Opp Amaryllis!

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"Opp Amaryllis!"
Art song
Opp Amaryllis!.jpg
Sheet music
EnglishUp, Amaryllis!
Written1773
Textpoem by Carl Michael Bellman
LanguageSwedish
Published1791 in Fredman's Songs
Scoringvoice and cittern

Opp Amaryllis! (Up, Amaryllis!) is one of the Swedish poet and performer Carl Michael Bellman's songs from his 1791 collection, Fredman's Songs , where it is No. 31. The song is a graceful pastorale in rococo style, involving a sleeping nymph who is invited to come fishing upon the sea's stormy wave. In reality, the nymph is a Swedish woman, Wilhelmina Norman, the stormy wave is a Swedish waterway, and the progression from shore to fishing-boat can equally well be read as a seduction. It is one of Bellman's best-known and best-loved songs, and has been recorded by musicians including Folke Andersson and Edvard Andreasson.

Contents

Context

Carl Michael Bellman is a central figure in the Swedish ballad tradition and a powerful influence in Swedish music, known for his 1790 Fredman's Epistles and his 1791 Fredman's Songs . [1] A solo entertainer, he played the cittern, accompanying himself as he performed his songs at the royal court. [2]

Jean Fredman (1712 or 1713–1767) was a real watchmaker of Bellman's Stockholm. The fictional Fredman, alive after 1767, but without employment, is the supposed narrator in Bellman's epistles and songs. [3] The epistles, written and performed in different styles, from drinking songs and laments to pastorales, paint a complex picture of the life of the city during the 18th century. A frequent theme is the demimonde, with Fredman's cheerfully drunk Order of Bacchus, [4] a loose company of ragged men who favour strong drink and prostitutes. At the same time as depicting this reality, Bellman creates a Rococo picture of life, full of classical allusion, following the French post-Baroque poets; the women, including the beautiful Ulla Winblad, are "nymphs", and Neptune's festive troop of followers and sea-creatures sport in Stockholm's waters. [5] The juxtaposition of elegant and low life is humorous, sometimes burlesque, but always graceful and sympathetic. [2] The songs are "most ingeniously" set to their music, which is nearly always borrowed and skilfully adapted. [6] The eponymous character Amaryllis is taken from classical tales. In Ancient Greek literature, Theocritus's Idylls portray a goatherd singing a serenade outside the cave of the nymph Amaryllis. [7] In Ancient Roman literature, Amaryllis was a heroine in Virgil's Eclogues , a suite of pastoral poems. [8]

Song

Melody and verse form

The song is in 3
4 time and is marked Menuetto . It has 4 verses, each consisting of 11 lines; lines 2-7 are short. The rhyming pattern of each verse is AA-B-CCC-B-DDD-B. No source has been identified for the melody, which may well have been composed by Bellman himself. [9]

Lyrics

The song in rococo style invokes classical images of the sea, with nymphs and dolphins. Medallion by Francesco Marti, A Nymph on a Dolphin, c. 1500 Francesco Marti, A Nymph on a Dolphin, NGA 44292 (cropped).jpg
The song in rococo style invokes classical images of the sea, with nymphs and dolphins. Medallion by Francesco Marti, A Nymph on a Dolphin, c. 1500

The song, headed "Om fiskafänget" ("About catching fish"), is dated 1773, and was written for Bellman's opera Fiskarena. [10] [9] The song invites the sleeping nymph, in reality Wilhelmina Norman (who Bellman courted in the summer of 1773), to awaken and come fishing. [11] [10] The waterways, too, are Swedish, with familiar fish like pike. [12]

Verse translations of the second stanza of song 31
Carl Michael Bellman, 1791 [13] Charles Wharton Stork, 1917 [14] Hendrik Willem Van Loon, 1939 [15] Paul Britten Austin, 1977 [16]

Kom nu och fiska, noten är bunden,
Kom nu på stunden,
  Följ mig åt;
  Kläd på dig tröjan,
  Kjorteln och slöjan;
  Gäddan och löjan
  Ställ försåt.
Vakna Amaryllis lilla, vakna;
Lät mig ej ditt glada sällskap sakna;
Bland Delphiner och Sirener nakna
Sku vi nu plaska med vår lilla båt.

