Sophia Schröder (

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, 1712 – 29 January 1750) was a Swedish

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

, active as a

concert A concert, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...

vocalist Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

at the royal orchestra, the ''

Kungliga Hovkapellet Kungliga Hovkapellet (, "The Royal Court Orchestra") is a Swedish orchestra, originally part of the Royal Court in Sweden's capital Stockholm. Its existence was first recorded in 1526. Since 1773 it is part of the Royal Swedish Opera's company. K ...

'', at the royal Swedish court, the first of her gender to have been officially given such a position.Hovförsamlingen CI:3 1715-1766 (page 482)

Life

Sophia Schröder was born in Stockholm to German immigrants. On 26 October 1726, females were formally allowed to be employed at Kungliga Hovkapellet by a new direction from the monarch, although females had in fact unofficially been active at the Hovkapellet starting since Maria de Croll in 1702. The same year females were officially admitted, Schröder and her colleague Judith Fischer were formally employed as vocalists, and the following year, they replaced the two boys previously serving as sopranos. Together, they became historical as the first of their gender to have been officially employed in the then two-hundred-year-old history of the royal orchestra. They were additionally the first official female court singers at the Swedish court since Anne Chabanceau de La Barre. Both Schröder and Fisher had in fact been active as vocalists at the orchestra before they were officially hired. Sophia Schröder was a court singer, and performed for the royal court at various occasions as well as at the performances of the orchestra. From 1731, the royal orchestra also performed at public

s at '' Riddarhuset'' in Stockholm. She was a student of Anders von Düben, Casper Gottlob Grünwaldt, Frans Hindrich Meyer, Johan Helmich Roman, Conrad Arnoldi, and Jacob Dedering. Anders von Düben gave her a high recommendation as a student in the musical science. Sophia Schröder remained unmarried and kept her position as vocalist until her death in 1750. When her colleague Judith Fisher left the orchestra after her marriage in 1740, she was replaced by Schröder's sister Gustaviana Schröder. They were followed by five more women in the orchestra during the

Age of Liberty In Swedish history, the Age of Liberty () was a period that saw parliamentary governance, increasing civil rights, and the decline of the Swedish Empire that began with the adoption of the Instrument of Government in 1719 and ended with Gustav ...

. In 1751, two female vocalists from the royal orchestra, Hedvig Witte and Cecilia Elisabeth Würzer, performed at the burial of King

Frederick I of Sweden Frederick I (; 28 April 1676 – 5 April 1751) was List of Swedish monarchs, King of Sweden from 1720 until his death, having been prince consort of Sweden from 1718 to 1720, and was also Landgrave of Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel, Hesse-Kassel fr ...

References

Sources

* Anna Ivarsdotter Johnsson och Leif Jonsson: ''Musiken i Sverige. Frihetstiden och Gustaviansk tid 1720-1810'' (Music in Sweden. Age of liberty and the Gustavian age 1720–1810) (Swedish) * Leif Jonsson, Ann-Marie Nilsson och Greger Andersson: ''Musiken i Sverige. Från forntiden till stormaktstidens slut 1720'' (Music in Sweden. From Ancient times to the end of Empire)(Swedish) * Gunhild Karle (Swedish): Kungl. Hovmusiken i Stockholm och dess utövare 1697-1771 (The Music and Musicians of the Royal Court in Stockholm in 1697–1771), TryckJouren, Uppsala 2002. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Schroder, Sophia 1712 births 1750 deaths Swedish sopranos 18th-century Swedish women singers Age of Liberty people Singers from Stockholm

Life

See also

References

Sources