Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel (13 January 1690 – 27 November 1749) was a German
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and def ...
of the
Baroque era
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from the early 17th century until the 1750s. It followed Renaissance art and Mannerism and preceded the Rococo (i ...
.
Biography
Early life
Stölzel was born in
Grünstädtel in
Saxony
Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...
on 13 January 1690. His father, organist in Grünstädtel, gave him his first music education. When he was thirteen, he was sent to study in
Schneeberg, where he was taught music, including
thoroughbass, by
cantor
A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. Cantor as a profession generally refers to those leading a Jewish congregation, although it also applies to the lead singer or choir director in Christian contexts. ...
Christian Umlaufft, a former student of
Johann Kuhnau
Johann Kuhnau (; 6 April 16605 June 1722) was a German polymath, known primarily as a composer today. He was also active as a novelist, translator, lawyer, and music theorist, and was able to combine these activities with his duties in his offici ...
. A few years later he was admitted to the
gymnasium in
Gera
Gera () is a city in the German state of Thuringia. With around 93,000 inhabitants, it is the third-largest city in Thuringia after Erfurt and Jena as well as the easternmost city of the ''Thüringer Städtekette'', an almost straight string of ...
, where he further practiced music under
Emanuel Kegel, the director of the
court chapel. Some of his educators took a dim view of music, and tried to divert his attention from it: apart from engaging in poetry and oratory, Stölzel nonetheless continued to develop his interest in music.
[Mattheson 1740][Mizler 1754][Melvin P. Unger, editor]
"Introduction" pp. vii–xi
o
Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel – ''German Te Deum: a setting of Martin Luther's translation''.
A-R Editions, 2010.
In 1707 he became a student of theology in
Leipzig
Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
. The city had a lot to offer from a musical point of view: its opera had been reopened shortly before, which Stölzel liked to visit. He became acquainted with
Melchior Hoffmann, at the time music director of the
Neukirche and conductor of the
Collegium Musicum
The Collegium Musicum was one of several types of musical societies that arose in Germany, German and German-Switzerland, Swiss cities and towns during the Protestant Reformation, Reformation and thrived into the mid-18th century.
Generally, whil ...
, both in succession of
Georg Philipp Telemann
Georg Philipp Telemann (; – 25 June 1767) was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. He is one of the most prolific composers in history, at least in terms of surviving works. Telemann was considered by his contemporaries to b ...
, who had left Leipzig in 1705. Perfecting his art under Hoffmann, Stölzel also acted as his copyist, and started composing: initially Hoffmann performed these compositions as his own, Stölzel gradually coming to the open as their composer.
As a composer
In 1710 Stölzel went to
Breslau in
Silesia
Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...
, where his first opera, ''Narcissus'', on his own libretto, was performed in 1711. Returning to
Halle after over two years in Silesia, he composed the operas ''Valeria'', instigated by
Johann Theile, for
Naumburg
Naumburg () is a town in (and the administrative capital of) the district Burgenlandkreis, in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany. It has a population of around 33,000. The Naumburg Cathedral became a UNES ...
, and ''Rosen und Dornen der Liebe'' for
Gera
Gera () is a city in the German state of Thuringia. With around 93,000 inhabitants, it is the third-largest city in Thuringia after Erfurt and Jena as well as the easternmost city of the ''Thüringer Städtekette'', an almost straight string of ...
. In 1713 he composed two further operas on his own librettos, ''Artemisia'' and ''Orion'', both premiered in Naumburg.
[Narcissus](_blank)
at
Late in 1713 he travelled to
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, where he met composers like
Johann David Heinichen and
Antonio Vivaldi
Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist, impresario of Baroque music and Roman Catholic priest. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lif ...
in
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
,
Francesco Gasparini in
Florence
Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025.
Florence ...
and
Domenico Scarlatti
Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti (26 October 1685 – 23 July 1757) was an Italian composer. He is classified primarily as a Baroque music, Baroque composer chronologically, although his music was influential in the development of the Classical peri ...
and
Antonio Bononcini in
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
. Returning after more than a year, he spent some time in
Innsbruck
Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...
, and travelled over
Linz
Linz (Pronunciation: , ; ) is the capital of Upper Austria and List of cities and towns in Austria, third-largest city in Austria. Located on the river Danube, the city is in the far north of Austria, south of the border with the Czech Repub ...
to
Prague
Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
where he worked for nearly three years (1715–17).
In 1715 the post of
Kapellmeister
( , , ), from German (chapel) and (master), literally "master of the chapel choir", designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term has evolved considerably in i ...
at the court of
Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
Schwarzburg-Sondershausen was a small principality in Germany, in the present day state of Thuringia, with its capital at Sondershausen.
History
Schwarzburg-Sondershausen was a county (earldom) until 1697. In that year, it became a principal ...
became vacant. Stölzel applied, but Prince
Christian William I promoted
Johann Balthasar Christian Freißlich, the court organist, to Kapellmeister in 1716.
Court musicians such as Johann Christoph Rödiger felt disappointed with their master's choice.
