The Real Group
Encyclopedia
The Real Group is a professional a cappella
group from Sweden
, consisting of five members: Emma Nilsdotter, Katarina Henryson, Anders Edenroth, Morten Vinther Sørensen, and Anders Jalkéus.
The group's members compose or arrange most of the songs that they perform. A large portion of the group's recorded songs are sung in English
, with the remainder being almost entirely in Swedish
. The group cites Bobby McFerrin
as an early source of inspiration: "What we do may never have happened if we hadn't heard his [albums].".
The Real Group has performed in more than 2000 concerts worldwide. In 2002 The Real Group performed at the opening ceremony of The FIFA World Cup
in Seoul
. They performed live to the audience of 60,000. On December 22, 1993, to commemorate the fiftieth birthday of Queen Silvia of Sweden
, The Real Group backed up former ABBA
member Anni-Frid Lyngstad
in a performance of the ABBA hit "Dancing Queen
", using an a cappella arrangement that would later be released on the album "Varför får man inte bara vara som man är".
. Margareta Bengtson
had been the Soprano with the group since its inception but broke off from the group to work on her solo albums at the end of 2006. Johanna Nyström filled her spot for some time, until Emma Nilsdotter replaced her in 2008, and had her first appearance with the group in Kremlin Palace. Johanna Nyström has also filled in for both Margareta Bengtson and Katarina Henryson whenever they have been on maternity leave or otherwise away. Morten Vinther Sørensen recently joined the group to replace Peder Karlsson, who has since shifted his focus to developing The Real Academy.
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
group from Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, consisting of five members: Emma Nilsdotter, Katarina Henryson, Anders Edenroth, Morten Vinther Sørensen, and Anders Jalkéus.
The group's members compose or arrange most of the songs that they perform. A large portion of the group's recorded songs are sung in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, with the remainder being almost entirely in Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
. The group cites Bobby McFerrin
Bobby McFerrin
Robert "Bobby" McFerrin, Jr. is an American vocalist and conductor. He is best known for his 1988 hit song "Don't Worry, Be Happy". He is a ten-time Grammy Award winner.-Life:...
as an early source of inspiration: "What we do may never have happened if we hadn't heard his [albums].".
The Real Group has performed in more than 2000 concerts worldwide. In 2002 The Real Group performed at the opening ceremony of The FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
in Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
. They performed live to the audience of 60,000. On December 22, 1993, to commemorate the fiftieth birthday of Queen Silvia of Sweden
Queen Silvia of Sweden
|align=right|Queen Silvia of Sweden is the Queen consort of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. Styled Her Majesty The Queen, Silvia is the mother of the heir apparent to the throne, Crown Princess Victoria.-Childhood:Queen Silvia was born in Heidelberg, Germany, on 23 December 1943...
, The Real Group backed up former ABBA
ABBA
ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
member Anni-Frid Lyngstad
Anni-Frid Lyngstad
Anni-Frid Prinzessin Reuss von Plauen , is a Norwegian-born Swedish pop singer...
in a performance of the ABBA hit "Dancing Queen
Dancing Queen
"Dancing Queen" is a pop song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released in August 1976, but was first performed two months earlier, on 18 June 1976, during a Royal Variety Show in Stockholm the evening before the Swedish royal wedding. It was the follow-up single to the hit "Fernando"...
", using an a cappella arrangement that would later be released on the album "Varför får man inte bara vara som man är".
Member changes
The Real Group was formed in 1984, when its original members were students at the Swedish Royal College of MusicRoyal College of Music, Stockholm
The Royal College of Music, Stockholm is the oldest institution of higher education in music in Sweden, founded in 1771 as the conservatory of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music...
. Margareta Bengtson
Margareta Bengtson
Margareta Bengtson is the former soprano of The Real Group, a professional a cappella vocal jazz quintet from Sweden. She sang with the group for over twenty years and has recently announced her departure from the world-renowned ensemble.-History and Education:Bengtson comes from a very musical...
had been the Soprano with the group since its inception but broke off from the group to work on her solo albums at the end of 2006. Johanna Nyström filled her spot for some time, until Emma Nilsdotter replaced her in 2008, and had her first appearance with the group in Kremlin Palace. Johanna Nyström has also filled in for both Margareta Bengtson and Katarina Henryson whenever they have been on maternity leave or otherwise away. Morten Vinther Sørensen recently joined the group to replace Peder Karlsson, who has since shifted his focus to developing The Real Academy.
