SET BY SWANN

Marion Studholme (soprano), Andrew Downie (tenor) and William Elvin (baritone) were the regular team with occasional appearances by Ian Wallace and other singers. Donald's show featured his settings of poetry to music; Betjeman, Byron, Froissart, Pushkin, Ronsard, Shakespeare, Wilde and, of course, Tolkien. November 1969 saw a tour of the USA and Canada.

First Performance: Palace Theatre Watford, 12 June 1966

SET BY SWANN, Town Hall, Oxford.19 Feb 1969

AN EVENING IN CRETE

Donald's performing partnership with Cretan-born soprano Lilli Malandraki dates back to the early 1950s, but really took off in the 1960s with their show MOSTLY ABOUT CRETE, later becoming AN EVENING IN CRETE, which was made into an LP. Tours of the UK – and Cyprus.

First Performance: Coventry Cathedral, July 1966.

Theatre Royal, Bath, 12-13 June 1969

SOUNDINGS BY SWANN

Began at the Edinburgh Festival with a handpicked London choir. Expanded into a touring programme using local choirs and organists. Centred around THIS IS THE TALE OF BONTZYE SHWEIG coupled with an informal approach to Donald's religious music, Narrated by actor Barry Wilsher and produced by Jill Wilsher. Tours all over the UK, Canada & the USA.

First Performance: Augustine-Bristo Church, Edinburgh, 26 Aug 1968.

SOUNDINGS BY SWANN, Christ Church. Grosse, Point, Michegan USA, 1 Nov 1970

EXPLORATIONS ONE

Devised as a lecture recital with Sydney Carter for audiences interested in new hymns and controversial ideas in the church. It was informal and unscripted and worked best playing to theological conferences and colleges, including a trip to the USA and Canada in 1970.

First performance: Chichester, Dec 1968

Sydney Carter

AN EVENING WITH CARTER, TAYLOR & SWANN

'Three Song-Writers in Concert'. Donald with Sydney Carter and Jeremy Taylor – three distinctive voices in the folk idiom. The show also toured Scotland and played the Queen Elizabeth Hall.

First Performance: 19 Nov 1972

Late Night Show, Hampstead Theatre, 18 Aug-18 Sept 1976

BETWEEN THE BARS

A 'choral autobiography'; one of Donald's longest running shows with his group of Swann Singers, playing all the major UK theatres and including tours of the Middle East and Italy. Two runs in London at the Cockpit and the Shaw Theatres in 1972.

First Performance: Kensington & Chelsea Library, 14 Jan 1969.

1. Plymouth Athenaeum, 4-9 Jan 1971
2. The Swann Singers – Catherine Martin, Alistair Thompson, Heather Kay, Ginny Broadbent, Brian Kay and Donald

A GLANCING BLOW

Heather Corbett, principal percussion player for BBC Scottish Orchestra added xylophone, vibraphone, glockenspiel and Hungarian cimbalom to Donald's stories and songs, recalling his Greek & Russian roots.

First Performance: Liverpool Philharmonic Club, 30 May 1975

Heather Corbett – percussive obbligato

SWANN WITH TOPPING

Donald's regular contributions to Frank Topping's radio chat show developed into a song-writing partnership that graduated naturally onto TV and live performances. A run at the Upstream Theatre Club, Waterloo led to a season at the Ambassadors Theatre in the West End.

First Performance: Opera House, Jersey 1980

RECORDINGS: LP

1. Programme Cover: Ambassadors Theatre, 2 Oct 1980
2. Donald & Frank, Clapham

SWANN AMONG THE SIRENS

"…a celebration of Donald Swann's metaphorical Greece; a dream which developed around his physical encounter with the land and its culture…"
Produced by Andrew Visnevski, The Cherub Theatre Company.

Performance: Tricycle Theatre, London, 25 Sept 1994

SWANN AMONG THE SIRENS – Programme cover: 'Six chapels, Panagia, Casos' by Alison Smith