[Cantatas for Pentecost](_blank)
review of the 2002 recording by Johan van Veen, 2005
In Prague Stölzel premiered three more operas, several oratorios, masses, and many instrumental compositions. Stölzel was for a short time court Kapellmeister in
Bayreuth
Bayreuth ( or ; High Franconian German, Upper Franconian: Bareid, ) is a Town#Germany, town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtel Mountains. The town's roots date back to 11 ...
(1717–18) and in
Gera
Gera () is a city in the German state of Thuringia. With around 93,000 inhabitants, it is the third-largest city in Thuringia after Erfurt and Jena as well as the easternmost city of the ''Thüringer Städtekette'', an almost straight string of ...
(1719). His opera ''Diomedes'' was premiered in 1718 in Bayreuth. Stölzel married Christiana Dorothea Knauer on 25 May 1719. They had nine sons and one daughter. Three sons died at a young age.
On 24 November 1719 Stölzel assumed the position of Kapellmeister at the court in
Gotha
Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the ...
, where he worked under the dukes
Frederick II and
Frederick III of
Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg () was a duchy ruled by the Ernestine branch of the House of Wettin in today's Thuringia, Germany. The extinction of the line in 1825 led to a major re-organisation of the Thuringian states.
History
In 1640 the sons of the ...
until his death in 1749.
[Owens et al. 2011/2015]
p. 203
/ref>
Stölzel wrote several theoretical works about music, but only one of these was published during his lifetime: a treatise on the composition of canon
Canon or Canons may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author
* Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture
** Western canon, th ...
s, of which 400 copies were printed in 1725.[Hiller 1784][Gerber 1792]
In 1720 Prince Günther I succeeded his father in Sondershausen. He too regretted his father's choice for the court Kapellmeister. He asked Stölzel to provide music for the court chapel. However, Stölzel did not comply with this request until 1730, when Freißlich was leaving for Danzig (where he was appointed in 1731). Until Günther's death in 1740 Stölzel provided music for the Sondershausen court, which included four cycles of church cantatas, other sacred music, and secular music such as serenatas.[Scheitler 2005]
pp. 338–345
/ref>
In 1739 Stölzel became a member of Lorenz Christoph Mizler
Lorenz Christoph Mizler von Kolof (also known as Wawrzyniec Mitzler de Kolof and Mitzler de Koloff; 26 July 1711 – 8 May 1778) was a German physician, historian, printer, mathematician, Baroque music composer, and precursor of the Enlighten ...
's . As a member of this Society he composed a cantata and wrote a treatise on the recitative
Recitative (, also known by its Italian name recitativo () is a style of delivery (much used in operas, oratorios, and cantatas) in which a singer is allowed to adopt the rhythms and delivery of ordinary speech. Recitative does not repeat lines ...
, which was published as ''Abhandlung vom Recitativ'' in the 20th century.
Final years
The last two years of his life Stölzel suffered from ill health, becoming feeble-minded ("im Haupte schwach"). Some of Stölzel's manuscripts were sold to cover expenses.[Ahrens 2009] He died 27 November 1749 in Gotha, less than 60 years old. Mizler printed Stölzel's obituary as second of three (of which Johann Sebastian Bach's was the third), in the fourth volume of his ', the organ of the Society of Musical Sciences.
Compositions
According to an 18th-century source Stölzel would have composed eight double cantata cycles.
Stölzel composed twelve complete annual cycles of sacred cantatas, which amounts to 1,358 cantatas. 1,215 of these are at least partially extant, 605 surviving with music.[Siegmund 2007] Additionally, Stölzel set cantatas to secular texts.
Among his extant compositions are a Brockes Passion of 1725, two ''Christmas Oratorios'', made of cantatas,[Stölzel: Christmas Oratorio - Epistle Cantatas](_blank)
on ArkivMusik, review of David Vernier, 2005 and a '' Deutsche Messe'' (German Mass), a Lutheran Mass consisting of Kyrie and Gloria, in German, set for four-part choir, strings and basso continuo. Extant instrumental works include four concerti grossi, many sinfonias, and a concerto for oboe d'amore
The ; (), less commonly (), is a double reed woodwind musical instrument in the oboe family. Slightly larger than the oboe, it has a less assertive and a more tranquil and serene tone, and is considered the mezzo-soprano of the oboe family, betw ...
. He also wrote for organ and harpsichord.
His five operas, ''Diomedes'' (1718), ''Narcissus'', ''Valeria'', ''Artemisia'', and ''Orion'', have not survived. Stölzel is reputed to have composed over 18 orchestral suites alone (none survive), as well as 90 serenatas (vocal pieces performed as "table music").
Half of Stölzel's output, never engraved, is lost. Out of what had to have been thousands of compositions in Gotha, only twelve manuscripts survive there today. The archive at Schloss Sondershausen retains many of his manuscripts, found in a box behind the organ in 1870.
