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Texts & Translations: Main Page | Cantatas BWV 1-50 | Cantatas BWV 51-100 | Cantatas BWV 101-150 | Cantatas BWV 151-200 | Cantatas BWV 201-224 | Other Vocal BWV 225-249 | Chorales BWV 250-438 | Geistliche Lieder BWV 439-507 | AMN BWV 508-524 | Other Vocal 1081-1164 | BWV Anh | Chorale Texts | Emblemata | Sources | Poets & Composers
Discussions: Texts: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Translations: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4


Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel
Cantata Cycle "Saiten-Spiel des Herzens"
Original German Texts

Benjamin Schmolck published the cantata cycle "Saiten-Spiel des Herzens" (String Music of the Heart) in 1720 in Leipzig/Breslau with 88 Texts between 1st Sunday in Advent and 27th Sunday after Trinity, and texts for feasts of the Apostles and some others. B. Schmolck provided more than one cantata text for some of the most important feasts. His librettos have five sections: Aria - Recitative - Aria - Recitative - Aria.
Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel composed his cycle on these texts probably in 1724-1725 (or one year earlier?). He split the librettos he used in two halves, adding a chorale from the hymnal used in Gotha as a conclusion of each half: thus the structure of his cantatas based on B. Schmolck's librettos became (Part I:) Aria - Recitative - Aria - Chorale, and (Part II:) Recitative - Aria - Chorale. With only a few exceptions, G.H. Stölzel scored the String Music cantatas for only 4 vocal parts (soprano, alto, tenor, bass) and 4 instruments (1st and 2nd violins, viola and basso continuo). Only two feast-day cantatas (Christmas Day and Easter Day [Easter Sunday]) add the required 3 trumpets and timpani. The cycle was performed in Zerbst (1724-1725), after a presumed earlier performance of the cycle in Gotha.

From the 1st Sunday after Trinity 1735 to Trinity Sunday 1736, J.S. Bach probably performed G.H. Stölzel's entire String-Music cantata cycle in Leipzig's churches. Text booklets containing B. Schmolck's librettos and the chorales G.H. Stölzel had added to his settings of these librettos, were printed for the Leipzig church services in that period.

 

List of the cantatas in this cycle is in preparation.

 

Contributed by Aryeh Oron (March 2020 - August 2020)
Thanks to contributors: Kim Patrick Clow (January 2012), Marc-Roderich Pfau (March 2020, August 2020)

Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel: Short Biography | Recordings of Vocal Works
Works: Cantata BWV 200 | Bist du bei mir BWV 508 | Brockes-Passion
Discussions: Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel & Bach | Article: Is there another cantata cycle by Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel that belonged to Bach’s performance repertoire? [Bach-Jahrbuch 2009]
List of Stölzel's cantatas performed by Bach: Cantata Cycle "Saiten-Spiel des Herzens" | Cantata Cycle "Namen-Buch Christi und der Christen"


Texts & Translations: Main Page | Cantatas BWV 1-50 | Cantatas BWV 51-100 | Cantatas BWV 101-150 | Cantatas BWV 151-200 | Cantatas BWV 201-224 | Other Vocal BWV 225-249 | Chorales BWV 250-438 | Geistliche Lieder BWV 439-507 | AMN BWV 508-524 | Other Vocal 1081-1164 | BWV Anh | Chorale Texts | Emblemata | Sources | Poets & Composers
Discussions: Texts: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Translations: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4




 

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Last update: Sunday, July 02, 2023 14:24