The Swingles

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Template:Short description Template:EngvarB Template:Use dmy dates Template:More citations needed Template:Infobox musical artist The Swingles are a UK-based a cappella vocal group, originally founded by Ward Swingle in 1962 in France as Les Swingle Singers. In 1973, Swingle disbanded the French ensemble and established a new UK-based iteration, initially known as Swingle II. The group later became known as The New Swingle Singers, and subsequently The Swingle Singers. Since 2014, the group has performed under the name The Swingles.

History

French group

File:SwingleSingers1964.jpg
The Swingle Singers at the Grand Gala du Disque in the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Netherlands in 1964

The Swingle Singers were formed in Paris in 1962 and directed originally by Ward Swingle (who once belonged to Mimi Perrin's French vocal group Les Double Six).<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref> They began as session singers, mainly doing backing vocals for singers such as Charles Aznavour and Edith Piaf. Their original lineup was Anne Germain, Claude Germain, Jeanette Baucomont, Christiane Legrand, Claudine Meunier, Jean-Claude Briodin, and Jean Cussac,<ref name="Larkin">Template:Cite book</ref> with Legrand (sister of Michel Legrand) the original lead soprano.<ref name=":0" /> The ensemble sang some jazz vocals for Michel Legrand.

The eight session singers sang through Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier as a sight-reading exercise and found the music to have a natural swing. They recorded their first album Jazz Sébastien Bach as a present for friends and relatives. Many radio stations picked it up and this led to the group recording more albums and winning a total of five Grammy Awards.<ref name="Larkin"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The French group typically performed and recorded with a double bass and drums as accompaniment.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1973, Ward Swingle disbanded the original French group when he and his family moved to England.<ref name=":0" />

English group

File:The Swingles jm102026.jpg
The Swingles at the Black Forest Voices Festival in Kirchzarten, Germany in 2019

In England, Swingle assembled a group of singers with an emphasis moved from classical music to a cappella arrangements of madrigals and then on to other styles. This group debuted Swingle II, and performed and recorded under the name The Swingles, The New Swingle Singers, and The Swingle Singers before settling on The Swingles.

The group has remained continuously active since its formation, with departing members replaced by audition. Ward Swingle continued as a performer in the group until retiring to the United States in 1984 and taking the role of "musical adviser" to the Swingles until his death in 2015.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Until 2011, the group consisted of eight voices: two sopranos, two altos, two tenors and two basses. However, when alto Lucy Bailey left the group in 2011, the Swingles announced the decision not to replace her, but to continue as a seven-person line-up.<ref name="New Swingle Announced"/>

The current group performs primarily, but not exclusively, a cappella and over the decades has explored a wide range of styles, from show tunes to rock to avant garde to world folkloric music to straight ahead jazz to classical, including the entire repertoire of the original Swingle Singers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Swingles are curators of the London A Cappella Festival, based at Kings Place.<ref name=":0" />

Template:As of, the members are:

Performances and releases

An early hit for the group was Bach's "Air on the G String", recorded with the Modern Jazz Quartet; it has been used as the theme tune to a popular Italian TV Show, Superquark,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> as well as the Swedish Children's program, Beppes godnattstund, hosted by Beppe Wolgers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Luciano Berio wrote his postmodern symphony Sinfonia for eight voices and orchestra in 1968 with the Swingle Singers in mind (appearing on the original premiere recording with the New York Philharmonic).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> They also premiered Berio's A-Ronne in 1974, which they later recorded.<ref name=":0" /> They also recorded Ben Johnston's "Sonnets of Desolation" in 1984.

In 2005, their recording of Bach's Prelude in F Minor was incorporated into the hit single "They", by Jem Griffiths; the piece was also used in the 2006 film The Gigolos. The group's music has a trademark sound and is used frequently on television (The West Wing, Sex and the City, Miami Vice, Glee),<ref name="New Swingle Announced">Template:Cite web</ref> in movies (Bach's Fugue in G Minor (BWV 578) in Thank You for Smoking, Mozart's "Horn Concerto No. 4" in Wedding Crashers, Bach's "Prelude No.7 in E flat [The Well Tempered Clavier – Book 2 BWV 876]" in Milk).