Reception
Stölzel enjoyed an outstanding reputation in his lifetime. Shortly after his death some of his compositions were still performed, and Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg rated him slightly above Bach in his list of prominent composers of the 18th century. By the 19th century he was largely forgotten.[. Article in '']Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung
The ''Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung'' (''General music newspaper'') was a German-language periodical published in the 19th century. Comini (2008) has called it "the foremost German-language musical periodical of its time". It reviewed musical e ...
''. 1832, pp. 639f. From the second half of the 20th century there was an increase of musicological research about the composer, and recordings of his work.
Contemporaries
Before he settled in Gotha for the last thirty years of his life Stölzel had already seen his music performed from Germany to Italy. His operas had been staged in several major cities in the 1710s. His sacred music was performed from Catholic Prague to the Protestant German principalities. Even after his music production became concentrated on Gotha and Sondershausen, his music was still performed outside these places. One of his operas was performed in Altenburg in 1722,[ Nur in dir wohnt mein Ergötzen schöne Gegend stilles Land] the Saitenspiel cantata cycle was performed under Johann Friedrich Fasch
Johann Friedrich Fasch (15 April 1688 – 5 December 1758) was a German violinist and composer. Much of his music is in the Baroque-Classical transitional style known as galant.
Life
Fasch was born in the town of Buttelstedt, 11 km north of W ...
in Zerbst in 1724–25, and the first Passion he had composed for Gotha, and reworked around 1730, was taken up in several German cities:
* Johann Sebastian Bach performed ''Ein Lämmlein geht und trägt die Schuld'' on Good Friday in Leipzig
Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
.
* In 1736 the Passion was performed as ''Geistliche Und Heilige Betrachtungen der Gläubigen Seele über Ihren Leidenden und Sterbenden Jesum'' in Rudolstadt
Rudolstadt is a town in the German federal state Thuringia, within the Thuringian Forest, to the southwest, and to Jena and Weimar to the north.
The former capital of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, the town is built along the River Saale inside a wide ...
, and in a similar version (''Der Glaubigen Seele geistliche Betrachtungen Ihres leidenden Jesu'') in Nürnberg
Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the largest city in Franconia, the second-largest city in the German state of Bavaria, and its 544,414 (2023) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest city in Germany. ...
.
Bach didn't only perform the work: around 1742–43 he reworked the aria "Dein Kreuz, o Bräutgam meiner Seelen" from ''Die leidende und am Kreuz sterbende Liebe Jesu'' into ''Bekennen will ich seinen Namen'', BWV 200. The music of this work had originally been believed to have been Bach's own.
Before that, Bach and his family had shown their interest in various genres of Stölzel's music:
* Klavierbüchlein für Wilhelm Friedemann Bach
''Klavierbüchlein für Wilhelm Friedemann Bach'' (Bach's original spelling: ''Clavier-Büchlein vor Wilhelm Friedemann Bach'') is a collection of Keyboard instrument, keyboard music compiled by the Germany, German Baroque composer Johann Sebasti ...
: in the 1720s Bach copied a four-movement harpsichord suite ''Partia di Signore Steltzeln'' (Partita
Partita (also ''partie'', ''partia'', ''parthia'', or ''parthie'') closely resemble the dance suites of the Baroque music, Baroque Period (and are often used synonymously with Suite (music), suites) with the addition of a prelude movement at the ...
by Mr. Stölzel) as 48th piece in the Klavierbüchlein (keyboard-booklet) of his eldest son Wilhelm Friedemann, adding a Trio (BWV 929) of his own hand to its last movement, a Minuet
A minuet (; also spelled menuet) is a social dance of French origin for two people, usually written in time. The English word was adapted from the Italian ''minuetto'' and the French ''menuet''.
The term also describes the musical form tha ...
.[ Alfred Dörffel, editor. BGA Vol. 451 (1897), pp. 213–231]
* Possibly in the period 1732–35 Bach performed cantatas of Stölzel's Namebook cycle in Leipzig.
* From the first Sunday after Trinity
The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...
1735 to Trinity Sunday the next year Bach probably performed Stölzel's entire String-Music cantata cycle in Leipzig's churches. Text booklets containing Schmolck's librettos and the chorales Stölzel had added to his settings of these librettos, were printed for the Leipzig church services in that period.[Tatiana Shabalin]
"Recent Discoveries in St Petersburg and their Meaning for the Understanding of Bach’s Cantatas"
pp. 77-99 i
''Understanding Bach'' 4
2009
* ''Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach
The title ''Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach'' () refers to either of two manuscript notebooks that the German Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach presented to his second wife, Anna Magdalena. Keyboard music (minuets, rondeaux, polonaises, ...
'': some time after 1733–34 Anna Magdalena Bach
Anna Magdalena Bach (''née'' Wilcke; 22 September 1701 – 27 February 1760) was a German professional singer and the second wife of Johann Sebastian Bach.
Biography
Anna Magdalena Wilcke was born at Zeitz, in the Duchy of Saxe-Zeitz. Wh ...
noted "Bist du bei mir
"" (If you are with me, I go with joy) is an aria from Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel's opera ''Diomedes'', which was first staged on 16 November 1718. The aria is best known as "," Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis, BWV 508, a version for voice and basso ...
