Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel was a German composer of the late Baroque period, born in Grünstädtel and active in numerous German and Italian cities—including Leipzig, Breslau, Halle, Venice, Florence, Rome, and Prague—before settling as court Kapellmeister in Gotha, where he remained until his death. A prolific composer of sacred music, he wrote some 1,358 church cantatas along with masses, oratorios, passions, five operas, and instrumental concerti grossi and suites. He suffered declining health in his final years and died in Gotha in 1749.

Though largely forgotten after the eighteenth century, Stölzel was highly regarded by his contemporaries—the theorist Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg once ranked him above Bach among leading German composers—and he directly influenced Johann Sebastian Bach, who performed and copied several of his works. Since the mid-twentieth century, renewed musicological interest has led to increased recordings and publications of his music, restoring some recognition of his historical importance within the German Baroque tradition.

Sources:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gottfried_Heinrich_St%C3%B6lzel