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The Swingles
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The Swingles
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.
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). 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, with Legrand (sister of Michel Legrand) the original lead soprano. 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. The French group typically performed and recorded with a double bass and drums as accompaniment.
In 1973, Ward Swingle disbanded the original French group when he and his family moved to England.
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.
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.
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. The Swingles are curators of the London A Cappella Festival, based at Kings Place.
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The Swingles
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.
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). 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, with Legrand (sister of Michel Legrand) the original lead soprano. 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. The French group typically performed and recorded with a double bass and drums as accompaniment.
In 1973, Ward Swingle disbanded the original French group when he and his family moved to England.
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.
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.
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. The Swingles are curators of the London A Cappella Festival, based at Kings Place.
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