Benny Anderssons Orkester (album)
Encyclopedia
Benny Anderssons Orkester is the first album
by Benny Anderssons Orkester
, released in June 2001.
, a folk music group founded in 2001 by former ABBA
member Benny Andersson
, follows the style of Benny's two solo albums from the 1980s, Klinga mina klockor
and November 1989. The album combines traditional Swedish folk music with classical, pop und jazz influences. Out of the 14 tracks on the album, 12 are instrumentals and two ("Vår sista dans" and "Lätt som en sommarfjäril") feature vocals by Helen Sjöholm
, who played the role of Kristina in the musical ristina från Duvemåla], written by Benny and former ABBA
colleague Björn Ulvaeus
. Björn is credited on this album as well, writing the lyrics for the two tracks mentioned above. All music is composed by Benny Andersson
, who also produced the album himself.
The album was recorded on two weekends in the spring of 2001 at Atlantis Studio in Stockholm
. This studio, formerly known as Metronome Studio, was the location of many recording sessions for ABBA
up until 1976. According to Benny (the "Kapellmästaren", as he calls himself in the booklet), the recording of the album was "live", which means that all the instruments (including Helen Sjöholm
's vocals) were recorded at the same time, in one session. Only slight changes were made afterwards, when the album was finally mixed at Benny's Mono Music Studios
.
Various recordings from this album have also been included on movie soundtracks. The movie "Sånger från andra våningen" by Roy Andersson
includes "Sång från andra våningen", "Laureen" and "Tösabiten", and the movie "Nu är pappa trött igen" by Marie-Louise Ekman
features "Cirkus finemang" and "P.S.".
The song "Briggens blåögda blonda kapten" is a tribute to Görel Hanser (the "blue-eyed, blonde captain", as the title puts it), who has worked together with Benny and ABBA
since the 1970s. Until today she is responsible for the business aspects of a lot of Benny's productions. One of the biggest ones is the "Briggen Teaterproduktion", which is responsible for the three musical prodjects of Benny and Björn: Kristina från Duvemåla
, Chess
and Mamma Mia!
.
The album's opening number, "Hardangervidda", is named after the famous Hardangervidda
mountain plateu in Norway
.
Both vocal tracks on the album were later re-recorded with English lyrics. Benny Anderssons Orkester themselves released an English version of their 2001 hit "Vår sista dans" in 2009 on their compilation album "Story Of A Heart
", entitled "(If This Is) Our Last Dance" ("our last dance" being the literal translation of "vårs sista dans"). Just like on the original version, Helen Sjöholm
again contributed the vocals. The other song, "Lätt som en sommarfjäril", was recorded by Swedish mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter and released in 2006 on her album "I Let The Music Speak", her tribute to the compositions of Benny Andersson
. The lyrics for both English language versions were again written by Björn Ulvaeus
.
, and the release of "Vår sista dans" on single, the album managed to return to the charts in August, eventually even topping them on September 19. Benny Anderssons Orkester stayed on the albums chart for a total of 55 weeks and received a gold and a platinum disc for selling more than 80,000 copies.
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by Benny Anderssons Orkester
Benny Anderssons Orkester
Benny Anderssons Orkester is a Swedish band, with Benny Andersson as musical leader and composer...
, released in June 2001.
Album Information
Benny Anderssons OrkesterBenny Anderssons Orkester
Benny Anderssons Orkester is a Swedish band, with Benny Andersson as musical leader and composer...
, a folk music group founded in 2001 by 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 Benny Andersson
Benny Andersson
Göran Bror "Benny" Andersson is a Swedish musician, composer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!...
, follows the style of Benny's two solo albums from the 1980s, Klinga mina klockor
Klinga mina klockor
Klinga mina klockor is an album by Benny Andersson released in 1987. This album of Swedish folk music was a hit in Scandinavia.-Track listing:#Inledningsvisa - 2.00...
and November 1989. The album combines traditional Swedish folk music with classical, pop und jazz influences. Out of the 14 tracks on the album, 12 are instrumentals and two ("Vår sista dans" and "Lätt som en sommarfjäril") feature vocals by Helen Sjöholm
Helen Sjöholm
Marie Helen Sjöholm is a Swedish singer, actress and musical theatre performer who lives in Gamla Enskede in Stockholm. She grew up in Sundsvall and started to sing in choirs at an early age, working, among others, with Swedish conductor Kjell Lönnå...
