Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel (1690-1746)
Missa in A minor, StoeR III:a1
Missa in E flat major, StoeR III:Es1
Missa in C major, StoeR III:C1 ‘Missa canonica’
Missa in G major, StoeR III:G1
Missa in E minor, StoeR III:e1
Cantus Thuringia
Capella Thuringia/Bernhard Klapprott
rec. 2020/22, Konzertscheune der Musikakademie, Michaelstein
Latin texts & English translations included
cpo 5553662 [58]
I first became aware of the music of Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel in 2023 when I attended a performance of his Passion work, Ein Lämmlein geht und trägt die Schuld at the Three Choirs Festival (review). I then tracked down a recording of the work, also on the cpo label, and reviewed that. Subsequently, I bought the two cpo discs which contain the ten cantatas which comprise his Christmas Oratorio (999 668-2 and 999 735-2).
For readers who may be unfamiliar with Stölzel, it will perhaps be worthwhile if I repeat the little biographical summary which I included in my review of Ein Lämmlein geht und trägt die Schuld. He was born in 1690 in a small village in Saxony, near what is now the German/Czech border. He was educated at Leipzig University and his subsequent career as a composer included spells working in Breslau, Gera, Bayreuth, Prague, and Innsbruck. From 1720 to his death in 1749 he was Kapellmeister in Gotha; for most of that time he was in the service of Duke Friedrich II (1676-1732) as the Duke’s Kappellmeister. Apparently, much of his music was lost during the eighteenth century but, in fact, many of us will have long been familiar with a piece by Stölzel, possibly without knowing it: the famous aria ‘Bist du bei mir’, long attributed to Bach (as BWV 508) is, in fact, from Stölzel’s opera Diomedes (1718). Although much of his output was lost after his death, it seems that quite a lot of his music survives in a collection in the Schlossmueum in the German town of Sondershausen. That said, ,none of the works performed on this disc are sourced from Sondershausen; the thorough documentation includes details of the source material, including the locations of each.
These are Missae breves, settings of just the Kyrie and Gloria; in design, therefore, they are similar to the Missae composed by Bach (BWV233-236). As Bert Siegmund explains in the booklet, Stölzel composed these settings – with the probable exception of the C major Mass – for the Protestant service in the chapel at the court of the Dukes of Saxe-Gotha and Altenburg at Friedenstein Castle in Gotha. Drawing on archive documents, Bert Siegmund tells us that Stölzel composed thirty-one mass settings in all, three of which were in German; twenty-five have survived, though several are just fragments of the originals. The masses would have been sung by a small chorus of soloists on important feast days and, as Siegmund points out, though there are solo passages, these are short and would have been sung by a member of the vocal consort who would then have resumed their place within the consort; there are, therefore, so specifically solo movements.
All the masses are for SATB, with two voices per part, except for the C major Mass, which is scored for two SATB choirs (one voice per part in this performance). As we shall see, the orchestral scoring is different in each Mass. The settings are quite concise; in these performances, the shortest, the G major Mass, plays for just 9:18; the longest is the C major Mass, which plays for 13:49.
Bert Siegmund’s booklet essay is a scholarly affair but even he is unable to date all five of these compositions, although he indicates that all of them were written between 1722 and 1745. No date is given for the A minor Mass, which is scored for SATB voices and an orchestra consisting of 2 oboes d’amore, 2 violins, viola and basso continuo. In the Kyrie movement, the sound of the oboes d’amore adds an interesting piquancy to the textures. Stölzel’s vocal writing is clear; the music is calm and confident. Like the corresponding movements in the other four Masses, this Kyrie is modest in scale and concise. The Gloria is divided into three sections. The first of these includes a duet between a soprano and a tenor, which is most attractively sung. The second section (beginning at ‘Domine Deus, rex coelestis’) opens with an extended alto solo. An agile bass solo begins the final section (‘Quoniam’) before a lively fugue for the full choir at ‘Cum sancto spiritu’. Throughout the Mass, the music is impeccably crafted; Bernhard Klapprott’s singers and instrumentalists perform it expertly.
The surviving source of the E minor Mass is annotated by the composer himself with the date 3 June 1722. The forces required are identical to those for the A minor Mass except that the oboes d’amore are replaced by a pair of oboes. The Kyrie, though short in scale, is spacious and serious in tone. The Gloria is divided into just two sections, the second of which begins at ‘Quoniam to solus sanctus’. Once again, Stölzel follows his model of short solo passages – or duets – interspersed with choral passages. I especially enjoyed the brisk, contrapuntal passage for the full choir (‘Cum sancto spiritu’) with which Stölzel concludes the Mass.
