Web editor

Web editor of this homepage is Eva Helenius. She is a musicologist and focuses her research on Swedish and Nordic music history with a time span from the Middle Ages to our days. 18th century musical life with Johan Helmich Roman and the repertoire of the Royal Chapel are central where her studies on Roman’s life, work and reputation is a work to be noticed. Furthermore, she is currently doing research on musical life during the so called Age of Freedom (1721-1772) such as it is mirrored in music collections, mainly the so called ‘gap’ between the Düben Collection and the Royal Opera Collection (c. 1730-c. 1770) which involves examinations on handwritings and music notations together with studies on personal history.

Another important field of research is musical instruments. Her thesis (1986) awarded two scholarly prizes, deals with Swedish clavichord building 1720-1820. She has continued her organological studies of particularly Swedish hammer instruments and reed organs. She also participates in international symposiums with studies of the clavichord and early Swedish piano making (pantalons, square pianos) and has thereby also adopted international aspects (Gottfried Silbermann and his cembal d’amour) and takes part in international working teams on the clavichord.

In the field of iconology, she has written a series of methodologically important articles on medieval Swedish church art which focus on the painter and embroiderer Albertus Pictor (d. 1509). Her medieval studies also include linguistic investigations on old Swedish music terminology.

Beside her university studies she also has a musical education (piano) and plays early instruments (mainly the viol). She has been working as an archivist and researcher at the National Collections of Music until 2004 when she came to the Klaverens Hus at Söderhamn where she, on a non-profit basis, has built up the collections and activities. If not otherwise given, her pictures, excerpts and research results have been of use for this homepage.