Johann Gaudenz Gubert Graf (and Freiherr) von Salis-Seewis (26 December 1762 – 29 January 1834) was a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

poet, writer, politician and

librettist A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major litu ...

Life

Salis-Seewis was born in Malans, and came from an old Swiss aristocracy. His father,

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

Johann Ulrich von Salis-Seewis (1740–1815), was created a (primogenitive) Comte (count) at Versailles on 1 February 1777 having married Freiin Jakobea von Salis-Bothmar (1741–1791) in 1760. The Reichs-freiherrdom dated back to 20 January 1588, for Dietegan v. Salis. Between 1779 and 1789 Salis served as an officer in the Swiss Guards in France in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, until the

French revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

made him quit. Salis-Seewis was one of the favourites of

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child a ...

. In the next year Salis-Seewis undertook a journey to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

(including

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

), meeting

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...

Herder A herder is a pastoral worker responsible for the care and management of a herd or flock of domestic animals, usually on open pasture. It is particularly associated with nomadic or transhumant management of stock, or with common land grazing. ...

Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, and philosopher. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller developed a productive, if complicated, friendsh ...

, Wieland, and Matthisson. He particularly connected with Matthisson, and an intimate friendship developed. The poet colleagues shared a sense of

Sturm und Drang ''Sturm und Drang'' (, ; usually translated as "storm and stress") was a proto- Romantic movement in German literature and music that occurred between the late 1760s and early 1780s. Within the movement, individual subjectivity and, in particul ...

and empathy, calling it the "Bündner Nachtigall" ('' Graubünden

nightingale The common nightingale, rufous nightingale or simply nightingale (''Luscinia megarhynchos''), is a small passerine bird best known for its powerful and beautiful song. It was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is no ...

''). Salis-Seewis returned to Switzerland in 1791, living in

Chur , neighboring_municipalities= Arosa, Churwalden, Tschiertschen-Praden, Domat/Ems, Felsberg, Malix, Trimmis, Untervaz, Pfäfers , twintowns = Bad Homburg (Germany), Cabourg (France), Mayrhofen (Austria), Mondorf-les-Bains (Luxembourg), ...

and marrying there, on 26 December 1793, the 22-year-old Ursina v. Pestalozzi (Chur 29 September 1771 - Malans 27 June 1835). They had two sons; Johann-Ulrich Dietegan (Comte) v. Salis-Seewis (1794–1844) and Johann-Jakob (Freiherr) v. Salis-Seewis (1800–1881). He had a lively involvement in the political changes in his homeland over the next years lively involved, endorsed the alliance of the

Three Leagues The Three Leagues, sometimes referred to as Raetia, was the alliance of 1471 of the League of God's House, the League of the Ten Jurisdictions, and the Grey League, leading eventually to the formation of the Swiss canton of Graubünden (Grisons) ...

of Switzerland to the new France, and the proclaimed

Helvetic Republic The Helvetic Republic (, , ) was a sister republic of France that existed between 1798 and 1803, during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was created following the French invasion and the consequent dissolution of the Old Swiss Confederacy, ma ...

. After the area was occupied by

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

in the following year, Salis-Seewis and his family had to flee to Zurich. There, he was appointed inspector general of the Helvetican troops. This activity brought him the nickname "poet general". He later went to

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

and received a place on the

Court of cassation A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case, they only interpret the relevant law. In this they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In th ...

. When the

Act of Mediation The Act of Mediation () was issued by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the French Republic on 19 February 1803 establishing the Swiss Confederation. The act also abolished the previous Helvetic Republic, which had existed since the invasion ...

was issued by

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

in 1803, it became possible for Salis-Seewis to return to Graubünden. There he held several public offices until 1817, then he withdrew as Swiss federal colonel. His father had died two years before.

Artistic work

Salis-Seewis and Matthisson had similar writing styles, both being inclined to write about natural topics, and about their homeland. The poems of Salis Seewis are characterised however by more masculinity, freshness, popularity as well as a deeper sense of yearning. His

elegies An elegy is a poem of serious reflection, and in English literature usually a lament for the dead. However, according to ''The Oxford Handbook of the Elegy'', "for all of its pervasiveness ... the 'elegy' remains remarkably ill defined: sometime ...

have always had a firm and determining reason. Done with the revolutionary thoughts of the French revolution, he was a progressive representative of

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

and separated from the conservative, oligarchic tradition of his family, which controlled the Three Leagues unquestioned over decades. He died in Malans.

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

has set many poems of Salis-Seewis to music, like ''Abschied von der Harfe'', ''Das Grab'' or ''Zum Rundtanz''. His best known work is th
''Herbstlied''
written in 1782, set to music in 1799 by

Johann Friedrich Reichardt Johann Friedrich Reichardt (25 November 1752 – 27 June 1814) was a German composer, writer and music critic. Early life Reichardt was born in Königsberg, East Prussia, to lutenist and ''Stadtmusiker'' Johann Reichardt (1720–1780). Johann Fr ...

References

Sources

* *

Laura Mancinelli Laura Mancinelli (18 December 1933 – 7 July 2016) was an Italian writer, germanist, medievalist and university professor. Mancinelli also wrote academic texts, children's books, essays (numerous of medieval history), and historical novels. ...

: ''Il canto di un contadino in terra straniera: ritratto di J. Gaudenz von Salis-Seewis'', Cenobio 1958. * Christian Erni: ''Von Paris nach Weimar. Johann Gaudenz von Salis-Seewis in der Französischen Revolution auf Urlaubsreise nach Weimar 1789-1790.'' In: Jahrbuch der Historischen Gesellschaft von Graubünden. 1995. * Hans Peter Gansner: ''Der Dichter-General. Eine dramatische Biographie des J. G. von Salis-Seewis.'' Mit einem Essay des Authors über J. G. von Salis-Seewis und Ferdinand Freiligrath sowie einigen Nachbemerkungen. Calven, Chur 2003. * ''Johann Gaudenz von Salis–Seewis und Johann Heinrich Füßli in ihren Briefen'', hrsg. v. Felix Humm. Huber, Bern u.a. 1976. * Emil Jenal: ''Johann Gaudenz v.Salis-Seewis und die eidgenössische Wiedergeburt.'' Schuler, Chur 1924. * Alfred Rufer: ''Johann Gaudenz v. Salis–Seewis als Bündner Patriot und Helvetischer Generalstab''. Bischofberger, Chur 1938. * Johann Ulrich Schlegel: ''Die Beziehungen zwischen Johann Gaudenz von Salis und Ignaz Heinrich von Wessenberg''. Juris, Zürich 1976. * Walter Zindel-Kuoni: ''Johann Gaudenz von Salis-Seewis. Landschaft seiner Lieder und Geschichte seiner Zeit.'' Desertina, Chur 2006.

External links

* *
selected poems
at recmusic.org * {{DEFAULTSORT:Salis-Seewis, Johann Gaudenz von 1762 births 1834 deaths Swiss male poets Swiss nobility Johann Gaudenz German male poets Swiss poets in German Lyric poets Johann Gaudenz Counts de Salis-Soglio and Comtes de Salis-Seewis 19th-century Swiss poets 20th-century Swiss poets 20th-century German male writers 19th-century German male writers