, who played the role of Kristina in the musical ristina från Duvemåla], written by Benny and 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...
colleague Björn Ulvaeus
Björn Ulvaeus
Björn Kristian Ulvaeus is a Swedish songwriter, composer, musician, writer, producer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!...
. Björn is credited on this album as well, writing the lyrics for the two tracks mentioned above. All music is composed by Benny Andersson
Benny Andersson
Göran Bror "Benny" Andersson is a Swedish musician, composer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!...
, who also produced the album himself.
The album was recorded on two weekends in the spring of 2001 at Atlantis Studio in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
. This studio, formerly known as Metronome Studio, was the location of many recording sessions for 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...
up until 1976. According to Benny (the "Kapellmästaren", as he calls himself in the booklet), the recording of the album was "live", which means that all the instruments (including Helen Sjöholm
Helen Sjöholm
Marie Helen Sjöholm is a Swedish singer, actress and musical theatre performer who lives in Gamla Enskede in Stockholm. She grew up in Sundsvall and started to sing in choirs at an early age, working, among others, with Swedish conductor Kjell Lönnå...
's vocals) were recorded at the same time, in one session. Only slight changes were made afterwards, when the album was finally mixed at Benny's Mono Music Studios
Mono Music
Mono Music is a Swedish record label, established in 1987 by former ABBA member Benny Andersson.The Mono Music offices as well as the Mono Music studio, which is mainly used for mixing sessions, are located on the island of Skeppsholmen in central Stockholm....
.
Various recordings from this album have also been included on movie soundtracks. The movie "Sånger från andra våningen" by Roy Andersson
Roy Andersson
Roy Andersson is a Swedish film director, best known for his films A Swedish Love Story and Songs from the Second Floor. More than any other, Songs from the Second Floor succeeded in cementing his personal style — a style characterized by long takes, absurdist comedy, stiff caricaturing of...
includes "Sång från andra våningen", "Laureen" and "Tösabiten", and the movie "Nu är pappa trött igen" by Marie-Louise Ekman
Marie-Louise Ekman
Marie-Louise Ester Maude Ekman, née Fuchs, and known during her first marriage under the surname De Geer, and during and after her second as De Geer Bergenstråhle is a Swedish painter and film director...
features "Cirkus finemang" and "P.S.".
The song "Briggens blåögda blonda kapten" is a tribute to Görel Hanser (the "blue-eyed, blonde captain", as the title puts it), who has worked together with Benny and 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...
since the 1970s. Until today she is responsible for the business aspects of a lot of Benny's productions. One of the biggest ones is the "Briggen Teaterproduktion", which is responsible for the three musical prodjects of Benny and Björn: Kristina från Duvemåla
Kristina från Duvemåla
Kristina från Duvemåla is a Swedish musical written by former ABBA members Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson , based on a series of four novels by Swedish author Vilhelm Moberg detailing a family's poverty-driven migration from Sweden to America in the mid-19th century: The Emigrants, Unto a Good...
, Chess
Chess (musical)
Chess is a musical with music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, formerly of ABBA, and with lyrics by Tim Rice. The story involves a romantic triangle between two top players, an American and a Russian, in a world chess championship, and a woman who manages one and falls in love with the other;...
and Mamma Mia!
Mamma Mia!
Mamma Mia! is a stage musical written by British playwright Catherine Johnson, based on the songs of ABBA, composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, former members of the band. Although the title of the musical is taken from the group's 1975 chart-topper "Mamma Mia", the plot is fictional, not...
.
The album's opening number, "Hardangervidda", is named after the famous Hardangervidda
Hardangervidda
The Hardangervidda is a mountain plateau in the Hardanger region of western Norway. It is the largest such plateau in Europe, with a cold year-round alpine climate and is the site of one of Norway's largest glaciers. Much of the plateau is protected as part of Hardangervidda National Park; it is a...
mountain plateu in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
.
