Carline Bengtsson 111 East Kellogg Blvd. Saint Paul MN 55101 (651) 222-8626 fax (651) 292-8341 flickornafem@hotmail.com Work Samples Audio: Vem kan segla Minns du ej? Majsang To hear the work samples, Windows Media Player is required. If you do not have it installed, you can download it for free here: Download Windows Media Player

Flickorna Fem Swedish, Swedish-American music Flickorna Fem performs songs from the rich Swedish folk tradition, as well as the early immigrant era of Swedish America. Singing solely in Swedish, the group draws from a repertoire of more than 200 pieces, including lively dance tunes, solemn hymns, sentimental love ballads and hilarious story-telling tunes. Immigrants who crossed the Atlantic brought this tradition along, and performers of all kinds sing in Swedish here in America to celebrate this musical gift to the new country. Flickorna Fem, translated from the Swedish as "The Five Girls," gives a collective musical voice to a shared affection for Sweden. Each member holds a close connection with the country. In the summer of 2001 the group traveled and performed in Sweden. The group's tour was highlighted by its Minnesota Day celebration performance in Vaxjo which commemorates the migration of Swedes from Smaland and Sweden to America. Available: We are available evenings and weekends, and are willing to travel outside of the metro area with reimbursement for mileage and appropriate advance notice. Space: We sing a capella, and therefore do not need a piano. We prefer but do not require amplification. Fee: We charge between $125 and $300 per performance. Fees are negotiable.

Additional Information:
Flickorna Fem (the Five Girls) is a group of five women singing a repertoire of popular, traditional Swedish songs. Each is a lifelong performer, having sung in school or church groups, taken singing lessons, played various instruments, or practiced dance. For most of the members of the group, the interest in Swedish singing comes from a combination of informal music making in family settings and connections to modern day Sweden. Two are native-born Swedes who married American men, and two grew up in the United States to Swedish parents. The fifth, originally from Jamaica, came to Minnesota where she met and married a Swede.

The group started by singing songs familiar in Sweden. Swedes are very familiar with the stories wrought by troubadours Carl Michael Bellman (eighteenth century) and Evert Taube (twentieth century). The songs of Bellman and Taube described characters and settings that reflect their times and traditions. Taube's character Fritiof travels to Argentina, and his songs are flavored by Taube's interest in things Spanish, and the Swede's interest in warmer, "exotic" climes. Bellman performed for the royal court and referenced public places and people of the Stockholm of his time in songs that were often over twenty verses long.

Flickorna Fem found that while American audiences enjoyed songs from Sweden, they often weren't familiar with their context. So, the group delivers information about the songs to audiences. In addition, the group has added songs to their repertoire which are known and beloved by Swedish Americans, such as Nikolina, and Barndomshemmet (Childhood Home), a nostalgic look back at a pastoral childhood. Minnesota Scandinavians also request Hälsa dem därhemma (Greet the Home Folks).

Flickorna Fem has traveled to Sweden to perform and to interact with Swedish singers and musicians. In the United States, the group has sung for the Swedish Cultural Society, the American Swedish Institute, and to acclaim at the June 2000 convention of the American Union of Swedish Singers.