(b Stockholm, 4 Feb 1740; d there, 11 Feb 1795). Swedish poet. He was known as an entertainer and satirist in the 1760s and achieved fame through court patronage. A gifted poet and writer of c 1700 poems, he was a parodist, re-using popular melodies, but his bold verses and his metrical patterns created a new song form. He generally drew on existing melodies, including French airs, dances etc, but recomposed them and may have written some of his own.

The Concise Grove Dictionary of Music. Copyright © 1994 by Oxford University Press, Inc.. All rights reserved.