Ahasverus Fritsch (16 December 1629 – 24 August 1701) was a German jurist, poet and hymn writer of the Baroque era. Fritsch was born in

Mücheln is a town in the Saalekreis district, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Geography Mücheln (Geiseltal) is situated approximately 15 km west of Merseburg and borders Lake Geiseltal to the southwest, west, and northwest. Divisions The town Mücheln co ...

as a son of the mayor. In 1631, the family was forced to flee when the city was burned down. Later he attended the Gymnasium in Halle, and in 1650 he enrolled at the Law Faculty of the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The un ...

. In 1657 he was appointed Hofmeister by Count Albert Anton von Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. In his legal career, he was clerk of the Court in 1665, and in 1687 Chancellor of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. He was the first German legal scholar to deal with the danger of influencing the people by the press. Besides a large number of legal publications, he wrote hymns and devotional writings. He died in

Rudolstadt Rudolstadt is a town in the German federal state Thuringia, with the Thuringian Forest to the southwest, and to Jena and Weimar to the north. The former capital of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, the town is built along the River Saale inside a wide v ...

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

based his

chorale cantata A chorale cantata is a church cantata based on a chorale—in this context a Lutheran chorale. It is principally from the German Baroque era. The organizing principle is the words and music of a Lutheran hymn. Usually a chorale cantata includes m ...

Liebster Immanuel, Herzog der Frommen, BWV 123 (Dearest Emmanuel, duke of the pious), 123, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed the chorale cantata in Leipzig for Epiphany and first performed it on 6 January 1725. It is based on the hymn by Ahasverus Fritsch (1679). Hi ...

'', for

Epiphany Epiphany may refer to: * Epiphany (feeling), an experience of sudden and striking insight Religion * Epiphany (holiday), a Christian holiday celebrating the revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ ** Epiphany season, or Epiph ...

1725 on a hymn in six stanzas by Fritsch and used single stanzas in other cantatas. His stanza "Wie herrlich ist die neue Welt" (How magnificent is the new world)" is part of

Carl Heinrich Graun Carl Heinrich Graun (7 May 1704 – 8 August 1759) was a German composer and tenor. Along with Johann Adolph Hasse, he is considered to be the most important German composer of Italian opera of his time. Biography Graun was born in Wahrenbr� ...

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is ...

Der Tod Jesu ''Der Tod Jesu'' (''The Death of Jesus'') is an oratorio libretto by Karl Wilhelm Ramler. In its setting by Carl Heinrich Graun in 1755, it was the most often performed Passion of the 18th century in Germany. The poem is part of the '' Empfin ...

''.

Works

* ''Liebster Immanuel, Herzog der Frommen'' 1679 * ''De mendicantibus validis.'' Jena 1659 * ''121 neue himmelsüsse Jesuslieder''. 1668 * ''Schöne Himmelslieder.'' 1670 *''Tabulae pacis inter imperatorum Romanum, Leopoldum Magnum, et imperii Germanici Status, ab una, et Ludovicum XIV, Galliarum regno, ab altera parte ..'. Frankfurt and Leipzig: Gottfried Liebezeit, 1699 * ''Discursus de novellarum ... usu et abusu'' (1676; Use and abuse of the press), in German in ''Die ältesten Schriften für und wider die Zeitungen'', ed. K. Kurth. 1944 * ''Opuscula juris publici & privati.'' Nürnberg 1690 * ''Gesammelte Werke'', hg. M. H. Griebner, 2 volumes. 1731-32
Tractatus De Typographis, Bibliopolis, Chartariis, Et Bibliopegis
Hamburgi 1675, Online edition of the Sächsische Landesbibliothek - Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Dresden

References

Jurists from Saxony-Anhalt German legal scholars German Protestant hymnwriters 1629 births 1701 deaths People from Saalekreis University of Jena alumni {{Germany-law-bio-stub