Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel's biography reads rather like a musician's ideal career. Several years spent studying in various countries, fending off offers of employment, were followed by a thirty-year ‘steady job’ as Kapellmeister at the court of Saxe-Gotha. Entering university in Leipzig in 1707, six years after Telemann, he was undoubtedly familiar with Telemann's work through his involvement (while still a student) with the Collegium musicum founded by the latter (though directed by Melchior Hofmann by 1707). Stölzel appears to have had the ability to make friends in high places throughout his life, for by 1710 he was teaching singing and keyboard amongst the aristocratic circles of Breslau, and subsequent time in Halle yielded a commission from the Zeitz court and the enthusiastic reception of a pastorale that he had written for the court at Gera, both of which resulted in offers of employment as Kapellmeister. The years 1713–1718 were spent in Venice, Rome, Florence, Prague and Bayreuth, and his success in each place is more than adequate testimony to the quality of his music.

The preservation of Stölzel's aria ‘Bist du bei mir’ (from the opera Diomedes, oder Die triumphierende Unschuld) in the second Clavierbüchlein for Anna Magdalena Bach is widely accepted as an indication of J. S. Bach's esteem for the composer (see Christoph Wolff, Hans-Joachim Schulze, Andreas Glöckner and Peter Wollny, ‘Zurück in Berlin: Das Notenarchiv der Sing-Akademie. Bericht über eine erste Bestandsaufnahme’, Bach-Jahrbuch 88 (2002), 165–180; the relevant section is Glöckner's ‘Neues zum Thema Bach und die Oper seiner Zeit’ on pages 172–174). Mattheson included Stölzel's autobiography in Grundlage einer Ehren-Pforte (Hamburg, 1740), though his admiration may have resulted at least in part from Stölzel's reputation as a theorist. Although the majority of his theoretical works are compilations, Stölzel's treatise on canon was printed in his lifetime (Practischer Beweis, wie aus einem . . . Canone perpetui in hypodiapente quatuor vocum, viel und mancherley … Canones perpetui à 4 zu machen seyn, 1725). His groundbreaking Abhandlung vom Recitativ (edited in Werner Steger, ‘G. H. Stölzels Abhandlung vom Rezitativ’ (dissertation, University of Heidelberg, 1962)), written for Lorenz Christoph Mizler's Societät der Musikalischen Wissenschaften some time after 1739, when Stölzel was elected to the society, also earned him considerable respect amongst his contemporaries. After his death in 1749, however, his music seems to have fallen out of favour.

Armed with this biographical information, the listener may expect to hear similarities to the music of Bach, Handel and Telemann in Stölzel's music, and this is indeed the case in the two serenatas presented on this disc, Alles, was sonst lieblich heißet and Seid willkommen, schöne Stunden. Echoes of Bach occur particularly in the recitatives, and similarities to Telemann's Harmonischer Gottesdienst (1726) can be heard in some of the more daring obbligato arias. Similarly, the dramatic pacing of both serenatas can easily remind the listener of Handel's oratorios, particularly those on pastoral themes. Despite this, however, Stölzel's music maintains a strong individuality, at times even pushing the boundaries of contemporary compositional practice, most notably by combining traditional structural designs with elements of newer approaches to form that were developing at the time.

Thought to have been performed as part of the celebrations for the birthday of Prince Günther I von Schwarzburg-Sondershausen on 13 August 1736, Alles, was sonst lieblich heißet exists only in a manuscript copy. As most of the other occasional pieces composed for the Prince exist in autograph, this has prompted the suggestion that Alles, was sonst lieblich heißet may have had some form of prior existence. Although this would indeed be redolent of Handel's practice of reusing his own material, no previous version of the serenata can be traced, leaving this particular source of curiosity unsatisfied. Typically among Stölzel's cantatas, Alles, was sonst lieblich heißet centres on allegory, with each singer embodying a different register of the human voice. Under the guise of argument and discourse on music and harmony, each symbolic representation inevitably leads into praise and congratulations offered to the Prince. Unusually, Stölzel is thought to have written his own texts for most of his works, and, as Manfred Fechner points out in the liner notes, he regarded the writing of poetry as part of the creative process (16). Certainly it is plausible that Stölzel, with his strict theoretical principles, could have written the text for Alles, was sonst lieblich heißet. Seid willkommen, schöne Stunden, however, differs in that although allegory features in the text, it is directed towards the moral of the tale rather than at the Prince. As the liner notes point out, the libretto of Seid willkommen is ‘an absolutely paradigmatic example of the genre of the pastoral drama’ (17), and Stölzel's understanding of the principles of this genre is reflected in the style of the music, which is less declamatory than that of Alles, was sonst lieblich heißet, in keeping with Mattheson's directive (Der vollkommene Capellmeister, 1739) that the music of pastoral dramas should be modest and innocent (liner notes, 17–18).