The C major Mass, ‘Missa canonica’ is something of an outlier here. For one thing, it’s the only one of the five works on the programme which uses two SATB choirs; they are accompanied by modest instrumental forces, consisting of two violins, two violas and basso continuo. Secondly, Bert Siegmund states that Stölzel drew on the Missa canonica by Johann Joseph Fux (c. 1660-1741), using Fux’s composition “to familiarise himself with the contrapuntal treatment of multiple voices”. An autograph score dated 1725 survives, though it seems that the composer later revised the work. Siegmund thinks it is unlikely that this Mass was performed during Stölzel’s lifetime. In the Kyrie, the richer, more complex textures of eight-part writing are immediately apparent, even though each part is allotted to only one singer. The Gloria is divided into no fewer than six short sections and the first of these features music which is more flamboyantly contrapuntal than anything we’ve experienced up to now on this disc. (One suspects that here, in what may have been a “study” work, Stölzel felt able to slip the leash rather more than would have been the case for a Mass intended for the ducal chapel, where possibly a touch more austerity would have been expected.) In the second section (‘Et in terra pax’) Stölzel’s twin-choir writing is very evident thanks to the clear, well-balanced singing in this performance. Later, in the ‘Quoniam’ section I like the fact that Stölzel writes in such a way that individual vocal lines briefly come to the fore and then recede again into the full ensemble. The setting concludes with an immaculately crafted, contrapuntal ‘Cum sancto spiritu’; hereabouts, Bernhard Klapprott ensures that excellent clarity and balance is achieved.
For the G major Mass, Stölzel reverts to SATB scoring. The instrumental support comes from 2 oboes, 2 violins, viola and basso continuo but with the important addition of a pair of horns. Although the writing for the horns is not flamboyant in any way, the instruments enrich the texture in the Kyrie; to be honest, this movement isn’t particularly interesting apart from the pleasing horn contributions. The Gloria is in three sections. It begins in quite a sprightly fashion and then at ‘Gratias agimus’ Stölzel indulges, most effectively. in vigorous contrapuntal writing. In the second section (‘Qui tollis’) Stölzel uses dissonance very well to bring intensity to his fugal writing. Right at the end of the Gloria, I enjoyed the jubilant, athletic treatment of ‘Cum sancto spiritu’.
Stölzel inscribed the autograph of the E flat major Mass with the date 25 April 1745. To use Bert Siegmund’s description, the scoring is “opulent”: in addition to the SATB choir the setting calls for 3 trumpets, timpani, two horns, flute, 2 violins, viola and basso continuo. The orchestral forces strongly suggest, I think, that the Mass was composed for a particularly festive occasion; I understand that in 1745 Easter Day fell on 18 April, just one week before the date on the composer’s autograph; is that significant? Notwithstanding that the Mass may have been intended for an important liturgical celebration, it is a compact composition, here playing for just 10:20. The trumpets and drums are first employed at the start of the Gloria. Whilst one notices them, their prominence is nowhere near as great as Bach would probably have given them; perhaps the citizens of Leipzig expected more extrovert music on special feast days than was the expectation of the Dukes of Saxe-Gotha and Altenburg; or perhaps Stölzel’s nature was less confident and outgoing than Bach’s. In the second of the three sections of the Gloria, I admired Stölzel’s variety both of texture and of musical material. At the beginning of the closing section (‘Quoniam’) solo voices are deployed and I like the way the vocal lines are embellished, quite discreetly, first by a trumpet and then by one of the horns. The concluding ‘Cum sancto spiritu’ is spirited and joyful.
Earlier in this review I used the term ‘impeccably crafted’. Though I was referring to a specific passage in the A minor Mass, the phrase is applicable to all the music on this disc. It would be idle to pretend that Stölzel’s music sets the pulse racing in the way that Bach’s so often does. However, when we speak of Bach, we are discussing a genius. Furthermore, as I’ve suggested, the comparative restraint of Stölzel’s Mass settings may have been fully in accord with the expectations of his ducal employers. I enjoyed and admired the music I heard on this CD. Equally, I enjoyed and admired the performances. The eight singers of Cantus Thuringia are evidently expert performers; whether singing individually or in consort, their voices are clear, precise and suit this music very well indeed. Their instrumental colleagues from Capella Thuringia are just as adept. Bernhard Klapprott has clearly prepared the performers thoroughly and under his direction the music is brought to life in an ideal fashion. Stölzel has been very well served by these musicians.
The venue for these recordings has been aptly chosen because the Konzertscheune der Musikakademie, located in the former Cistercian monastery in Michaelstein, is only about 110 miles north of Gotha. The choice of venue is even more important, though, because it seems that the performance space has a clean acoustic of which the engineers have taken full advantage so as to present the performances in clear, pleasing sound. I’m not sure if the recordings were made live in concert – the booklet photos suggest this may have been the case. The first four Masses on the disc were recorded in October 2020 and the E flat Mass was recorded in May 2022; the sonic results are entirely consistent. As I’ve already indicated, Bert Siegmund’s extensive booklet essay is detailed and scholarly; I just wish cpo had printed the booklet in a slightly larger font, which would have made Siegmund’s most interesting essay rather easier to read.
John Quinn
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