Fredmans epistlar

A collection of Bellman's Epistles and Songs, with Peter Dahl's evocative illustrations. 1989 edition

Fredmans epistlar (translates to English as Fredman's Epistles or Epistles of Fredman) is a collection of poems and songs by the Swedish 18th century author Carl Michael Bellman. It contains 82 works created over a period of twenty years.^[1] Many of the songs have remained culturally significant in Scandinavia, especially so in Sweden. Examples include Epistle N:o 81 Märk hur vår skugga, Epistle N:o 72 Glimmande nymph (Gleaming nymph), Epistle N:o 23 Ach du min Moder! and Epistle N:o 16 Fader Bergström. The lyrics describe a gallery of fictional and semi-fictional characters and events taking place in Stockholm of that era, based on the lives of actual people Bellman was aware of.^[1] Jean Fredman, an alcoholic former watchmaker, is the central character.^[1]

List of epistles

Illustration for "Ulla Winblad kära syster. Du är eldig, qvick och yster...". Fredman's Epistle No. 3, by Carl Wahlbom (1810-1858)

An 1825 broadside with Bellman's Fredman's Epistle No. 30: Drick ur ditt glas, se Döden på dig väntar (In Britten Austin's translation "Drain off thy glass, see death upon thee waiting")

"A noisy company". Wash drawing by Johan Tobias Sergel

Each epistle has a number, all or part of the first line (in italics), and a descriptive title or dedication.

Interpretations

In the 1960s Bellman's works saw a renaissance among the "Storks" artistic community ("Vispråmen Storken") in Stockholm, where a new generation of singers of songs in the Swedish ballad tradition approached the songs in a different manner from that established by singers such as Evert Taube. In the "Storken" community, artists such as Fred Åkerström, Sven-Bertil Taube, Cornelis Vreeswijk and Olle Adolphson each interpreted the Epistles of Fredman.

Other interpreters of the Epistles of Fredman on stage and in recordings include Mikael Samuelson, Joakim Thåström, Manfred Krug and Hannes Wader.

Märk hur vår skugga (Epistle No. 81)

Märk hur vår skugga is Epistle 81 of Epistles of Fredman. Its subject is one of Bellman's female acquaintances funeral (grälmakar Löfberg's wife).

Swedish artists who have recorded versions of Märk hur vår skugga include Cornelis Vreeswijk, Stefan Sundström, Fred Åkerström and Imperiet, who scored a 1985-1985 Svensktoppen hit with the song. The English speaking band Mediaeval Baebes has recorded the song in Swedish on their 2005 album Mirabilis.

An English translation, entitled Epistle No. 81, has been recorded by the Swedish doom metal band Candlemass on the 1988 album Ancient Dreams, and by the American doom metal band While Heaven Wept on the 2003 album Of Empires Forlorn. Another English translation, entitled Castrum Doloris, was recorded by Swedish black metal band Marduk on the 2003 album World Funeral.^[2]

Bibliography

• Bellman: En antologi av Göran Hassler. Illustrationer av Peter Dahl. (in Swedish, with sheet music). En bok för alla, 1989. (contains the most popular Epistles and Songs)
• Bellman II: En antologi av Göran Hassler. (in Swedish, with sheet music). En bok för alla, 1995. Illustrated by Peter Dahl. (contains most of the remaining Epistles and Songs)

See also

• Fredmans sånger (Fredman's Songs)

References

Sources

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Carl Michael Bellman.