Let's go a-fishing—nets are all spread now—
Mope not in bed now,
Quickly rise!
Come thou, all bodiced,
Kirtled so modest;
Fish of the oddest
Be our prize!
Amaryllis, little one, awaken,—
Lacking thee, of joy I'm quite forsaken;
From our boat the spray will soon be shaken,
As mid the dolphins and sirens it flies.

Let's go a-fishing, nets are now spread, oh,
Leave your cozy bed
and follow me.
Fasten your placket,
Put on your jacket,
Stop now all the racket,
Hear my plea.
Amaryllis, waken little one,
Without you life is robbed of mirth and fun.
Let's follow dolphins and with sirens run,
And in our skiff, splash and dance over the sea.

Come, come a-fishing! Ready our rod is;
  Fasten thy bodice,
  Skirt and coat.
  Cease then thy railing
  Little availing;
  Perch, pike and grayling
  Greedy float.
Fairest Amaryllis, do not fly me,
Nor the pleasure of these hours deny me.
Where the dolphin rolls on billow briny
  Let us be splashing in our little boat.

Reception and legacy

The song invokes a pastoral landscape with a stream, a couple in a rowing-boat, and a shepherd with his sheep. Painting by Karl Schallhas [de], 1649 Landschaft mit einem Bach, uber den eine holzerne Brucke fuhrt (SM 1649z).png
The song invokes a pastoral landscape with a stream, a couple in a rowing-boat, and a shepherd with his sheep. Painting by Karl Schallhas  [ de ], 1649

The Bellman scholar Lars Lönnroth calls the song a graceful pastorale in rococo style. He notes that people have taken his pastoral songs, of which this is "the best known", as completely conventional works following the classical template of a shepherd-poet in pursuit of his fair nymph. It indeed begins, Lönnroth writes, as an aubade or morning song, like a medieval Provençal troubadour's. The young fisherman wakens his beloved and, in the first stanza, asks her to come fishing with him in an Arcadian landscape peopled with mythic figures, including Morpheus the god of sleep and Neptune, god of the sea. In the next stanza, he bids her dress herself; in the third, to fetch her fishing-tackle, and in the last stanza to climb into his boat. This plays out as a simple sequence of theatrical scenes. But, writes Lönnroth, it can equally well be read as a seduction. The last stanza drops the pretence of going out to catch pike, and states openly that "Love shall rule/In our chests." The seascape, too, he writes, has suddenly changed from calm to stormy; but the shepherd sings that he can find comfort "In thy calm embrace." Lönnroth observes that in Fredman's Epistle No. 25, "Blåsen nu alla", Bellman goes further into full-blown grotesque, sharply contrasting the classical imagery with the drunken orgiastic reality; but in "Opp Amaryllis!", the poet shows his skill in creating drama from a simple shepherd-poem, and undermining the pastoral with discreet hints of storms and death. [12]

Bellman's biographer Paul Britten Austin describes the song as "one of his most delightful, and for many years [it] was far and away the most popular. It goes to a charming air." [17] "Opp Amaryllis!" was recorded in 1924 by Folke Andersson and Edvard Andreasson for HMV. [18] More recently, the song has been recorded many times; it was among the Bellman songs recorded in 1960 by Roland Bengtsson and Folke Sällström, [19] and in 1988 by the actor Mikael Samuelson. [20] The song was recorded in English by Martin Best in 1995. [21]

Related Research Articles

<i>Fredmans epistlar</i> Book of songs by Carl Michael Bellman

Fredmans epistlar is a collection of 82 poems set to music by Carl Michael Bellman, a major figure in Swedish 18th century song. Though first published in 1790, it was created over a period of twenty years from 1768 onwards. A companion volume, Fredmans sånger was published the following year.

