Swedish music and poetry: 'Irrbloss' (Will-o’-the-Wisp)

Swedish folk musicians will present the poetry of Signe Aurell (1889-1975), a Swedish immigrant and labor activist. 

The performance by Maja Heurling and Ola Sandström will feature songs based on the poetry of Aurell, as well as stories from her life in Sweden and Minnesota.

In 1913, Signe Aurell traveled alone from Sweden to Minnesota where she worked as a laundress and seamstress. In 1919, she self-published a series of Swedish-language poems that explored feelings of homesickness and the struggle for a brighter future. Titled "Irrbloss" (Will-o’-the-Wisp) this collection of poetry remained mostly unknown until a folklore researcher wrote a dissertation about Signe. 

Heurling and Sandström collaborated to set music to a selection of poems from "Irrbloss," blending folk stylings and the Swedish visa (ballad) tradition together to underscore the continued relevance and impact of the words. 

In October 2019, 100 years after they were written, the album with the compositions of Signe Aurell’s poems was released on Kakafon Records.

This concert is supported by the Augustana College Scandinavian Studies Program, the music department, and the Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center.