"Johan Helmich Roman (1694-1758) is one of the most important figures in the history of Swedish music. His lifetime embraced the first decades of peace that followed the death of Charles XII and the decline of Sweden as a great power. Roman's contribution to the musical life of this period is not confined to his work as a composer but extends over a wide field of activity, for he was Kapellmeister to the court and was responsible for the inauguration of regular public concerts in Stockholm, at which he introduced to the Swedish public the work of many of the most important composers of his time (including Handel). He did much to vindicate the use of Swedish in the setting of sacred texts and exercised a decisive influence on the development of an independent Swedish tradition of vocal writing both in the sphere of sacred and secular music. He was an accomplished executant, the violin and the oboe being his principal instruments, although he is said to have played many others besides, and his output in the field of instrumental music is comprehensive, ranging from works for a large orchestral ensemble to compositions for solo violin."

(From Roman biography by Ingmar Bengtsson).