Märk hur vår skugga Song by the 18th century Swedish bard Carl Michael Bellman

Märk hur vår skugga is one of the best-known of the 1790 Fredman's Epistles, where it is No. 81. These were written and performed by Carl Michael Bellman, the dominant figure in the Swedish song tradition. Its subject is the funeral of one of Bellman's female acquaintances, Grälmakar Löfberg's wife.

Solen glimmar blank och trind Song by the 18th century Swedish bard Carl Michael Bellman

Solen glimmar blank och trind is Epistle No. 48 in the Swedish poet and performer Carl Michael Bellman's 1790 song collection, Fredman's Epistles. The Epistle is subtitled "Hvaruti afmålas Ulla Winblads hemresa från Hessingen i Mälaren en sommarmorgon 1769". One of his best-known and best-loved works, it depicts an early morning on Lake Mälaren, as the Rococo muse Ulla Winblad sails back home to Stockholm after a night spent partying on the lake. The composition is one of Bellman's two Bacchanalian lake-journeys, along with epistle 25, representing a venture into a social realism style.

Ulla! min Ulla! säj får jag dig bjuda Song by the 18th century Swedish bard Carl Michael Bellman

Ulla! min Ulla! säj, får jag dig bjuda, is one of the Swedish poet and performer Carl Michael Bellman's best-known and best-loved songs, from his 1790 collection, Fredman's Epistles, where it is No. 71. A pastorale, it depicts the Rococo muse Ulla Winblad, as the narrator offers her "reddest strawberries in milk and wine" in the Djurgården countryside north of Stockholm.

Hvila vid denna källa Song by the 18th century Swedish bard Carl Michael Bellman

Hvila vid denna källa is a song by the Swedish poet and performer Carl Michael Bellman from his 1790 collection, Fredman's Epistles, where it is No. 82, the final Epistle. It is subtitled "Eller Oförmodade avsked, förkunnat vid Ulla Winblads frukost en sommarmorgon i det gröna. Pastoral dedicerad till Kgl. Sekreteraren Leopoldt" . It depicts the Rococo muse Ulla Winblad, as the narrator offers a "little breakfast" of "red wine with burnet, and a newly-shot snipe" in a pastoral setting in the Stockholm countryside.

Fader Berg i hornet stöter

Fader Berg i hornet stöter is Epistle No. 3 in the Swedish poet and performer Carl Michael Bellman's 1790 song collection, Fredman's Epistles. The epistle is subtitled "Till en och var av systrarna, men enkannerligen till Ulla Winblad". One of his best-known works, it is both about and mimics the rhythm of playing the horn, while Fredman enjoys the sight of Ulla Winblad dancing in a ruffled dress.

Käraste Bröder Systrar och Vänner Song by the 18th century Swedish bard Carl Michael Bellman

Käraste Bröder Systrar och Vänner is Epistle No. 9 in the Swedish poet and performer Carl Michael Bellman's 1790 song collection, Fredman's Epistles. The epistle is subtitled with the dedication "Til Gumman på Thermopolium Boreale och hännes Jungfrur.", Barbara Ekenberg. It describes the fictional Jean Fredman's cheerful world of brandy, women, and dance, in the setting of a tavern which is halfway to a brothel. The song ends with Fredman's credo, a celebration of everything that is delightful in life.

Blåsen nu alla Song by the 18th century Swedish bard Carl Michael Bellman

Blåsen nu alla, "All blow now!", is one of the Swedish poet and performer Carl Michael Bellman's best-known and best-loved songs, from his 1790 collection, Fredman's Epistles, where it is No. 25. It is a pastorale, based on François Boucher's rococo 1740 painting Triumph of Venus.

Glimmande nymf Song by the 18th century Swedish bard Carl Michael Bellman

Glimmande Nymf! blixtrande öga!, is a song by the Swedish poet and performer Carl Michael Bellman from his 1790 collection, Fredman's Epistles, where it is No. 72. It is subtitled "Lemnad vid Cajsa Lisas Säng, sent om en afton", and set to a melody by Egidio Duni. A night-piece, it depicts a Rococo muse in the Ulla Winblad mould, asleep in her bed in Stockholm, complete with allusions to both classical and Nordic mythology.