", BWV
The (, ; BWV) is a Catalogues of classical compositions, catalogue of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach. It was first published in 1950, edited by Wolfgang Schmieder. The catalogue's second edition appeared in 1990 and the third edition in ...
508, based on the aria "Bist du bei mir geh ich mit Freuden" from Stölzel's opera ''Diomedes'',[ Diomedes (Excerpts): "Bist du bei mir geh ich mit Freuden"] in her notebook. For a long time the music of this aria was misattributed to her husband Johann Sebastian.
Johann Mattheson
Johann Mattheson (28 September 1681 – 17 April 1764) was a German composer, critic, lexicographer and music theorist. His writings on the late Baroque and early Classical period were highly influential, specifically, "his biographical and the ...
reckoned Stölzel among "the level-headed, learned, and great music masters" of his century. Lorenz Christoph Mizler rated Stölzel as great as Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...
.
Next generation
Georg Benda
Georg Anton Benda (; 30 June 17226 November 1795) was a Kingdom of Bohemia, Bohemian composer, violinist and ''Kapellmeister'' of the Classical period (music), classical period.
Biography
Born into a Benda family, family of notable musicians in ...
, Stölzel's immediate successor at the court in Gotha, restaged church music of his predecessor, sometimes with score revisions, until 1768: Passion settings and many cantatas such as the 1728–29 double cantata cycle (restaged in the liturgical years 1752–53, 1763–64 and 1765–66) were included in such repeat performances.[Owens et al. 2011/2015]
p. 213
/ref> Stölzel's legacy was however disintegrating through sales of manuscripts, which court musicians had continued after the composer's death. In 1778 Benda wrote: "... Only the best works of my predecessor, which could be used even today for church music, are saved, because already a long time ago I separated them from useless junk and kept them in my own house."
Through Benda's neglect manuscripts of Stölzel's works in Gotha were lost. In Sondershausen Stölzel's works were copied, performed and conserved. Surprisingly Johann Gottlob Immanuel Breitkopf
Johann Gottlob Immanuel Breitkopf (Leipzig, 23 November 1719 – 28 January 1794, Leipzig) was a German music publisher and typographer.
Biography
Breitkopf was the son of the publisher Bernhard Christoph Breitkopf, founder of the publishing hou ...
did not list any church cantatas by Stölzel in his catalogues of 1761, 1764 and 1770. Johann Kirnberger considered Stölzel to be one of the greatest contrapuntists, and illustrated his ''Die Kunst des reinen Satzes'' with music by Stölzel. C. P. E. Bach adopted several movements of Stölzel's ''Sechs geistlichen Betrachtungen des leidenden und sterbenden Jesus'' in his 1771 ''Lukas-Passion'' and his 1772 ''Johannes-Passion'' pasticcio
In music, a ''pasticcio'' or ''pastiche'' is an opera or other musical work composed of works by different composers who may or may not have been working together, or an adaptation or localization of an existing work that is loose, unauthorized, ...
s. After C. P. E. Bach's death in 1788 three of Stölzel's cantata cycles were found in his legacy.[ Stölzel, Gottfried Heinrich: Passions – Passion in 6 Betrachtungen][ Stölzel, Gottfried Heinrich: Masses (Excerpts) – Only Kyrie][A. B. Marx]
"2. Freie Aufsätze: Herausgabe klassischer Kirchenmusik", pp. 317–319
in ''Berliner Allgemeine Musikalishe Zeitung'', 4th year, No. 40, 3 October 1827[Paul Corneilson, editor. ''Passion according to St. John (1772) based on a setting by Georg Philipp Telemann: incorporating music by Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel, Gottfried August Homilius, and Johann Sebastian Bach'', Vol. 7.1 in Series IV: Oratorios and passions of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach's complete works. Los Altos, CA: The Packard Humanities Institute, 2007. ][Passion according to St. John : (1772) / Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach ; based on a setting by Georg Philipp Telemann ; incorporating music by Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel, Gottfried August Homilius, and Johann Sebastian Bach ; edited by Paul Corneilson](_blank)
at
Reference works by Johann Adam Hiller
Johann Adam Hiller (25 December 1728 – 16 June 1804) was a German composer, conducting, conductor and writer on music, regarded as the creator of the Singspiel, an early form of German opera. In many of these operas he collaborated with the poet ...
(1784) and Ernst Ludwig Gerber (early 1790s) contain biographies of Stölzel. Hiller describes part of Stölzel's music production as "heard today and forgotten tomorrow": over-all light in spirit and, according to the standards of the time when these pieces originated, with pleasurable singing lines over a sparse instrumental accompaniment. Hiller qualifies Stölzel's choral music as full in texture and rich in harmony, and names the ''Canonic Mass in thirteen real voices'' and the German Te Deum as examples of Stölzel's accomplished style, fully mastering the composition of canons and fugues. Gerber largely repeats Hiller's biographical notes and judgement about Stölzel's music, adding descriptions of Stölzel's 1736 double cantata cycle and vocal chamber music, where the singing voice is treated as an instrumental part, in some passages rather an accompaniment than the leading voice. Gerber praises Stölzel for his art of composing recitatives and summarizes the content of the then still unpublished ''Abhandlung vom Recitative''.
