Compiled and transcribed by Mats Lidström

The twenty-one pieces presented here open a window onto the musical scene of 18th-century Sweden. It was an exciting period with many imaginative and crucial initiatives putting Swedish music on the map. The opening piece is one of the most famous of all Swedish classical pieces, the Overture to Roman’s Drottningholm Music. Also represented is the iconic 18th-century figure, the troubadour Bellman, unique in his use of music to describe life, lust, unrestrained drinking, nature, the working man and the court.