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
Frontispiece to the first edition by Johan Tobias Sergel, engraved by Johan Fredrik Martin
Bellman's artistry in the songs of Fredman's Epistles has been compared with William Hogarth's work as a painter, as here in Gin Lane, 1751.
Detail of watercolour by Johan Fredrik Martin of a scene reminiscent of Ulla Winblad's journey back from Lake Mälaren to Stockholm in Epistle No. 48, Solen glimmar blank och trind
Ep. 45: Mollberg is beaten, his harp broken in the Rostock tavern [sv]
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 Oförm
Sheet music
Rest by this spring: the view towards Stockholm from Djurgården in Bellman's time. Watercolour by Elias Martin, c. 1790
The pimpinella used to flavour wine in the song may well have been Sanguisorba minor, salad burnet.
Arrangement for four-part male choir in B-flat major by Johan Peter Cronhamn [sv] (1803–1875)