Giles Swayne
Encyclopedia
Giles Oliver Cairnes Swayne (born Hertfordshire
, 30 June 1946) is a British
composer
.
. He spent much of his childhood in Liverpool
, and began composing at a young age. He was educated at Ampleforth College
and at Cambridge University, where he worked with Raymond Leppard
and Nicholas Maw
before spending three years at the Royal Academy of Music
as a student of Harrison Birtwistle
, Alan Bush
and, once again, Maw. During the years 1976 to 1977 he attended several of Olivier Messiaen
's classes at the Paris Conservatoire and from 1981 to 1982 made a study visit to the Gambia and southern Senegal
– a formative experience he put to creative use as composer-in-residence to the London borough of Hounslow, 1980–83. Together with his second wife, the Ghanaian, Naaotwa Codjoe, he lived in a village near Accra, Ghana
, from 1990 to 1996; he has now settled in London.
Contains biography and complete worklist
List of works published by Novello & Co.
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, 30 June 1946) is a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
.
Biography
Swayne is a cousin of Elizabeth MaconchyElizabeth Maconchy
Dame Elizabeth Violet Maconchy Le Fanu DBE was an English composer, most noted for her cycle of thirteen string quartets.-Biography:...
. He spent much of his childhood in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, and began composing at a young age. He was educated at Ampleforth College
Ampleforth College
Ampleforth College in North Yorkshire, England, is the largest Roman Catholic co-educational boarding independent school in the United Kingdom. It opened in 1802, as a boys' school, and is run by the Benedictine monks and lay staff of Ampleforth Abbey...
and at Cambridge University, where he worked with Raymond Leppard
Raymond Leppard
Raymond "Def" Leppard, CBE is a British conductor and harpsichordist.He was born in London and grew up in Bath, where he was educated at the City of Bath Boys' School, now known as the Beechen Cliff School...
and Nicholas Maw
Nicholas Maw
John Nicholas Maw was a British composer.-Biography:Born in Grantham, Lincolnshire, Maw was the son of Clarence Frederick Maw and Hilda Ellen Chambers. He attended the Wennington School, a boarding school, in Wetherby in the West Riding of Yorkshire. His mother died of tuberculosis when he was 14...
before spending three years at the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
as a student of Harrison Birtwistle
Harrison Birtwistle
Sir Harrison Paul Birtwistle CH is a British contemporary composer.-Life:Birtwistle was born in Accrington, a mill town in Lancashire some 20 miles north of Manchester. His interest in music was encouraged by his mother, who bought him a clarinet when he was seven, and arranged for him to have...
, Alan Bush
Alan Bush
Alan Dudley Bush was a British composer and pianist. He was a committed socialist, and politics sometimes provided central themes in his music.-Personal life:...
and, once again, Maw. During the years 1976 to 1977 he attended several of Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen was a French composer, organist and ornithologist, one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex ; harmonically and melodically it is based on modes of limited transposition, which he abstracted from his early compositions and improvisations...
's classes at the Paris Conservatoire and from 1981 to 1982 made a study visit to the Gambia and southern Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
– a formative experience he put to creative use as composer-in-residence to the London borough of Hounslow, 1980–83. Together with his second wife, the Ghanaian, Naaotwa Codjoe, he lived in a village near Accra, Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
, from 1990 to 1996; he has now settled in London.
Selected compositions
- CRY, opus 27 for 28 solo voices and electronics, commissioned by the BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and premiered in 1980 (recorded on the label NMC by the BBC Singers conducted by John Poole) - Magnificat, 1982
- String QuartetString quartetA string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...
s 1 – 3 (1971 to 1993) - Goodnight Sweet Ladies for soprano and piano, commissioned by Lord HarewoodGeorge Lascelles, 7th Earl of HarewoodGeorge Henry Hubert Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood, KBE AM , styled The Hon. George Lascelles before 1929 and Viscount Lascelles between 1929 and 1947, was the elder son of the 6th Earl of Harewood , and Princess Mary, Princess Royal, the only daughter of King George V of the United Kingdom and...
and written 1994–5 (http://www.chester-novello.com/work/14609/main.html) - The Silent Land, for cello and choir, premiered in 1998
- HAVOC, for accompanied choir - a sequel to CRY; premiered 1999
- Le Nozze di Cherubino (opera, premiere 22 January 1985 London)
External links
- Autobiography at Gonzaga Publishers Included instead of the biography at Schirmer, which mostly duplicates it.
- Giles Swayne's web-page
Contains biography and complete worklist
List of works published by Novello & Co.