Article
Milk Maids, Triptychs, and Voices Beyond the Grave: The "Unsung" Collaborations between Carl Michael Bellman and Joseph Martin Kraus
Scandinavian Studies
(2012)
Abstract
On 24 June 1782, the newly-appointed Vize-Kapellmästare of the Royal Spectacles in Stockholm, German-born Joseph Martin Kraus, was surprised on the occasion of his twenty-seventh birthday by a group of Swedish friends who catered a dinner party that included, according to a letter the composer wrote to his parents, three bottles of Arrack, a liter of brandy, and an unspecified number of bottles of wine and beer.1 These well-wishers also left Kraus to pay the bill, which was at once an inauguration into the sort of Anacreonic society of creative artists illustrated by Johan Tobias Sergel and championed by poet Carl Michael Bellman,2 as well as his introduction to a close circle [End Page 163] of friends whose sole purpose was to create new works for Gustavian society of the period. Given this auspicious moment in a tradition well-defined by other artistic disciplines, it was almost inevitable that all three of these men would seek out each other for friendship, collaboration, and creative companionship thus forging a bond that would lead to a series of unique interdisciplinary works and in turn to the definition of some of the more interesting aspects of Gustavian culture.
Keywords
- Carl Michael Bellman,
- Joseph Martin Kraus
Disciplines
Publication Date
Summer 2012
Citation Information
Bertil van Boer. "Milk Maids, Triptychs, and Voices Beyond the Grave: The "Unsung" Collaborations between Carl Michael Bellman and Joseph Martin Kraus" Scandinavian Studies Vol. 84 Iss. 2 (2012) p. 163 - 176 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/bertil_vanboer/5/