Gerhard Roither's arrangement of the beautiful Swedish folk song Ack Värmeland, du sköna was written for The 12 Cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic to perform at a concert for the Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf and his German-born wife Quenn Silvia in Stockholm.
Dear Old Stockholm is a Swedish folk song, best known in the English-speaking world for versions by jazz artists such as Stan Getz, Miles Davis, Paul Chambers and John Coltrane's Impressions album. The original Swedish title, Ack Värmeland, du sköna/Värmlandsvisan, may be roughly translated as Oh Värmland, You Lovely. The song was originally written by the Värmlandian Anders Fryxell for his musical Vermlandsflickan (The Värmlandian Girl). The song is about the county Värmland in Sweden. In 1846 the song was incorporated in Fredrik August Dahlgren's play Värmlänningarna (The Värmlandians). In Sweden, this composition is often performed as an anonymous treasure of the Swedish folksong tradition.
