Christian, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels (23 February 1682 in
Weissenfels – 28 June 1736 in
Sangerhausen
Sangerhausen () is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, central Germany, capital of the district of Mansfeld-Südharz. It is situated southeast of the Harz, approx. east of Nordhausen, and west of Halle (Saale). About 26,000 people live in Sangerhausen (2 ...
), was a duke of
Saxe-Weissenfels
Saxe-Weissenfels (german: Sachsen-Weißenfels) was a duchy of the Holy Roman Empire from 1656/7 until 1746 with its residence at Weißenfels. Ruled by a cadet branch of the Albertine House of Wettin, the duchy passed to the Electorate of Saxony u ...
-Querfurt and member of the
House of Wettin
The House of Wettin () is a dynasty of German kings, prince-electors, dukes, and counts that once ruled territories in the present-day German states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynasty is one of the oldest in Europe, and its ori ...
.
He was the sixth (but second surviving) son of
Johann Adolf I, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels
Johann Adolf I, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels (2 November 1649, in Halle – 24 May 1697, in Weissenfels), was a duke of Saxe-Weissenfels-Querfurt and member of the House of Wettin.
He was the first son of Augustus, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels, and h ...
, and
Johanna Magdalena of Saxe-Altenburg
Johanna Magdalena of Saxe-Altenburg (14 January 1656 in Altenburg – 22 January 1686 in Weißenfels) was a member of the House of Wettin. She was a Duchess of Saxe-Altenburg by birth and by marriage a Duchess of Saxe-Weissenfels-Querfurt.
Life ...
.
Government of the Duchy
Christian inherited the Duchy of Saxe-Weissenfels after the death of his older brother Johann Georg without surviving male issue on 16 March 1712 and continued the policy of
patronage
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...
and promotion of the sciences, education, and culture of his predecessors; in this tradition he created the ''Seminarium illustre'' in Weissenfels in 1716. His liberal spending, which far exceeded the resources of his small duchy, led to a complete financial collapse in 1719. To deal with the crisis, the
Electorate of Saxony
The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony (German: or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356–1806. It was centered around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz.
In the Golden Bull of 1356, Emperor Charles ...
created a
debit commission A debit commission (from the Latin ''debere'' "to owe") was in the Holy Roman Empire a means to resolve the problems of over-indebted states. These states were usually, but not always, sovereign Imperial States.
Imperial commissions
The Aulic Co ...
that controlled the finances of the duchy until its male line was extinct (both the duke and his brother had no male descendants). The commission was requested by the Emperor
Charles VI of Austria
, house = Habsburg
, spouse =
, issue =
, issue-link = #Children
, issue-pipe =
, father = Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
, mother = Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg
, birth_date ...
; it substantially limited the duke's capacity to shape political policies.
Bach cantatas
For his 31st birthday in the year 1713, the composer
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 ...
wrote the famous
cantata
A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir.
The meaning of ...
''
Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd, BWV 208
''Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd'' (The lively hunt is all my heart's desire), 208.1, BWV 208, also known as the ''Hunting Cantata'', is a secular cantata composed by Johann Sebastian Bach for the 31st birthday of Duke Chri ...
'' (The lively hunt is all my heart's desire) as occasional music with a pastoral character. It was performed in Weissenfels in the evening after a hunting party. Christian is named four times in
Salomon Franck's libretto for the cantata and equated with the classical deity
Pan. The hunt is characterized as an activity suitable for princes.
Franck was the Weimar court poet, and it is probable that the Hunting Cantata was intended by
Duke Wilhelm Ernst of Saxe-Weimar as a gift for Christian. However, Bach received later commissions directly from the court at Weissenfels.
For Christian's 43rd birthday in 1725 Bach wrote the Shepherd cantata ''
Entfliehet, verschwindet, entweichet, ihr Sorgen, BWV 249a
''Entfliehet, verschwindet, entweichet, ihr Sorgen'' (Fly, vanish, flee, o worries), BWV 249a, is a secular cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. First performed in 1725, the work is also known as "Shepherd Cantata" or "Shepherds' Cantata" (germa ...
'' (en: "Escape, disappear, disperse, ye sorrows"), its music is lost but survived as the parody setting of the ''
Easter Oratorio
The ''Easter Oratorio'' (), 249, is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach, beginning with ("Come, hasten and run"). Bach composed it in Leipzig and first performed it on 1 April 1725.
History
The first version of the work was completed as a ca ...
''.
In 1729 Bach wrote
''O angenehme Melodei'', BWV 210a for the duke's visit to Leipzig.
Marriage and Succession
In
Stolberg on 12 May 1712, Christian married
Louise Christine of Stolberg-Stolberg-Ortenberg
Louise Christine of Stolberg-Stolberg-Ortenberg (21 January 1675 - 16 May 1738), was a German noblewoman member of the House of Stolberg and by her two marriages Countess of Mansfeld-Eisleben and Duchess of Saxe-Weissenfels.
Born in Ortenberg, ...
, Dowager Countess of
Mansfeld-Eisleben.
For this occasion, the Elector
Frederick August I of Saxony, had the Weissenfelser Hunt Cup (der ''Weißenfelser Jagdpokal'') made as a gift for the couple. It was a costly and complex masterpiece of gold forging executed by the brothers
Johann Melchior and
George Christoph Dinglinger
George may refer to:
People
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Washington, First President of the United States
* George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...
; it took as its artistic inspiration the duke's preference for the hunt. The cup stayed in the possession of the ducal house of Saxe-Weissenfels until it became extinct; after this, it again came into the possession of the Electorate of Saxony and can be admired today in the
Green Vault
The Green Vault (german: Grünes Gewölbe) is a museum located in Dresden, Germany, which contains the largest treasure collection in Europe. The museum was founded in 1723 by Augustus the Strong of Poland and Saxony, and it features a variety of ...
(de: ''Grünes Gewölbe'').
Christian's marriage was childless. Without heirs, he was succeeded on his death by his younger brother,
Johann Adolf II.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Christian, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels
1682 births
1736 deaths
House of Saxe-Weissenfels
People from Weißenfels
Dukes of Saxe-Weissenfels
Albertine branch