Manuscript conservation and publications
collected manuscripts of Stölzel's music, many of these ending up in the Berlin State Library.[ Stölzel, Gottfried Heinrich: 16 Cantatas] Pölchau edited Stölzel's ''Missa canonica for thirteen real voices'' for publication in 1818. Pölchau offered a copy of this edition to Carl Friedrich Zelter, leader of the Sing-Akademie zu Berlin
The Sing-Akademie zu Berlin, also known as the Berliner Singakademie, is a musical (originally choral) society founded in Berlin in 1791 by Carl Friedrich Christian Fasch, harpsichordist to the court of Prussia, on the model of the 18th-centu ...
. In 1832 Pölchau published a selection of Stölzel's choral music. In the first half of the 19th century one of Stölzel's masses was copied by Johann Gottfried Schicht, and, with the orchestral part arranged for organ by Carl Ferdinand Becker, performed in Leipzig.[ Stölzel, Gottfried Heinrich: Masses] Becker also arranged some of Stölzel's music for organ solo.
The pieces from the Anna Magdalena and Wilhelm Friedemann Bach notebooks, "Bist du bei mir" and ''Partita di Signore Steltzeln'', were published by the Bach Gesellschaft
The German Bach-Gesellschaft (Bach Society) was a society formed in 1850 for the express purpose of publishing the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach without editorial additions. The collected works are known as the Bach-Gesellschaft-Ausg ...
in the second half of the 19th century. Stölzel's solo cantata ''Die Rose bleibt der Blumen Königin'' was published in 1884. Arnold Schering
Arnold Schering (2 April 1877 in Breslau, German Empire – 7 March 1941 in Berlin) was a German musicologist.
He grew up in Dresden as the son of an art publisher. He learned violin at the from which he graduated in 1896. Thereafter he studied ...
published Stölzel's ''Concerto Grosso a quattro Chori'' in 1907. The aria BWV 200
''Bekennen will ich seinen Namen'' (I shall acknowledge His name), BWV 200, is an arrangement by Johann Sebastian Bach of an aria from Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel's passion-oratorio '' Die leidende und am Creuz sterbende Liebe Jesu''. He scored it ...
was first published, as a composition by Johann Sebastian Bach, in 1935. The trio sonata in F minor for 2 violins or oboes and basso continuo was published in 1937. In 1938 Wolfgang Schmidt-Weiss wrote a thesis about Stölzel's instrumental music, which was published as a book in 1939.
The 1940s and 1950s saw a number of score publications:
* In 1942 a trio sonata for flute, violin and continuo was published.
* In 1948 Merseburger published the cantata ''Aus der Tiefe rufe ich'' (H. 442).
* A Sonata for oboe, horn, violin and continuo was published around 1952.
* The Concerto for Oboe, strings & continuo in D major was published in 1953, with a piano reduction
In music, a reduction is an arrangement or transcription of an existing score or composition in which complexity is lessened to make analysis, performance, or practice easier or clearer; the number of parts may be reduced or rhythm may be ...
by G. Müller.
* Hans Albrecht prepared the Christmas cantata ''Kündlich gross ist das gottselige Geheimnis'' for publication in 1953, and edited the chorale and aria ''Lob und Dank'' for publication in 1954.
* A trio sonata for Flute, Violin and Harpsichord was published in 1955.
* Around the mid-1950s Josef Bachmair edited two trio sonatas for two violins and continuo: the Sonata V and the Sonata in B-flat major.
* Around the same time Gotthold Frotscher published the trio sonatas in D major for flute, violin and continuo, and in G major for two flutes and continuo.
The New Bach Edition
The New Bach Edition (NBE) (; NBA), is the second complete edition of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, published by Bärenreiter. The name is short for Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750): New Edition of the Complete Works (''Johann Sebastian ...
republished the three Bach-related pieces in the second half of the 20th century. The Concerto for Oboe and Violin in F major was published in 1963. In the 1970s Jean Thilde published, in a series named after Maurice André
Maurice André (21 May 1933 – 25 February 2012) was a French trumpeter, active in the classical music field.
He was professor of trumpet at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris where he introduced the teaching of the pic ...
, several compositions of the baroque era in an arrangement for trumpet, including, by Stölzel, the D major oboe concerto (1972), the F major double concerto (in 1975 with a piano reduction of the orchestral material and in 1976 with the orchestral score), a sonata in D major after the "Sonata V" for two violins (1976), a concertino in E minor (1976), a concerto in C (1976), and a concerto in B-flat (1976).
