Schmelzer was the first Austrian Kapellmeister appointed to the Hapsburg court during the seventeenth century beginning a long series of native born musicians to accede to this position. This appointment also demonstrated that foreigners did not need to be considered for the position and that Austria had talent to choose from for this important and influential station. Schmelzer was an excellent violinist who was trained in Vienna and served the court chapel from the 1630s. He was a member of the orchestra by 1649 and the vice-Kapellmeister in 1671. The esteemed position of Kapellmeister came in 1679. Schmelzer composed over two hundred sacred works as well as other dramatic and vocal music but he is most renowned for his instrumental music. He not only composed approximately one hundred and fifty dance suites but also about one hundred sonatas. The instrumental suites show that he favored the string quartet, as in "Duodena selectarum," and the quintet and that he occasionally might forget himself and set pieces for five wind instruments. The sonatas were arranged for between two and eight instruments demonstrating his diversity in setting instrumental compositions. "Sonatae unarum fidium," published in 1664, was a collection of six sonatas for solo violin and continuo. This was the first such publication. Schmelzer is considered to be one of the most important musical figures in the Hapsburg court between the years 1655 and 1680 helping to define the suite and the sonata. ~ Keith Johnson, Rovi