The two serenatas form ideal companions on this release, for after sixty-eight minutes of Alles, was sonst lieblich heißet, the contrast of timbre provided by the gentle opening movement of Seid willkommen, schöne Stunden is a welcome change. This is not to say that the latter serenata is at all superficial by comparison. Indeed, the movements progressively increase in pace towards the centre of the work, drawing the listener into the central journey of the drama. At only thirty-five minutes, Seid willkommen, schöne Stunden is half the length of the other serenata, but its relatively gentle pacing, combined with a number of da capo arias, means that the difference in length is not as noticeable as might be expected. Both serenatas are built on an attractive mixture of recitatives, arias and ensemble numbers, and Stölzel's instrumental writing is ingenious, occasionally rescuing an otherwise repetitive vocal number. In fact, Stölzel's compositional genius appears to come to life particularly in the ensemble numbers and those arias with obbligato instruments. The soprano aria ‘Philomele, deine lockende tönende Kehl’ (Alles, was sonst lieblich heißet) is one such example, the interplay between voice and violin reminiscent of Handel's treatment of the flute obbligato in the aria ‘Sweet Bird’ from Part 1 of L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato.

Other excellent obbligato arias appear in Seid willkommen, schöne Stunden, one of which (‘Es kommen die Wolken der Trübsal geschwinde’) hints at a sense of humour in Stölzel's writing. Set to a text that describes the potential scattering of ‘clouds of sorrow’, the short ritornello phrase ends with a quick downward scale that portrays the scattering of clouds but also lends the idea a certain silliness. The idea of humour increases towards the end of the serenata, with a comical bass line (redolent of ‘O ruddier than the cherry’ from Handel's Acis and Galatea) in ‘Was uns im Anfang bitter scheinet’, marking the beginning of the end for Myrtillo's ill-fated love designs. The ensuing lovers' duet is followed by a lively gigue, its dance-like string writing offset by the combined pomp of trumpets and timpani to signal the end of the work: a simple but effective tool.

Stölzel's choice of instrumentation is as refined as his dramatic structuring, as witnessed by his selective use of trumpets in Alles, was sonst lieblich heißet, with echoes of J. S. Bach's writing for the instrument (in his Magnificat in D) in ‘O wie schöne’. Further support for this is heard in the Sinfonia, in which the distinctly Handelian opening texture of contrasting string and wind (plus trumpet) sections is transformed subtly into an intricate weave of concertino and imitative effects that lead seamlessly into a tutti B section in minuet form.

The performance by the musicians of the Telemannisches Collegium Michaelstein is consistently impressive throughout both discs, despite small tuning difficulties in the upper violins in ‘Die Biene zieht aus vielen Blumen’ and a slight stumbling in the (admittedly speedy) ‘Was meiner Leitung folgen soll’ (both in Alles, was sonst lieblich heißet). These movements are offset, however, by the beautifully erudite violin playing in ‘Es kommen die Wolken’ (Seid willkommen, schöne Stunden). Overall, the playing exudes a sense of command and a profound understanding of the demands of what is at times very ‘metamorphic’ music by dint of its often rapid and subtle changes of Affekt. Dorothee Mields (soprano) exhibits a similar sense of command, her flexible tone sinuous one moment and gay the next. Tenor Knut Schnoch delights with his clear tone and amazing clarity, though he could perhaps sound slightly more heroic at times, and contralto Elisabeth Graf is wonderful, her rich tone particularly suited to movements in a slower tempo, such as ‘Die süßesten Züge der lieblichsten Weisen’ (Alles, was sonst lieblich heißet). Unfortunately, she is rather let down in the lovely duet ‘Bloß nach dir’ (Alles, was sonst lieblich heißet) by bass Ekkehard Abele, who consistently sings slightly under the note. Elsewhere on the discs he is engaging, though without the flexible command shown by the other soloists.

On both discs the recording quality, as always on cpo, is extremely high. So too are the liner notes, though their scholarship is at times let down by a rather poor translation that creates confusion not present in the original German. Some of Stölzel's works have appeared on labels other than cpo, but past issues have tended to be restricted to instrumental works, resulting in an imbalance in the recordings available. Far from being of purely archival interest, however, cpo's discs of Stölzel's vocal works focus attention on the high quality of his music, which promises a fulfilling musical experience for the listener.