In 1965 Fritz Hennenberg wrote a two-volume thesis about Stölzel's cantatas. In 1976 an updated version of that thesis was published in one volume as ''Das Kantatenschaffen von Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel''.[Hennenberg 1976] An Urtext edition
An urtext edition (from German prefix wikt:ur-, ur- ''original'') of a work of classical music is a printed version intended to reproduce the original intention of the composer as exactly as possible, without any added or changed material. Other ...
of the G minor Oboe Concerto was published in 1979. The cantata ''Ich bin beide'' was published in 1981. Stölzel's ''O wie ist die Barmherzigkeit des Herrn so groß'' was published in 1989. Two sonatas, Nos. 3 and 4 of the eight sonatas à quattro for oboe, violin, horn and basso continuo collection, were published in 1993. Hofmeister published the fifth Sonata à Quattro for oboe, violin, horn and basso continuo in 2001.
Stölzel's Ave Regina, ''Sind wir denn Kinder'', ''Ehre sei Gott'', and a new edition of the 1725 cantata ''Kündlich groß ist das gottselige Geheimnis'' were published in 2003. Stölzel's 1725 setting of the ''Brockes-Passion'' was also published in the first decade of the 21st century. The 1772 ''St. John Passion'' pasticcio which included four movements by Stölzel was published as Vol. 7.1 in Series IV of C. P. E. Bach's complete works. The ''German Te Deum'' was published in 2010.[Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel, composer; Melvin P. Unger, editor]
''German Te Deum: a setting of Martin Luther's translation''.
A-R Editions, Inc., 2010.
In the 21st century facsimiles of large portions of Stölzel's work became available on websites such as those of the Berlin State Library and the Saxon State and University Library Dresden.[ Stölzel, Gottfried Heinrich at ]IMSLP
The International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP), also known as the Petrucci Music Library after publisher Ottaviano Petrucci, is a subscription-based digital library of public domain, public-domain sheet music, music scores. The project use ...
website
Recordings
The vocal music that was published as part of the Bach legacy is frequently recorded:
* "Bist du bei mir" is by far Stölzel's most often recorded piece of music.
* BWV 200 has been recorded over 20 times since 1951.
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (; 28 May 1925 – 18 May 2012) was a German lyric baritone and conductor of classical music. One of the most famous Lieder (art song) performers of the post-war period, he is best known as a singer of Franz Schubert's ...
recorded the cantata ''Aus der Tiefe rufe ich, Herr, zu Dir'', H. 442, in the early 1950s, and again, for Deutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...
, in 1965. Erik van Nevel, conducting the Ricercar Consort
The Ricercar Consort is a Belgian instrumental ensemble founded in 1980 together with the Ricercar record label of Jérôme Lejeune.
The founding members were violinist François Fernandez, organist Bernard Foccroulle, and viola da gamba pla ...
, recorded this cantata in 1991.[Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel: Recordings of Cantatas & Other Vocal Works](_blank)
at Günter Wand
Günter Wand (7 January 1912, in Elberfeld, Germany – 14 February 2002, in Ulmiz near Bern, Switzerland) was a German orchestra conductor and composer. Wand studied in Wuppertal, Allenstein and Detmold. At the Cologne Conservatory, he was a ...
recorded the Concerto grosso a quattro chori in 1956. Carl Schuricht's performance of the work at the Salzburger Festspiele was recorded in 1961.
Maurice André
Maurice André (21 May 1933 – 25 February 2012) was a French trumpeter, active in the classical music field.
He was professor of trumpet at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris where he introduced the teaching of the pic ...
performed the D major Oboe Concerto as a trumpet concerto, and recorded it several times, for example in the 1960s for Philips
Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...
, in 1977 with the English Chamber Orchestra
The English Chamber Orchestra (ECO) is a British chamber orchestra based in London. The full orchestra regularly plays concerts at Cadogan Hall, and their ensemble performs at Wigmore Hall. With a limited performance size, the orchestra spe ...
conducted by Charles Mackerras
Sir Alan Charles MacLaurin Mackerras (; (17 November 1925 – 14 July 2010) was an American-born Australian conductor. He was an authority on the operas of Janáček and Mozart, and the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan. He was long associ ...
, and in 1983 with the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields conducted by Neville Marriner
Sir Neville Marriner, (15 April 1924 – 2 October 2016) was an English conductor and violinist. Described as "one of the world's greatest conductors", Gramophone lists Marriner as one of the 50 greatest conductors and another compilation ra ...
. In 1971 he recorded Stölzel's Concerto Grosso a Quatri Chori with five other trumpetists, Pierre Pierlot on the oboe and the Jean-François Paillard
Jean-François Paillard (12 April 1928 – 15 April 2013) was a French conductor.
He was born in Vitry-le-François and received his musical training at the Conservatoire de Paris, where he won first prize in music history, and the Salzburg Mo ...
Chamber Orchestra conducted by Philippe Caillard. In 1980 André recorded the Sonata in D major, reconstructed and orchestrated by Thilde after Stölzel.
André Bernard's recording of the D major trumpet concerto appeared in 1973. The Ricercar Consort recorded and released the of the Brussels Conservatory in 1988.
