Kungliga Hovkapellet (, "The Royal Court Orchestra") is a Swedish orchestra, originally part of the

Royal Court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word "court" may also be appl ...

in Sweden's capital

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

. Its existence was first recorded in 1526. Since 1773 it is part of the

Royal Swedish Opera Royal Swedish Opera ( sv, Kungliga Operan) is an opera and ballet company based in Stockholm, Sweden. Location and environment The building is located in the center of Sweden's capital Stockholm in the borough of Norrmalm, on the eastern side ...

's company. Kungliga Hovkapellet is one of the oldest active orchestras in the world. It was first recorded in the royal account books from 1526.Gunilla Petersén,
From the History of the Royal Swedish Orchestra 1526-2007
The orchestra originally consisted of both musicians and singers. It had only male members until 1727, when

Sophia Schröder Sophia Schröder (Stockholm, 1712 – 29 January 1750) was a Swedish people, Swedish soprano, active as a concert vocalist at the royal orchestra, the ''Kungliga Hovkapellet'', at the royal Swedish court, the first of her gender to have been offic ...

and Judith Fischer were employed as vocalists; in the 1850s, the harpist Marie Pauline Åhman became the first female instrumentalist. It had a golden age under the leadership of several members of the

Düben Düben is a village and a former municipality in the district of Wittenberg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Eu ...

family during the 17th century. In the 18th century, its directors included

Johan Helmich Roman Johan Helmich Roman (26 October 1694 – 20 November 1758) was a Swedish Baroque composer. He has been called "the father of Swedish music" or "the Swedish George Frideric Handel, Handel." He was the leader of Swedish Opera through most of Swedish ...

and

Francesco Uttini Francesco Antonio Baldassare Uttini (1723 Bologna – 25 October 1795) was an Italian composer and conductor who was active mostly in Sweden. He is best remembered today as a composer of operas in both the Italian and Swedish languages and f ...

. From 1731, public concerts were performed at

Riddarhuset The House of Nobility ( sv, Riddarhuset) in Stockholm, Sweden, is a corporation and a building that maintains records and acts as an interest group on behalf of the Swedish nobility. Name The name is literally translated as ''House of Knights' ...

in Stockholm. Since 1773, when the Royal Swedish Opera was founded by

Gustav III of Sweden Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Prussia. Gustav was a vocal opponent of what ...

, the Kungliga Hovkapellet has been part of the opera's company.

Notes

References

*Ivarsdotter Johnson, Anna & Leif Jonsson (eds.): ''Musiken i Sverige. 2. Frihetstid och gustaviansk tid 1720-1810'' ("Music in Sweden. The Age of Liberty and the Gustavian age 1720-1810"). Stockholm: Fischer, 1993 (Swedish) *Jonsson, Leif; Ann-Marie Nilsson & Greger Andersson: ''Musiken i Sverige. 1, Från forntid till stormaktstidens slut'' ("Music in Sweden. From Ancient times to the end of the Age of Empire"). Stockholm: Fischer, 1994 (Swedish) *Petersén, Gunilla:
From the History of the Royal Swedish Orchestra 1526-2007
, at the official website of the Kungliga Hovkapellet. (Retrieved on 11 April 2009) *Official Orchestra website

{{Authority control 1526 establishments in Sweden Organizations established in the 1520s Musical groups established in the 16th century Swedish orchestras

See also

Notes

References