SHAOMIAN, A: Swedish National Romantic Music

The purpose of this book is to give you a brief background about the two main composers of Swedish National Romanticism and the musical connections that they have with each other. My goal is to define and illustrate National Romanticism and to extract from each composer‘s large body of works the characteristics of their folk-music influences. What makes the National-Romantic music of Sweden so ‘Swedish‘ is its use of folkloric melodies derived from generations of folk music and the influence of folk myths. Swedish folklore has its roots and influences in troubadour music, vocal songs such as the air or the folk ballad, festival and celebratory music, and the revised Lutheran psalms. By making visual and harmonic comparisons between folk songs and the folkloric melodies of contemporaries to the two foremost composers of the National-Romantic period, a conclusion can be made that National-Romantic music is ‘Swedish-sounding‘ primarily due to the incorporation of folk harmonies, melodies and dance rhythms in their specific modal settings.