Liksom en Herdinna, högtids klädd Song by the 18th century Swedish bard Carl Michael Bellman

Liksom en Herdinna, högtids klädd, is a song by the Swedish poet and performer Carl Michael Bellman from his 1790 collection, Fredman's Epistles, where it is No. 80. The Epistle is subtitled "Angående Ulla Winblads Lustresa til Första Torpet, utom Kattrumps Tullen". It is a pastorale, starting with a near-paraphrase of Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux's French guide to the construction of pastoral verse. That doesn't prevent the supposed shepherd and shepherdess from falling into bed drunk at the end of the song. It has been described as lovelier in Swedish than in Boileau's original French. The epistle's humorous depiction of the human condition has been praised by critics.

Vår Ulla låg i sängen och sov 1790 song by Swedish bard Carl Michael Bellman

Vår Ulla låg i sängen och sov is Epistle No. 36 in the Swedish poet and performer Carl Michael Bellman's 1790 song collection, Fredman's Epistles. The epistle is subtitled "Rörande Ulla Winblad's flykt". It begins with the innkeeper peeping through the keyhole to her bedroom and whispering with his friends as she sleeps, slowly waking up. Then she dresses ornately and enters the tavern, delighting the menfolk until she is suddenly arrested.

I går såg jag ditt barn, min Fröja Song by the 18th century Swedish bard Carl Michael Bellman

I går såg jag ditt barn, min Fröja, is a ballad from the Swedish poet and performer Carl Michael Bellman's 1790 collection, Fredman's Epistles, where it is No. 28. The epistle is subtitled "Om et anstäldt försåt emot Ulla Winblad.". It describes an attempt to arrest the "nymph" Ulla Winblad, based on a real event. The lyrics create a rococo picture of life, blending classical allusion and pastoral description with harsh reality.

Käre bröder, så låtom oss supa i frid Song by the 18th century Swedish bard Carl Michael Bellman

Käre bröder, så låtom oss supa i frid is Epistle No. 5 in the Swedish poet and performer Carl Michael Bellman's 1790 song collection, Fredman's Epistles. The epistle is subtitled "Til the trogne Bröder på Terra Nova i Gaffelgränden.". The first epistle to be written, it introduces Jean Fredman's fictional world of ragged drunken men in Stockholm's taverns, making music, drinking, and preaching the message of the apostles of brandy, in the style of St Paul's epistles. The composition's approach is simple compared to later epistles, retaining much of the character of a drinking song.

Gråt Fader Berg och spela Song by the 18th century Swedish bard Carl Michael Bellman

Gråt Fader Berg och spela is No. 12 in the Swedish poet and performer Carl Michael Bellman's 1790 song collection, Fredman's Epistles. The epistle is subtitled "Elegi över Slagsmålet på Gröna Lund". It is a lament over a pub brawl, caused by Fredman's drinking a soldier's beer and dancing with someone else's girlfriend. Set to the melody from the aria "The flocks shall leave the mountains" in George Frideric Handel's opera Acis and Galatea, it is the best-known of his poems describing the consequences of brandy-drinking. Bellman used the contrast between the romantic associations of the melody and the brutal reality of heavy drinking to humorous effect.

Stolta Stad! Song and speech by the 18th century Swedish bard Carl Michael Bellman

Stolta stad! is Epistle No. 33 in the Swedish poet and performer Carl Michael Bellman's 1790 song collection, Fredman's Epistles. One of his best-known works, it combines both spoken and sung sections. In the spoken sections, Bellman, as composer and as performer, imitates a whole crowd of people of many descriptions. It has been described as Swedish literature's most congenial portrait of the country's capital city, Stockholm.

<i>Träd fram du Nattens Gud</i> Song with 18th century Swedish bard Carl Michael Bellman

"Träd fram du nattens gud", "Aftonkväde", or Fredmans sånger no. 32 is a nature-lyrical Swedish song by Carl Michael Bellman, a nocturne in the style of Edward Young's Night-Thoughts.

