Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel (1690-1749) - Concerto grosso (D-Dur) a quattro Chori
Performers: Heinz Zickler (trumpet); Hellmut Schneidewind (1928-2011, trumpet); Otto Jahn (trumpet);
Walter Schetsche (trumpet);
Württemberg Chamber Orchestra; Jörg Faerber (1929-2022, conductor)
Further info: Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel (1690-1749) - Te Deum
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German composer and theorist. He received his first music instruction
from his father, a pupil of the Halle court organist Moritz Edelmann. In
1707 he went to Leipzig University, but felt himself drawn more towards
the opera, recently reopened there, and to the collegium musicum
(founded by Telemann and at that time directed by Melchior Hofmann). He
proved to be a helpful copyist to Hofmann, who soon recognized his gifts
as a composer. Stölzel's first works were performed under his teacher's
name (Emanuel Kegel); they appeared only later under his own. In 1710
he went to Breslau, where he taught singing and keyboard in aristocratic
circles. He also composed for the collegium musicum and produced his
first dramatic work. A teacher of Italian with whom he was friendly
recommended that he go to Italy to improve his composition; but he went
next to Halle, wrote a pastorale for the court at Gera, and (through the
negotiations of Johann Friedrich Fasch and Johann Theile) received a
commission from the Zeitz court for which he composed three operas for
the fair at Naumburg. Afterwards he received from both Gera and Zeitz
offers of the post of court Kapellmeister, which he refused. At the end
of 1713 Stölzel went to Italy, meeting Francesco Gasparini, Alessandro
Marcello, C.F. Pollarolo and Vivaldi in Venice, and Antonio Bononcini
and Domenico Scarlatti in Rome. In Florence, where he was a guest of the
court, he wrote numerous cantatas and a duet as his contribution to a
gala concert. He is said to have refused offers to remain there for
religious reasons. In 1715 he went to Prague, where he remained for
three years; he took a lively part in the musical activities there, and
composed dramatic works, oratorios, masses and instrumental music. He
declined an offer of a position at the Dresden court, which would have
included a study trip to France, and in 1717 he returned to Bayreuth,
where he was commissioned to compose church music for the 200th
anniversary celebration of the Reformation and other pieces to mark the
duke's birthday. By the beginning of 1718 Stölzel was Kapellmeister at
the court at Gera, and on 24 February 1720 he was appointed to the same
post at the court at Saxe-Gotha. For 30 years he held this appointment,
which obliged him to compose for the church, the opera and other court
festivities. He also executed commissions for the courts at
Sondershausen and Gera. About this time he allowed some of his works to
be copied, notably church cantatas, and his reputation grew. From the
evidence of various applications to his patrons, it seems that Stölzel
wrote the texts of his own vocal works. He acquired a wide reputation as
a teacher and theorist, and in 1739 was elected a member of Lorenz
Christoph Mizler's Societät der Musikalischen Wissenschaften.
