Swan Hennessy

Swan Hennessy (24 November 1866 – 26 October 1929) was an Irish-American composer and pianist who lived much of his life in Paris.^[1]

Biography

Swan Hennessy was born in Rockford, Illinois, of Irish origin and grew up in Chicago. His father, Michael D. Hennessy (1837–1919), was a Cork-born former President of the Chicago City Railways.^[2] There is no proof for the assertion in Baker's Dictionary that he studied "general subjects" in Oxford, England, but he may briefly have attended one of the (private) public schools there, before pursuing musical studies in Germany at the Stuttgart Conservatory,^[3] in the mid-1880s. His teacher in composition was Percy Goetschius. After travels in Italy, France and Ireland, he settled in Paris^[4] from about 1903, where he died in 1929.

Although not from Brittany, Hennessy was a member of the short-lived Association des Compositeurs Breton before World War I and continued to mix with other members including Paul Le Flem, Paul Ladmirault, Maurice Duhamel, Louis Vuillemin, and others throughout the 1920s. He died from an embolic following a routine operation;^[5] the composer Georges Migot held the funeral speech.^[6]

Hennessy was married with Claire, née Przybyszewska (1883–1947); their son Patrice Hennessy (1910–1973) became a well-known literary man. They are buried in a family plot on Montparnasse Cemetery, Paris, division 28, section III.

Music

Swan Hennessy wrote in an Impressionist style, often tending towards a late-romantic idiom. Many of his pieces with titles ending on terms like "celtique" or "irlandais" are inspired by Irish and Breton traditional folk melody, but he rarely quotes actual folktunes. As a member of the "Association des Compositeurs Bretons", he took part in many of their concerts.^[7] In a French obituary, he was called "le barde de l'Irlande" and is credited as having saved "l'ancienne mélodie celtique".^[8] He also incorporated humorous elements into his music: "Il fut un humoriste d'une verve drue dont la drôlerie était faite à la fois d'observation et d'invention, de fantaisie et de psychologie." ("He was a humourist of great verve whose humour derived from observation and invention, fantasy and psychology").^[9]

Hennessy wrote extensively for the piano, and also for many chamber music instrumentations, as well as a number of songs. Most of his chamber music dates from after World War I.

From the time Hennessy lived in Paris, his music was largely published by E. Demets and from 1923 by Max Eschig (who had taken over Demets). Other publishers include Augener (London) and Schott (Mainz).

Selected works

For a full list of compositions, see List of compositions by Swan Hennessy.

Bibliography

• Lucien Chevaillier: "Un Entretien avec Swan Hennessy", in: Le Guide du concert, 12 April 1929, p. 791–793.
• Guy Ferchault: "Hennessy, Swan", in: Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart (MGG), first edition, ed. Friedrich Blume, vol. 6 (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1957), cc. 152–153.
• Marjorie Brennan: 'Swan song for one of Cork's revolutionary heroes', in: "Irish Examiner", 31 October 2016, p. 16; online here.

Recordings

• Quatre Pièces celtiques, Op. 59, in an arrangement for cor anglais and organ, performed by Manfred Hoth (cor anglais) and Ulrich Leykam (organ), on: K&M Records, CD [undated].^[10]
• Trio, Op. 54 for two clarinets and bassoon, performed by Trio d'Ance di Bolzano, on: Rainbow RW 98107, CD (1999).
• Quatre Pièces celtiques, Op. 59, in an arrangement for cor anglais and string orchestra, performed by Rachel Tolmie (cor anglais), Bourbaki Ensemble, on: Wirripang Wirr 018, CD (2008).
• Trio, Op. 54 for two clarinets and bassoon, performed by Trio Pleyel, on: bremenradiohall records brh cd 1305, CD and downloads (2013).

References

External links

• Free scores by Swan Hennessy at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)