Real Group

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The Real Group

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The Real Group

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].".[1]

The Real Group has performed in more than 2000 concerts worldwide.[2] 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".

Member changes

The Real Group was formed in 1984, when its original members were students at the Swedish Royal College of Music. 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.[3] 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 G 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

Date of release
Title
Notes
1987
Debut
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
Nothing But the Real Group
Twelve tracks, all in English.
1991
Röster
Twelve tracks, all in Swedish.
1994
Varför får man inte bara vara som man är
A compilation album originally targeted at the European market.
1995
Unreal
A compilation album originally targeted at the US market. Fourteen tracks: ten in English, two in Swedish, two with no lyrics.
1996
Ori:ginal
Twelve tracks, all in Swedish.
1996
Get:real
March 19, 1996
Live in Stockholm
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
En riktig jul
Title translates: "A real Christmas". Thirteen tracks, all in Swedish.
1998
One for All
Sixteen tracks, one in Swedish accompanied by Toots Thielemans on harmonica.
2000
Commonly Unique
Thirteen tracks, all English.
2001
Allt det bästa
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
Stämning
Twenty-two tracks, all in Swedish. Swedish folk songs, all choral in their musical style. The performances were recorded without overdubbing and were directed by the well-known Swedish choral director Eric Ericson.
September 26, 2002
The Best - Tour Souvenir Album
2003
Julen er her
Norwegian title translates: "Christmas 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.[4]
June 12, 2003
The Real Thing
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 the Middle of Life
Thirteen tracks: twelve in English and one with no lyrics. The Korean-market version contains two additional tracks in English.
June 25, 2008
Håll musiken i gång
Nine tracks, all in Swedish, three previously released. This album is a tribute to Swedish entertainer Povel Ramel, 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.
September 16, 2009
The Real Album
Twelve tracks: ten in English and two with no lyrics.
2012
The World for Christmas
2013
Live in Japan

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: Jag Vill Va Med Dig
    • 1997: Best Jazz Song: Waltz for Debby
    • 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 (Swedish), an annual award given to a Swedish entertainer by Povel Ramel.

Footnotes

  1. {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}
  2. {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}
  3. The Real Group performs in Kremlin Palace, Russia. Group web site content.
  4. The Disney short film Clown of the Jungle is typically broadcast on Swedish television on Christmas Eve, hence its appearance in this Christmas album.

External links

  • Official website
This page was last modified 10.04.2014 16:45:38

This article uses material from the article The Real Group from the free encyclopedia Wikipedia and it is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.