Lina Nyberg Live Score: The Norrtull Gang

Although it’s little known outside Sweden, The Norrtull Gang proves a fascinating and distinctive melodrama from the early 1920s, the tale of four young women sharing an apartment on Norrtull Street in Stockholm. “Modern women”, they’re nonetheless exploited and harassed in their “pink collar” jobs, and victims of society’s hypocritical attitudes towards sex. It’s sensitively directed by Per Lindberg, adapted by his brother-in-law, the playwright Hjalmar Bergman, from the classic novel by the groundbreaking feminist author and politician Elin Wägner. Unusually, the intertitle cards are written in the first person, giving the film the intimate feel of a journal.

Presented in partnership with Coastal Jazz, The Norrtull Gang is screened with newly composed music by singer and composer Lina Nyberg — performed live in the auditorium by Nyberg (voice and live electronics) and a Canadian string quartet.

Meredith Bates – violin
Joshua Zubot – violin
Parmela Attariwala – viola
Peggy Lee – cello

The score was commissioned by Lidköping Folkets Hus with support from the Swedish Arts Council.

About Lina Nyberg

Lina Nyberg is one of Sweden’s most creative and innovative jazz singers and contemporary composers. As a solo artist she has released 24 albums. As a composer she has written works on commission from big bands, string quartets, other chamber settings and symphony orchestras.

Remarkable… Norrtullsligan is as close as silent films came to a hybrid of literature and cinema.

Dan Sallitt

Melancholy and playfully ironic… This is a soft, gentle film about characters and feelings instead of big happenings. The Norrtull Gang is a highly successful portrayal of female friendship and the struggles of women in the early twentieth century. It’s well worth seeing.

Movies Silently

Directed by Per Lindberg, who was quite renowned at the time, and also written by Hjalmar Bergman. It is the story of a collective of women, superbly acted by the very finest actresses of the era – Tora Teje, Inga Tidblad… This was during the period when Elin Wägner was active and women’s rights were a pressing issue, so the film was very much of its time. For me, this film was an inspiration when I made Brink of Life 35 years later.

Ingmar Bergman

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