The English group sang with French pop star Étienne Daho on his songs "Timide intimité" and "Soudain" from his 1996 album Eden, and with the Style Council on their song "The Story of Someone's Shoe" from the 1988 album Confessions of a Pop Group. They appeared several times on the BBC Television sketch show The Two Ronnies in the early 1970s.<ref name=":0" />

In September 2014, the French blog Dans l'ombre des studios published Swingle Singers' Pavane for a Dead Princess (Maurice Ravel), a previously unreleased 1967 recording.<ref>Rémi C., "Unreleased recording: "Pavane for a dead Princess" (Ravel) by The Swingle Singers (1967)", Dans l'ombre des studios, 28 September 2014.</ref>

Discography

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  • Jazz Sebastien Bach (Philips, 1963)
  • Anyone for Mozart? (Philips, 1964)
  • Going Baroque (Philips, 1964)
  • Les Romantiques (Philips, 1965)
  • Place Vendome with the Modern Jazz Quartet (Philips, 1966)
  • Rococo a Go Go (Philips, 1966)
  • Concerto D'Aranjuez: Sounds of Spain (Philips, 1967)
  • J. S. Bach (Philips, 1968)
  • Jazz Von Bach Bis Chopin (Philips, 1968)
  • Noels Sans Passeport (Philips, 1968)
  • Jazz Sebastian Bach Volume 2 (Philips, 1968)
  • Sinfonia/Visage with Luciano Berio, The New York Philharmonic, Cathy Berberian (CBS, 1969)
  • American Look (Philips, 1969)
  • Bitter Ending with Andre Hodeir (Epic, 1972)
  • Les 4 Saisons (Philips, 1972)
  • The Joy of Singing (Philips, 1972)
  • Attention! The Swingle Singers (Fontana, 1973)
  • Swinging Bach (Fontana, 1974)
  • Jazz Meets Baroque (Fontana, 1976)
  • Swingle Bells (Columbia, 1978)
  • Swingle Skyliner (Columbia, 1979)
  • Folio (MMG, 1980)
  • Instrumentals (Polydor, 1986)
  • Christmas (Polydor, 1986)
  • Sinfonia Eindrucke with Orchestre National De France (Erato, 1986)
  • Nothing but Blue Skies (Trax, 1988)
  • 1812 (Swingle Singers, 1989)
  • The Bach Album (Swingle Singers, 1990)
  • A Cappella Amadeus: A Mozart Celebration (Virgin, 1991)
  • Around the World/Folk Music/An A Cappela Song Collection (Virgin, 1991)
  • Notability (Swingle Singers, 1993)
  • Bach Hits Back (Virgin, 1994)
  • Pretty Ringtime: English Twentieth Century Songs (Swingle Singers, 1994)
  • New World (Swingle Singers, 1995)
  • The Story of Christmas (Primarily a Cappella 1998)
  • Screen Tested (Swingle Singers, 1998)
  • Ticket to Ride (Swingle Singers, 1999)
  • Keyboard Classics (Swingle Singers, 2002)
  • Mood Swings (Primarily a Cappella 2002)
  • Retrospective: The 40th Anniversary Show (Sounds Good 2003)
  • Unwrapped (Swingle Singers, 2004)
  • Ferris Wheels (Swingle Singers, 2009)
  • Weather to Fly (World Village 2013)
  • Snapshots, Volume 1 (2020)
  • Snapshots, Volume 2 (2021)
  • Theatreland (2024)

Past members

In 2025, the past members include:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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  • = Swingle Singers 1962-72 (Only founder Ward Swingle was in both The Swingle Singers and Swingle 2/The Swingles.)

References

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Template:The Swingle Singers Template:Grammy Award for Best New Artist

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