Vocal ranges of the members
- Emma Nilsdotter: ???(not posted on website)
- Katarina Henryson: From D below middle C up to high C.
- Anders Edenroth: From C below middle C up to A below high C.
- Morten Vinther Sørensen: ???(not posted on website)
- Anders Jalkéus: From contra A up to G above middle C.
Vocal ranges of previous members
- Peder Karlsson: From low E up to C above middle C.
- Johanna Nyström: ??? (not posted on website)
- Margareta Bengtson: From F below middle C up to G above high C
Discography
1987 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1987.See also:Record labels established in 1987-January-February:*January 3 – Aretha Franklin becomes the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame... |
Thirteen tracks, 3 in Swedish and the rest in English. Recorded around one microphone, where the artists used tape on the floor to denote how far/close to position themselves to the mic. | |
1989 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1989.-Events:*January 14 – Paul McCartney releases Снова в СССР exclusively in the USSR... |
Twelve tracks, all in English. | |
1991 in music See also:* 1991 in music Record labels established in 1991-Summary:The year 1991 is the year that grunge music made its popular breakthrough. Nirvana's Nevermind, led by the surprise hit single "Smells Like Teen Spirit", becomes the most popular U.S. album of the year... |
Twelve tracks, all in Swedish. | |
1994 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1994.-January–February:*January 25 – Alice in Chains release their Jar of Flies album which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming the first ever EP to do so.... |
A compilation album originally targeted at the European market. | |
1995 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1995.- January–February :*January 18 – Jerry Garcia crashes his rented BMW into a guard rail near Mill Valley, California, USA, but is not injured in the accident.... |
A compilation album originally targeted at the US market. Fourteen tracks: ten in English, two in Swedish, two with no lyrics. | |
1996 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1996.-January:* January – At the trial of two American teenagers, Nicholaus McDonald and Brian Bassett, for the murder of Bassett's parents and young brother, defense lawyers attempt to lay the blame for the murders on the fact... |
Twelve tracks, all in Swedish. | |
| Released in Sweden under the title "jazz:live". Twelve tracks: ten in English, one in Swedish, one with no lyrics. All tracks are live performances in concert. | ||
1997 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1997.-January:*January 9 – David Bowie performs his 50th Birthday Bash concert at Madison Square Garden, New York City, USA with guests Frank Black, The Foo Fighters, Sonic Youth, Robert Smith of The Cure, Lou Reed, and Billy... |
Title translates: "A real Christmas". Thirteen tracks, all in Swedish. | |
1998 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1998.-Events:*January 28 – "Weird Al" Yankovic gets LASIK surgery to cure his myopia... |
Sixteen tracks, one in Swedish accompanied by Toots Thielemans Toots Thielemans Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Isidor, Baron Thielemans , known as Toots Thielemans, is a Belgian jazz musician well known for his guitar and harmonica playing as well as his whistling. Thielemans is credited as one of the greatest harmonica players of the 20th century... on harmonica. |
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2000 in music See also:* 2000 in music Record labels established in 2000-Events:*January – Gary Glitter is released from jail, two months before his sentence for sexual offences ends.*January 1**John Tavener is knighted in the New Year's Honours List.... |
Thirteen tracks, all English. | |
2001 in music See also:* 2001 in music Record labels established in 2001-Events:*January 1**Comeback of Guns N' Roses in House of Blues**Hum disbands.*January 17 – Bass player Jason Newsted leaves Metallica after 14 years with the band.... |
Title translates "All the best". A best of album with twenty tracks, four of them previously unreleased. Eight tracks in English, ten in Swedish, one in Spanish, one with no lyrics. Three tracks are live performances in concert. | |
2002 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2002.-Events:*February 3 – U2 perform during the halftime show for Super Bowl XXXVI... |
