Grove's dictionary of music and musicians

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STOKES STOLTZER 701
STOKES, Chaelbs. This excellent musician
was bom in 1784, and received his first instructions
as a chorister in St. Paul's Cathedral.
He was afterwards a pupil of Webbe, the glee
composer, who was his godfather—and of other
masters ; but he was most indebted for his
musical knowledge to Samuel Wesley, with
whom he was long and intimately acquainted.
He ofiiciated for several years asassistant-organist
to Callcott, at St. Paul's, Covent Garden, and
Bartleman at Croydon ; but he latterly preferred
the quiet pursuit of his own studies, in
domestic retirement, to the exertion and fatigue
of public engagements. Yet his musical acquirements
were of the highest order. Vincent
Novello speaks of him as a most able teacher,
an excellent organist, a delightful pianoforteplayer,
a refined and tasteful composer, and one
of the most profound musical theorists then
living. His name was little known, and his
published music was almost confined to the
pieces printed in Novello's ' Select Organ Pieces
(from which this notice is derived). That
c611ection contains ten pieces by Stokes, full of
quiet feeling, and real, though somewhat antiquated,
musicianship. Novello also published
an Anthem of his, ' I will lay me down in peace.'
He died in London, April 14, 1839, 6.
STOLTZ, RosiNE, celebrated French singer,
whose chequered life has afforded materials for
more than one romance, was bom in Paris,
Feb. 13, 1815. According to F^tis her real
name was Victorine Noeb, but she entered
Eamier's class in Choron's school in 1826 as
Rose Niva. She became a chorus-singer at one
of the theatres after the Kevolution of 1830,
and in 1832 made a very modest debut at
Brussels. In 1833 she sang at Lille under the
name of Eosine Stoltz. Her knowledge of music
was deficient, and she never became a perfect
singer, but nevertheless made a considerable
mark in lyric tragedy. The first time she displayed
her powers was when acting with A.
Nourrit as Rachel in La ' Juive ' at Brussels in
1836. She reappeared in the partat the Op^ra
in Paris, August 25, 1837. Though inferior
to Mile. Falcon, who had created the rSle, the
public was interested by a talent so original and
full of fire, though so unequal, and Mme. Stoltz
became a favourite from the day slie appeared
in parts written expressly for her. Indeed
throughout Leon Fillet's management (1841
to 1 8 4 7 ) she reigned without a rival. She created
the following mezzo-soprano parts: Lazarillo
in Marliani's 'Xacarilla' (1839); Lfonore in
'La Favorite' (1840); Agathe in 'Der Freischiitz'
(1841); Catarina in 'La Reine de
Chypre' (1841); Odette in 'Charles VL' (1843) ;
Zavda in Donizetti's 'Dom S^bastien' (1843);
'
Beppo in Halevy's Lazzarone,' Desdemona in
'Otello,' and 'Marie Stuart' in Niedermeyer's
'
opera (1844) ;
Estrelle in Balfe's Etoile de
Seville' (1845); David in Mermet's opera of
that name, and Marie in Rossini's pasticcio
'Robert Bruce' (1846). The last three were
failures, and in 1849 she left Paris, but appeared
for some time longer in the provinces and abroad.
Then no more was heard of her excepting the
fact of her successive marriages to a Baron and
two foreign princes. Schoen published in her
name six melodies for voice and PF. in 1870.
Among the works based on the life of Rosine
Stoltz may be mentioned Scudo's Sistoire d'une
cantatrice de VOpira ;
Lamer's Mme. Mosine
Stoltz (Paris, 1847, 16mo) ; Cantinjou's Les
Adieitxde Mme. Stoltz (Paris, 1847, 18mo), and
Mile. Eugenie P&ignon's Eosine Stoltz (Paris,
1847, 8vo). G. c.
STOLTZER, Thomas, a musician of the
earlier part of the 16th century, bom at
Schweidnitz in Silesia, which was then part of
the independent kingdom of Bohemia. He
became CapeUmeister at Ofen or Buda to King
Louis, who reigned over both Hungary and
Bohemia from 1517 to 1526. Fetis gives the
date of Stoltzer's death as August 29, 1526, but
although the fact has not been noticed by
musical historians, it is somewhat significant
that this is merely the date of the Battle of
Mohacs, at which King Louis with the flower
of the Hungarian nobility fell in fighting against
the Turks. But there is no evidence that
Stoltzer was with King Louis on this ooqasion,
or that his life came to an end with the taking
of Buda shortly afterwards by the Turks. It
is very probable that he was still alive between
1536 and 1544, when the gi-eater part of his
works appeared in the Collections of the time.
A letter of his, addressed to Duke Albert of
Prussia, dated Feb. 23, 1526, is extant, which
seems to refer to some offer made to him from
the Duke to become his CapeUmeister at Konigsberg.
He sent to the Duke an elaborate composition
of the 37th Psalm in Luther's German
Prose version in seven divisions ('motettisoh
gesetzt ') for three to seven voices. There are
four other Psalms of the same kind which, with
the one above mentioned. Otto Kade considers
to represent the high-water mark of Stoltzer's
abilities as a composer. The MSS. of these are
now in the Royal Library at Dresden, for which
Kade negotiated their purchase in 1858, and one
of them. Psalm xii., 'Hilf, HeiT, die Heiligen
sind abgenommen,' he has since published in
score in the Beilagen to Ambros's Geschichte.
Ambros gives considerable praise to the Latin
Psalms and Motets of Stoltzer, which appeared
in the various collections 1538 to 1545 and
1569. This praise he largely qualifies in the
case of the thirty-nine settings a 4-5 of Latin
Church Hymns, which constitute Stoltzer's contribution
to Ehau's 'Hymni Sacri' of 1542.
These latter he considers somewhat heavy,
though showing solid workmanship. Other
German works of Stoltzer are seven settings of
Geistliche Gesange and ten of Weltliche Lieder