Donald Swann is best known as one half of the comic duo Flanders and Swann, who dominated the West End and Broadway stages in the late 1950s and 1960s. Though less recognised, he was also a leading exponent of the lyric song,having reinterpreted the English art-song tradition, exemplified by Parry, Quilter, Warlock and others, in his own distinctive and exotic way.
This second volume of his songs for Medium Voice and Piano, features a range ofstyles and moods that fit with the diversity of the poems he has set and demonstrate his sensitivity to the setting of texts to music. These Practical Versions of Swann’s ever evolving songs are a wonderful insight intothecomposer’s ability and justify his place in the canon of English song.