Twenty-two tracks, all in Swedish. Swedish folk songs, all choral in their musical style. The performances were recorded without overdubbing Overdubbing Overdubbing is a technique used by recording studios to add a supplementary recorded sound to a previously recorded performance.... and were directed by the well-known Swedish choral director Eric Ericson Eric Ericson , is a Swedish choral conductor and influential choral teacher. He graduated from the Royal College of Music in Stockholm in 1943 and went on to complete his studies abroad, at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, Switzerland, and in Germany, Great Britain, and the United States.Renowned for his... . |
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2003 in music -January:* January – following an investigation by The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and London detectives, police raids in England and the Netherlands recover nearly 500 original Beatles studio tapes, recorded during the Let It Be sessions. Five people are arrested... |
Title translates: "Christimas is here". Fifteen tracks: three in English, nine in Swedish, two in Norwegian, one with no lyrics. Four tracks are live performances in concert. Includes a video clip of a live performance of "Clown of the Jungle", an a cappella arrangement of the soundtrack to a Disney short film by the same name. | |
| Thirteen tracks: 5 in Swedish, rest in English. Only 2 tracks previously unreleased, a re-recorded version of "Dancing Queen", as well as "Song from the snow" created for a Korean movie. Also has an accompanying Video-CD as disc 2. | ||
2005 in music -Events:*During the year 2005, 12 rock music albums scored number 1 in the USA. This was the first time even ten albums have scored number 1 since 1996.-January:... |
Thirteen tracks: twelve in English and one with no lyrics. The Korean-market version contains two additional tracks in English. | |
2008 in music 2008 was a huge year in music history with the emergence of pop superstars Lady Gaga and Katy Perry into the mainstream. Also, this is the year that is widely agreed upon by critics as the start of the fall of hip hop from the mainstream and the rise of Synthpop into the mainstream due to acts such... |
Nine tracks, all in Swedish, three previous released. This album is a tribute to Swedish entertainer Povel Ramel Povel Ramel Baron Povel Karl Henric Ramel was a Swedish entertainer. Ramel was a singer, pianist, vaudeville artist, author and a novelty song composer. His style was characterized by imaginative wit, both verbal and musical... , a long-standing fan of The Real Group and vice versa. The Real Group received Ramel's Karamelodiktstipendiet, a scholarship funded by Ramel, in 2002. Of particular notice is the last track, "Konditori Forgätmigej" written by Anders Edenroth. It is written in the tradition of Povel's style of music writing, an appropriate last farewell to an old friend. Margareta Bengtson joined the group in studio to record this album. |
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2009 in music The following is a list of notable events and releases in 2009 in music. Susan Boyle's album I Dreamed a Dream became the biggest selling album in the world for 2009, selling 8.3 million copies in five weeks; more than any other artist's in the whole year... |
Twelve tracks: ten in English and two with no lyrics. |
Awards
- Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards (CARAs):
- 1995: Best Contemporary Cover: "Dancing Queen" from Varför får man inte bara vara som man är
- 1995: Best Jazz Song: "Flight of the Foo-Birds" from Varför får man inte bara vara som man är
- 1996: Best Female Vocalist: Margareta Bengtson
- 1997: Live Album of the Year: Live in Stockholm
- 1997: Best Original Pop Song
- 1997: Best Jazz Song
- 1997: Best Female Vocalist: Margareta Bengtson
- 1998: Best Holiday Album: En riktig jul
- 2003: Best Classical Album: Stämning
- 2003: Runner Up for Best Classical Song: "En vänlig grönskas rika dräkt" from Stämning
- 2004: Best Holiday Album: Julen er her
- 2004: Best Holiday Song: "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing" from Julen er her
- Other awards:
- 2002 Karamelodiktstipendiet , an annual award given to a Swedish entertainer by Povel RamelPovel RamelBaron Povel Karl Henric Ramel was a Swedish entertainer. Ramel was a singer, pianist, vaudeville artist, author and a novelty song composer. His style was characterized by imaginative wit, both verbal and musical...
.
- 2002 Karamelodiktstipendiet , an annual award given to a Swedish entertainer by Povel Ramel