Stölzel's Brockes Passion, in a performance conducted by Ludger Rémy, was recorded in 1997.
Rémy also recorded ten (half) cantatas from the Christmas season 1736–37 in Sondershausen, released as ''Christmas Oratorio'' on two CDs:[Abstracts von Aufsätzen zu Stoelzel](_blank)
at
* CD 1 (recorded May 1999):
** for the first day of Christmas:
*** ''Ach, dass die Hülfe aus Zion über Israel käme''
*** ''Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe''
** for the second day of Christmas:
*** ''Ich sehe den Himmel offen''
*** ''Ihr sollt nicht wähnen''
** for the third day of Christmas:
*** ''Kündlich gross ist das gottselige Geheimnis''
* CD 2 (recorded January 2000):
** for the Sunday after Christmas:
*** ''Das Alte is vergangen''
*** ''Das Ende eines Dinges ist besser denn sein Anfang''
** for New Year's Day:
*** ''Alles, was ihr tut mit Worten oder Werken''
** for Epiphany:
*** ''Danksaget dem Vater''
*** ''Wir haben ein festes prophetisches Wort''
Rémy's recordings of the 16 chamber cantatas were released on two CDs, in 2002 and 2004 respectively.
C. P. E. Bach's 1772 ''Johannes-Passion'' pasticcio, containing some movements by Stölzel, was recorded in 2003.
Rémy's ''Cantatas for Pentecost'' CD was released in 2004, containing:
* Three double cantatas for the Pentecost season of 1737:
*# ''Werdet voll Geistes''
*# ''Siehe da, eine Hütte''
*# ''Wollte Gott, dass alle das Volk''
*# ''Daran ist erschienen die Liebe''
*# ''So denn ihr, die ihr arg seid''
*# ''Lehre mich tun nach deinem Wohlgefallen''
* Cantata ''Er heisset Friedefürst'' for Quasimodogeniti Sunday 20 April 1732
Two CDs recorded by the Handel's Company conducted by Rainer Johannes Homburg contained the Epistle cantatas and the Gospel cantatas of the 1728 ''Christmas Oratorio'' respectively, along with a selection of other works by Stölzel:
* Epistle Cantatas CD (released 2005):
**Epistle cantatas from the 1728 ''Christmas Oratorio'':
**# ''Das Volk, so im Finstern wandelt''
**# ''Ich sehe den Himmel offen''
**# ''Wenn dein Wort offenbar wird''
** Other works included in the recording:
*** Concerto for Oboe, Strings and Basso Continuo in D major
*** ''Deutsche Messe''
*** Cantata ''Kündlich groß ist das gottselige Geheimnis''
* Gospel Cantatas CD (released 2007):
** Te Deum
** Gospel cantatas from the 1728 ''Christmas Oratorio'':
**# ''Euch ist heute der Heiland geboren''
**# ''Denen zu Zion wird ein Erlöser kommen''
**# ''Herr, du weissest alle Dinge''
** Cantata ''Gehet zu seinen Toren ein'' for New Year
Rémy recorded the serenatas ''Alles, was sonst lieblich heisset'' and ''Seid wilkommen, schöne Stunden'' in 2007.
The first decade of the 21st century saw new recordings, and reissues of older recordings, of the Concerto grosso a quatro chori and of the Trumpet Concerto in D major. Lajos Lencsés recorded Stölzel's oboe concerto in G minor in 2008.
The nine Quadros (Sonatas à 4) for oboe, horn, violin and continuo were recorded in 2008.[Johan van Veen]
at (2013) A recording of the version for two trumpets of the F major concerto was released in 2015.
Chamber music for string instruments and continuo was recorded in 2009:[Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel: Kammermusik](_blank)
at
* Sonata in C minor for two violins and basso continuo
* Sonata a 4 in G major for violin, viola, violoncello and basso continuo
* Sonata in B flat major for two violins and basso continuo
* Quadro in E minor for two violins, violoncello and basso continuo
* Sonata in D major for two violins and basso continuo
* Sonata in E minor for two violins and basso continuo
* Quadro in G major for two violins, violoncello and basso continuo
The ''Partia di Signore Steltzeln'' has been recorded, with inclusion of Bach's Trio BWV 929, on harpsichord, piano and organ. The ''Enharmonische Claviersonate'' has been recorded on harpsichord.Broekert, Leen De 3 Historical Organs In Zeeland
at
References
Sources
* Christian Ahrens. ''Zu Gotha ist eine gute Kapelle ...: Aus dem Innenleben einer thüringischen Hofkapelle des 18. Jahrhunderts''. Stuttgart, 2009
* Ernst Ludwig Gerber
"Stoelzel (Gottfried Heinrich)", columns 585–593
i
''Historisch-biographisches Lexikon der Tonkünstler'', Vol. 2 (N–Z).
Leipzig: Breitkopf, 1792.
*
* Fritz Hennenberg
''Das Kantatenschaffen von Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel''.
