On Good Friday, April 23, 1734, the Leipzig church community experienced Christ's passion through Stölzel's oratorio, Ein Lämmlein geht und trägt die Schuld, not through Bach's music.
Compositional Technique
The only choral movement in Stölzel's Passion that showcases his counterpoint skills is number 38, which sets the words 'Schmerz, Jammer, Angst und Not' as a canon.
Critical Reception
Despite Lorenz Mizler's prophecy that Stölzel's name would always be venerated, he was largely forgotten until recently, and recordings like this aim to spark a renaissance of his work.
Compositional Technique
Stölzel authored two music theoretical works, including a forty-page study on infinite canons and the first known treatise on recitative, written in 1739.
Composition History
Stölzel's Passion oratorio, Ein Lämmlein geht und trägt die Schuld, is the earliest example of a 'passion oratorio' that uses completely new, poetic librettos rather than strictly following Gospel texts.
Composer Biography
Stölzel was a prolific composer, writing nearly a thousand cantatas, including twelve complete cycles for all Sundays and feast days of the ecclesiastical year.
Composer Biography
Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel (1690-1749) was a significant figure in 18th-century German musical life, held in high regard even by Johann Sebastian Bach.
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