Fritz Arlberg (1830 - 1896)

[Reverie]

Fritz Arlberg was a celebrated Swedish singer who also left behind a substantial portfolio of musical compositions.

He appeared as a guest-singer at several theatres in Stockholm, but in 1883 he gave up his singing career. He then worked as a singing teacher, first in Stockholm and then in Copenhagen and finally in Christiania from 1894, where he died in 1896.

From 1864 to 1865 he was director at the Royal Swedish Opera. However, he left there in 1874 owing to a medical ill-treatment and instead took up employment at the Opera in Christiania, where he stayed until 1877.

As well as becoming known as an aspiring composer he was also active as an arranger. He translated and edited a number of operatic texts, including Rienzi and The Flying Dutchman. He also became one of the champions in Sweden for the works of Richard Wagner.

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"I Stokgen" is a short Tone Poem for orchestra lasting about 8 mins. It translates from the Swedish as "In the Woods". The inspiration is from a text by Lorenz Dietrichson:


Skogen ar den herrligaste uppenbarelse at naturlifvets groende friskhet och aningsfulla dunkelht; derfor griper dess inre ocksa menniskan med en upplyftande, helig kansla; den ar pelargangen i naturens stora kyrka - och mellan stammarna vanta vi derfore att plotsligen fa se naturens ande, skogens herrskare, uppenbara sig; en helig skrack genomtranger oss, kanslan af var andlighets upplosning i universums lif har sitt hem i skogens djup

Crudely translated from the Swedish as:

The forest is the most glorious revelation of nature and wildlife; its heart grips man with an uplifting, spirituality; it is the heart of nature's great kingdom - between the forest trunks we feel the spirit of nature, the ruler of the forest, beholden before us.

I Stokgen Op. 10 - (presumably an early work maybe dated about 1850/60 ?)

LINK:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnR2TWi8mec

[Alan Howe]

IMSLP has 1877 as the publication date:
https://imslp.org/wiki/I_skogen%2C_Op.10_(Arlberg%2C_Fritz)

[Reverie]

It does indeed - how remiss of me 

[Alan Howe]

Of course, the publication date doesn't prove the date of composition...

[Alan Howe]

It's an atmospheric piece - I enjoyed listening to it! Thanks, Martin!

[semloh]

Thanks from me, too, Martin. It's a charming piece.