Volume 8 of Beiträge zur musikwissenschaftlichen Forschung in der DDR. Leipzig, 1976
* Johann Adam Hiller
Johann Adam Hiller (25 December 1728 – 16 June 1804) was a German composer, conducting, conductor and writer on music, regarded as the creator of the Singspiel, an early form of German opera. In many of these operas he collaborated with the poet ...
"Stölzel (Gottfried Heinrich)", pp. 256–266
i
''Lebensbeschreibungen berühmter Musikgelehrten und Tonkünstler neurer Zeit'', Vol. 1.
Leipzig: Dyk, 1784.
*
* Johann Mattheson
Johann Mattheson (28 September 1681 – 17 April 1764) was a German composer, critic, lexicographer and music theorist. His writings on the late Baroque and early Classical period were highly influential, specifically, "his biographical and the ...
(editor). '' Grundlage einer Ehren-Pforte''. Hamburg: 1740, with following contributions by and/or about Stölzel:
** Pp. 102–103: "Hartig (ex liter. Stölzel.)" (biographical notes on Freiherr von Hartig, whom Stölzel knew during his stay in Prague 1715–17)
** Pp. 117–119: "Melch. Hofmann (ex lit. Stölzel.)" (biographical notes on Melchior Hofmann, whom Stölzel knew when he studied in Leipzig from 1707)
** Pp. 171–172:"Logi (ex liter. Stölzel.)" (biographical recollections on Duke von Logi, whom Stölzel knew in Prague)
** Pp. 342–347: "Stöltzel (ex autogr.)" and "fortsetzung, in form eines Briefes, vom 7. Dec. 1739" (Stölzel's autobiographical notes)
** P. 382: "Umlaufft (ex lit. Stölzel.)" (Stölzel's short biographical note on Christian Umlaufft, a former teacher of his)
** P. 406: Stölzel mentioned by Georg Gebel as living in Brieg in 1709
* Lorenz Christoph Mizler
Lorenz Christoph Mizler von Kolof (also known as Wawrzyniec Mitzler de Kolof and Mitzler de Koloff; 26 July 1711 – 8 May 1778) was a German physician, historian, printer, mathematician, Baroque music composer, and precursor of the Enlighten ...
(editor)
"VI. Denkmal dreyer verstorbenen Mitglieder der Societät der musikalischen Wissenschafften; B.", pp. 143–157
in Lorenz Christoph Mizler
Lorenz Christoph Mizler von Kolof (also known as Wawrzyniec Mitzler de Kolof and Mitzler de Koloff; 26 July 1711 – 8 May 1778) was a German physician, historian, printer, mathematician, Baroque music composer, and precursor of the Enlighten ...
's ', Volume IV Part 1. Leipzig, Mizlerischer Bücherverlag, 1754.
* Samantha Owens, Barbara M. Reul, Janice B. Stockig
''Music at German Courts, 1715-1760: Changing Artistic Priorities''.
Boydell & Brewer, 2011 (reprint 2015).
*
* Irmgard Scheitler
''Deutschsprachige Oratorienlibretti: von den Anfängen bis 1730''.
Schöningh, 2005.
* Wolfgang Schmidt-Weiss. ''Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel als Instrumentalkomponist''. Würzburg-Aumühle: Triltsch, 1939.
* Benjamin Schmolck. ''Das Saiten-Spiel des Hertzens, Am Tage des Herrn, Oder Sonn- und Fest-tägliche Cantaten: Nebst einigen andern Liedern''. Breßlau/Leipzig, 1720 (reprints 1725
1727
and 1737)
*
* Basil Smallman
"Review: ''Das Kantatenschaffen von Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel'' by Fritz Hennenberg"
pp. 63–66 in ''Music & Letters
''Music & Letters'' is an academic journal published quarterly by Oxford University Press with a focus on musicology. The journal sponsors the Music & Letters Trust, which makes twice-yearly cash awards of variable amounts to support research in t ...
'' Vol. 59, No. 1. Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, January 1978.
* Werner Steger. ''G.H. Stölzels "Abhandlung vom Recitativ"''. Heidelberg, 1962
*
External links
*
*
*
Gottfried Heinrich Stoelzel (1690–1749)
() = www.stoelzel.net
*
Gottfried Heinrich Stoelzel
() – Biography, Ruhr-Universität Bochum
– Biography at bach-cantatas.com
Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel - Brockes Passion, openingsdeel (broadcast 18 April 2014, fragment)
at Nederlandse Publieke Omroep
The Dutch public broadcasting system () is a group of organizations that are responsible for public service television and radio broadcasting in the Netherlands. It is composed of the Nederlandse Publieke Omroep (NPO) foundation, which acts as it ...
website: introduction (in Dutch) and a few movements of Stölzel's ''Brockes-Passion'' (Ludger Rémy recording)
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stolzel, Gottfried Heinrich
German Baroque composers
German opera composers
German male opera composers
People from the Electorate of Saxony
Leipzig University alumni
1690 births
1749 deaths
18th-century German classical composers
18th-century German male musicians