The Real Group Bumble Bee

Magnificent song from The Real Group's, 'The Real Album' (2009).

Why are Danish Rhythmic Choirs the best in the world? - 7 Questions to Jens Johansen

The Danish choir Vocal Line, consisting of 30 singers, opened up for The Real Group in a concert at Aarhus Vocal Festival in 2005.


They did an absolutely fantastic performance, on a magic evening I won't forget.

This was the first time for me to hear a choir sing pop and jazz music in a truly convincing way. They made me very happy!!!

Since then I have been a fan of Vocal Line and of their leader, Jens Johansen.

We invited Vocal Line to perform at The Real A Cappella Festival in Västerås, Sweden, 2008, where they once again gave us a chance to hear some of the finest rhythmic choir music in the world.
Denmark has an outstanding tradition for this specific kind of choral music.

So I asked Jens Johansen to tell us a little bit about how this uniquely Danish choir-singing has developed.


Jens Johansen
1. There is a very lively a cappella scene in Denmark today within the field of "Rhythmic Choir Music".
Our impression is that there is nothing quite similar to be heard in any other country.
Could you tell us a little bit about which factors in Danish music life that have contributed to this kind of choir music?

JJ: The tradition of working in schools with popular music goes a long way back in Denmark. Already in the 1950’s African rhythms became part of the school repertoire and all kinds of pop songs were arranged for the kids. In the 60’s the gospel music and arrangements of folk music became a natural part of the choral repertoire. And from the 70’s a lot of teachers and arrangers were working seriously with popular vocal music in the schools. At the same time the music began to be taken seriously also at the higher educational levels such as conservatories and universities. The institutions in Aarhus (the university and the conservatory and the music schools as well) play a very important role in that development.

2. How did you begin your involvement with Rhythmic Choir music?

JJ: My father was a choral conductor and I simply loved sitting there as a kid and listening to the wonderful sound of many voices singing together. And I was raised with the music of the Beatles and The Beach Boys in my ears, and I was fascinated by the vocal harmonies.
In the 70’s I was part of a folk music group with 3 part harmonies, singing a lot of the repertoire from Crosby, Stills and Nash and similar groups. At the same time I became a music teacher in high school and I started arranging pop tunes for the choir. And from there it went on.

3. How was Vocal Line formed, and how did they develop into what the choir is today?

JJ: After having worked with different kinds of choirs on different levels for years I decided to form a choir, that should take the lead in the development of what we in DK call “rhythmic choir music”. I had about 60 singers for audition and out of them I formed a choir with 32 voices. Through the years I kept this size of the choir, adjusting it down to 30 singers, though.

4. How would you describe the process of choosing repertoire for Vocal Line?

JJ: Many singers of Vocal Line have helped developing the repertoire, among them of course Malene Rigtrup and Morten Kjaer.
It has always been of the uttermost importance to me, that the Vocal Line repertoire should build on pop and jazz songs of the best quality. I found the repertoire I was looking for by listening to some of the best singer-song writers: Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon, Sting, Peter Gabriel a.o. I find it important that the songs have something to tell us. At concerts I really love when I feel we have reached the audience with our “Vocal Stories” and “Emotional Landscapes”.

5. In a Vocal Line warm-up, you combine the need for warming up the voices, at the same time as the singers get a chance to find the pulse and a groove together. Did you come up with these warm-up routines yourself, or did they develop in communication with the singers?

JJ: I think that type of warm-up has developed over the years in close interaction with the group. I find it very important that warm-up brings you through many kinds of colors and feelings. And of course I also find it important that the singers get a physical feeling of the groove.

6. When new singers join Vocal Line, I assume they have previous experience of singing in vocal ensembles, or singing lead vocals. Could you tell us a little about what kind of musical environment they might be coming from?

JJ: Most of the singers of Vocal Line nowadays are experienced choir singers. In the beginning they came with all sorts of backgrounds, but now many of them have had some kind of vocal education. And quite a lot of them now lead their own choirs…

7. Could you tell us a little bit about your plans for the future?

JJ: We have just started developing and recording new material for a new CD. We will record the songs successively during the spring. This process will last until September, where we expect to release the new CD: “Beauty in the Breakdown”. After that we will be touring in Germany starting in the famous Berliner Philharmonie and ending at Münchener Musikhochschule with VoicesInTime. In November Bobby McFerrin has invited us to New York to help him present his new album Vocabularies in two live-concerts in Lincoln Center. And finally we will end the year with some Christmas concerts together with a wonderful Swedish vocal group called The Real Group!
So it looks like we are going to have a lot of vocal fun and a lot of exiting challenges for the rest of 2010!