G. G. Boltze

G. G. Boltze Information about Boltze come from the books where his melodies first appeared: a volume of chorales printed in 1790 in Berlin by Johann Christoph Kuhnau (Vierstimmege alte und neue Choralgesange, pt.2) which tells us Boltze was a cantor and schoolteacher at the royal orphanage in Potsdam. Although many references refer to him as "Georg G. Boltze," church records from Berlin and Potsdam show that his name was "Gabriel Gottlieb Boltze." He was consigned to the royal military orphanage in Potsdam when he was a child, likely after his mother died (His father died in 1744). At the orphanage he learned to play the organ and he became the organist of the orphanage church when he was about twenty years old. He continued as cantor, teacher, and organist for about the next thirty years, retiring sometime between 1768 and 1771. He had become blind while working for the orphanage, which may have contributed to his decision to retire. However, he produced the three melodies appearing in Kühnau's publication in 1788 and 1789.

Dianne Shapiro from by "Melody's Triumph over Darkness: The Life of G. G. Boltze" by James R. Eggert in CrossAccent: Journal of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians (vol 31, no. 3, Fall/Winter 2023), accessed online from alcm.org 9/15/2024