Both vocal tracks on the album were later re-recorded with English lyrics. Benny Anderssons Orkester themselves released an English version of their 2001 hit "Vår sista dans" in 2009 on their compilation album "Story Of A Heart
Story of a Heart
Story Of A Heart is a compilation album by Swedish group Benny Anderssons Orkester , released in July 2009.-Album Information:...
", entitled "(If This Is) Our Last Dance" ("our last dance" being the literal translation of "vårs sista dans"). Just like on the original version, Helen Sjöholm
Helen Sjöholm
Marie Helen Sjöholm is a Swedish singer, actress and musical theatre performer who lives in Gamla Enskede in Stockholm. She grew up in Sundsvall and started to sing in choirs at an early age, working, among others, with Swedish conductor Kjell Lönnå...
again contributed the vocals. The other song, "Lätt som en sommarfjäril", was recorded by Swedish mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter and released in 2006 on her album "I Let The Music Speak", her tribute to the compositions of Benny Andersson
Benny Andersson
Göran Bror "Benny" Andersson is a Swedish musician, composer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!...
. The lyrics for both English language versions were again written by Björn Ulvaeus
Björn Ulvaeus
Björn Kristian Ulvaeus is a Swedish songwriter, composer, musician, writer, producer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!...
.
Reception and success
Upon its release in the end of June 2001, "Benny Anderssons Orkester" immediately entered the Swedish Albums Chart, peaking at number 30 in the middle of July before dropping out of the chart again two weeks later. Due to some promtional appearances, amongst others performing on the TV series Allsång på SkansenAllsång på Skansen
Allsång på Skansen is a Swedish show held at Skansen, Stockholm, every summer on Tuesdays between 8pm and 9pm. The audience is supposed to sing along with musical guests, to well-known Swedish songs. The show started in 1935 on a small scale - about fifty people in the audience...
, and the release of "Vår sista dans" on single, the album managed to return to the charts in August, eventually even topping them on September 19. Benny Anderssons Orkester stayed on the albums chart for a total of 55 weeks and received a gold and a platinum disc for selling more than 80,000 copies.
Track listing
Personnel
The following musicians contributed to Benny Anderssons Orkester:- Benny AnderssonBenny AnderssonGöran Bror "Benny" Andersson is a Swedish musician, composer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!...
: accordionAccordionThe accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, synclavier - Göran Arnberg: organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
- Janne Bengtsson: fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, piccola, krumhorns - Pär Grebacken: saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
, clarinetClarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
, flute, piccola, block-flute - Leif Göras: violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
, celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is... - (Nils-Erik) Nicke Göthe: violin
- (Jan-Erik) Jogga Ernlund: contrabassContrabassContrabass refers to a musical instrument of very low pitch; generally those pitched one octave below instruments of the bass register...
- Calle Jacobsson: tubaTubaThe tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
- Leif Lindvall: trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, cornetCornetThe cornet is a brass instrument very similar to the trumpet, distinguished by its conical bore, compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. It is not related to the renaissance and early baroque cornett or cornetto.-History:The cornet was... - Kalle MoraeusKalle MoraeusKalle Moraeus is a Swedish musician.He is a member of the folk group Orsa Spelmän and Benny Anderssons Orkester, founded by former ABBA member Benny Andersson...
: violin, zitherZitherThe zither is a musical string instrument, most commonly found in Slovenia, Austria, Hungary citera, northwestern Croatia, the southern regions of Germany, alpine Europe and East Asian cultures, including China...
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Olle Moraeus: violin
- (Pererik) Perra Moraeus: violin, circus-saxophone
- Lars Rudolfsson: accordion
- Helen SjöholmHelen SjöholmMarie Helen Sjöholm is a Swedish singer, actress and musical theatre performer who lives in Gamla Enskede in Stockholm. She grew up in Sundsvall and started to sing in choirs at an early age, working, among others, with Swedish conductor Kjell Lönnå...
: vocals - Jörgen Stenberg: drums, percussion