Thomas Stoltzer Sheet Music

  • Born: 1480
  • Died: 1526
  • Birthplace: Germany

Thomas Stoltzer, also Stolczer, Scholczer was a German composer of the Renaissance. Stoltzer's extant works amount to some 150 pieces, gathered in 30 publications and 60 manuscripts. None of them date from Stoltzer's own lifetime. Stoltzer was most popular in Saxony, in the areas most directly affected by the Reformation; Georg Rhau was one of his most dedicated printers, issuing at least 70 of Stoltzer's works in his publications. His works remained in general circulation in German-speaking countries up until the end of the 16th century. While he composed in all of the standard sacred forms of his day, he concentrated on motets. His early motets often make use of numerological signifiers of religious importance; later works show influence from the Netherlands school of composers, such as imitation and the use of multiple choirs. Among his most popular motets was O admirabile commercium, which survives today in 11 sources.