Wolfgang Schmeltzl

Wolfgang Schmeltzl (c. 1505 – 1564) was a German teacher, writer and composer, and Roman Catholic clergyman.

It is thought he was ordained in the early 1550s; in 1556 he became pastor of St Lorenz am Steinfeld in Lower Austria, where he died in 1564.

[1][2][3] During his time at the Scottish Abbey, Schmeltzl wrote a series of school plays on religious subjects, one being performed each year during the 1540s.

[2][3] A collection of four-part songs, Guter seltzsamer und künstreicher teutscher Gesang ("Good, unusual and ingenious German vocal music") was printed by Johannes Petreius in Nuremberg in 1544.

His biographer in Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (1890) wrote: "The influence of similar works by Hans Sachs is unmistakable here; like him, Schmeltzl understands excellently how to turn description into progressive, lively action.