West Stockbridge — Swedish vocal group Kongero invented the term “Folk’appella” to describe the music they perform, which is a mix of traditional tunes and original compositions inspired by the Nordic folk music tradition. The singers, Lotta Andersson, Emma Björling, Sofia Hultqvist Kott, and Anna Wikénius, will appear in concert at The Foundry on December 7.
Kongero formed through a chance meeting of its founding members at a Nordic folk music conference in 2005, where they discovered how well their voices and harmonies blended. Since then, the group has performed at major folk music events and festivals and at a cappella and chamber music festivals in tours throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas. In addition, the group performs at church and school concerts, business events, and at workshops where they demonstrate traditional Swedish vocal music and harmonies.
Kongero’s repertoire consists of traditional and original songs and tunes arranged by its members that tell stories about life: love songs, dramatic medieval ballads, ditties, and dances. The Nordic folk tradition encompasses the musical heritage of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden.
Although Kongero usually performs without instrumental accompaniment, the group recently began collaborating with the Belgian instrumental group Wör (pronounced “were”) on a new project: “Songbooks – Powerful & elegant music from Sweden and Belgium.” You can hear a sample of their work here, along with an interview with two of the performing musicians.
Lotta Andersson fell in love with traditional fiddle music at the age of 13 but had been singing from the time she could walk, joining the Sundsvall Girls Choir as a young girl. She holds degrees in singing, fiddle, and traditional dancing from Malung Folk Music College, Falun Academy of Music, and the Royal College of Music in Stockholm.
Emma Björling started singing in choirs at the age of six. She studied jazz and classical music before returning to the music
her grandfather used to play on the fiddle. She holds degrees in traditional Swedish music from the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and in voice pedagogy, music theory, and ensemble teaching from Ingesund College of Music.
Sofia Hultqvist Kott grew up in a musical family near the Anaris Mountains on the border of Norway, where she continues to receive inspiration from the natural landscape. After discovering traditional music through youth folk camps in Norway and at high school and Framnäs College of Music, Sofia undertook further music studies at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm. In addition to her work with Kongero, she also sings with folk trio Kalejdoskop and in an ambient electronica folk duo with U.S. electronic dance music producer Outby16.
In addition to Swedish traditional music, Stockholm-based Anna Wikenius has studied classical, jazz, and pop. She holds degrees in traditional Swedish music from the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and in voice pedagogy and ensemble teaching from the Department of Music and Media at Luleå University of Technology in Piteå. She now serves as director of studies at the Royal College of Music. Besides Kongero, she sings in the Swedish-Finnish folk band Folk’Avant.
Kongero has released six well-reviewed albums in their 18 years together as a band: “Om Mikaelidagen” (2008), “Bakvända Världen” (2011), “no. 3” (2014), “Kom” (2017), the collaboration project “Vaerla Vaken” (2018) together with instrumental folk band Massivet, and the live album “Live in Longueuil” (2021). They have their own namesake beer, made by Jackdaw Breweries.
Hear the Swedish vocal group Kongero at The Foundry on Thursday, December 7, 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $25 in advance / $30 at door. Seating/Bar: 7 p.m. Show: 7:30 p.m.