Nå skruva Fiolen 1790 epistle by Carl Michael Bellman

Nå skruva fiolen is Epistle No. 2 in the Swedish poet and performer Carl Michael Bellman's 1790 song collection, Fredman's Epistles. The epistle is subtitled "Till fader Berg, rörande fiolen". One of his best-known works, it is both about and mimics the rhythm of playing the violin.

Fram med basfiolen, knäpp och skruva Song by the 18th century Swedish bard Carl Michael Bellman

Fram med basfiolen, knäpp och skruva is Epistle No. 7 in the Swedish poet and performer Carl Michael Bellman's 1790 song collection, Fredman's Epistles. The epistle is subtitled "Som synes vara en elegi, skriven vid Ulla Winblads sang, sent om en afton". It describes an attempt by Jean Fredman to make love to Ulla Winblad, set to a tune from a French operetta, narrated with a combination of biblical allusion and suggestive metaphor. The mention of elegy implies that the song is about death, but the subtext is of the "little death" or female orgasm. Scholars have remarked the epistle's ambiguity, enabling it to work both on a high mythological level and a low worldly level. Similarly, the musician's cello serves both as a musical instrument and as a symbol for Ulla Winblad's body, allowing the singer to mime plucking strings and feeling a woman's body.

Kära syster Song by the 18th century Swedish bard Carl Michael Bellman

Kära Syster is No. 24 in the Swedish poet and performer Carl Michael Bellman's 1790 song collection, Fredman's Epistles. The epistle is subtitled "Till kära mor på Bruna Dörren" ; its themes are drinking and death. One of his best-known works, it is set to a tune extensively modified from one by Egidio Duni for Louis Anseaume's 1766 song-play La Clochette. Bellman's biographer, Carina Burman, calls it a central epistle.

Charon i Luren tutar Song by the 18th century Swedish bard Carl Michael Bellman

Charon i Luren tutar is epistle No. 79 in the Swedish poet and performer Carl Michael Bellman's 1790 song collection, Fredman's Epistles. The epistle is subtitled "Afsked til Matronorna, synnerligen til Mor Maja Myra i Solgränden vid Stortorget, Anno 1785". The song describes Jean Fredman's departure from the world.

References

  1. ↑ Bellman 1790.
  2. 1 2 "Carl Michael Bellmans liv och verk. En minibiografi (The Life and Works of Carl Michael Bellman. A Short Biography)" (in Swedish). Bellman Society. Archived from the original on 10 August 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  3. ↑ Britten Austin 1967, pp. 60–61.
  4. ↑ Britten Austin 1967, p. 39.
  5. ↑ Britten Austin 1967, pp. 81–83, 108.
  6. ↑ Britten Austin 1967, p. 63.
  7. ↑ "Theocritus, Idylls". Loeb Classical Library . Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  8. ↑ Virgil. "Virgil's Eclogues". virgil.org. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  9. 1 2 Bellman 1984, pp. 78, 134.
  10. 1 2 "N:o 31 (Kommentar tab)". Bellman.net (in Swedish). Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  11. ↑ Bellman 1989, pp. 209–212.
  12. 1 2 Lönnroth 2005, pp. 120–124.
  13. ↑ Bellman 1989, p. 209.
  14. ↑ Stork 1917, p. 8.
  15. ↑ Van Loon & Castagnetta 1939, pp. 83–84.
  16. ↑ Britten Austin 1977, p. 121.
  17. ↑ Britten Austin 1967, p. 103.
  18. ↑ "Opp Amaryllis by Folke Andersson, Edvard Andreasson". SecondHandSongs . Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  19. ↑ Bengtsson, Roland; Sällström, Folke. "Bellman, C. M.: Fredmans sånger (excerpts) (Sällström, Bengtsson)". Naxos . Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  20. ↑ Samuelson, Mikael. "Music of Carl Michael Bellman". AllMusic . Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  21. ↑ "To Carl Michael with love : Martin Best sings the songs and epistles of Sweden's 18th century songwriter / Carl Michael Bellman Solna : EMI, cop. 1995". Svensk MedieDatabas. Retrieved 27 June 2021.

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