewis, was an Anglo-Irish poet and Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1968 until his death in 1972. He also wrote mystery stories under the pseudony ...

) * 1989 – ''Alphabetaphon'' (Donald Swann, 3 cassettes) * 1992 – ''Amiscellany'' (Donald Swann & John Amis) * 1994 – ''Swann in Jazz'' * 1999 – ''The Isles of Greece''

Printed music

* * * * * * *

Books

* * * *

Father's autobiography

References

Other sources

"Milestones Apr. 4, 1994"
''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

''. 4 April 1994. 143 (14): p. 19. (obituary)

External links

Official website
* *

at Llanelli Community Heritage * {{DEFAULTSORT:Swann, Donald 1923 births 1994 deaths 20th-century British classical composers 20th-century English comedians 20th-century English composers 20th-century English male musicians 20th-century English male singers 20th-century Quakers Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Composers from London Deaths from cancer in England English Anglicans English Christian pacifists English classical composers English comedy musicians English conscientious objectors English light music composers English male classical composers English male opera composers English opera composers English people of Russian descent People associated with the Friends' Ambulance Unit English Quakers Musicians from London People educated at Westminster School, London People from Llanelli