Donald Swann

• 1. A Welsh Birth And Russian Roots

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  Donald Ibrahim Swann entered the world on the 30th of September 1923 in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire. His father Herbert Alfredovich Swann was a Russian doctor of English descent from the expatriate community that began as the Muscovy Company. His mother Naguimé Sultán Swann was a Turkmen-Russian nurse born Piszóva in Ashgabat. They were refugees who fled the Russian Revolution to find safety abroad. The family name originally appeared as Trout Swan before they added an extra n during their time in Russia. A great-grandfather named Alfred Trout Swan had emigrated from Lincolnshire to Russia in 1840. He married the daughter of the horologist to the tsars and later his uncle wrote the first biography of Alexander Scriabin in English. The family eventually moved to London where Donald attended Dulwich College Preparatory School. He then went to Westminster School where he first met Michael Flanders. In July and August 1940 they staged a revue called Go To It together.

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• 2. Conscientious Objector And War Service

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  Swann held Quaker beliefs which made him a pacifist during the height of World War II. In 1942 he registered as a conscientious objector to avoid military service. He chose instead to serve with the Friends' Ambulance Unit throughout Egypt, Palestine and Greece. This Quaker relief organisation provided medical aid to those caught in the conflict zones. After the war ended Swann returned to Oxford University to read Russian and Modern Greek. He had previously been awarded an exhibition to Christ Church, Oxford to study modern languages in 1941. His choice to work with the ambulance unit reflected his deep commitment to non-violence. The experience shaped his worldview before he ever began writing songs professionally again.

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• 3. The Flanders Partnership And Global Tours

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  Chance brought Swann and Flanders back together in 1948 after years apart. They started their professional partnership by writing comic songs for each other to perform. Swann composed the music while Flanders wrote the words for their material. Their songs were performed by artists such as Ian Wallace and Joyce Grenfell. They subsequently created two two-man revues titled At the Drop of a Hat and At the Drop of Another Hat. These shows toured all over the world until their partnership ended in 1967. George Martin produced several albums including the 1959 release of At The Drop of a Hat. A second album called At The Drop of Another Hat appeared in 1964 also produced by Martin. The duo released multiple EPs between 1957 and 1966 including More out of the Hat! and The Bestiary of Flanders & Swann. Their final joint recordings included The Complete Flanders & Swann boxed set issued in 1994.

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• 4. Solo Operas And Literary Settings

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  Swann maintained a prolific musical output alongside his comedy work with Flanders. He wrote music for several operas including a full-length version of C. S. Lewis's Perelandra. He set J. R. R. Tolkien's poems from The Lord of the Rings to music in The Road Goes Ever On song cycle. Between 1953 and 1959 he provided music for seven plays by Henry Reed on the BBC Third Programme. These productions became known as the Hilda Tablet plays after one of the fictional characters. Swann composed an opera named Emily Butter for this character along with other complete works. A lifelong friendship with Sydney Carter resulted in scores of songs including The Youth of the Heart. This track later reappeared in At the Drop of A Hat. He also created a musical titled Lucy and the Hunter during this period. His output spanned nearly 2,000 songs throughout his entire career according to estimates.

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• 5. Later Years And Enduring Legacy

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  After his partnership with Flanders ended Swann continued to give solo concerts and write for other singers. He formed the Swann Singers and toured with them in the 1970s. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s he performed in various combinations with colleagues as a solo artist. One notable project was a jazz partnership with trumpeter Digby Fairweather and vocalist Lisa Lincoln. They produced the Swann in Jazz series of concerts and released a CD called Spirit of Jazz SOJ-CD020695 in 1994. In the later years of his life he discovered Victorian poetry and composed profound settings of William Blake and Emily Dickinson. He also set works by Christina Rossetti and Oscar Wilde to music. A selection of his solo songs were recorded on a Hyperion double CD issued in 2017. Donald Swann died at Trinity Hospice in South London on the 23rd of March 1994 after being diagnosed with cancer in 1992. His address from 1961 until death was 13 Albert Bridge Road, London SW11.

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