Christoph Ernst Friedrich Weyse (5 March 1774 – 8 October 1842) was a Danish

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

.

Weyse was born at Altona

Altona, Hamburg

Altona is the westernmost urban borough of the German city state of Hamburg, on the right bank of the Elbe river. From 1640 to 1864 Altona was under the administration of the Danish monarchy. Altona was an independent city until 1937...

, now in German territory, but Danish at the time the composer was born. He studied music with Johann Abraham Peter Schulz

Johann Abraham Peter Schulz

Johann Abraham Peter Schulz was a German musician and composer. Today he is best known as the composer of the melody for Matthias Claudius's poem "Der Mond ist aufgegangen" and the Christmas carol "Ihr Kinderlein kommet".-Life:Schulz attended the Michaelis School from 1757 to 1759 and then the...

 in Copenhagen. In 1794, he was appointed organist at the Reformed Church

Reformed Church, Copenhagen

Reformed Church in Gothersgade, opposite Rosenborg Castle, is a church building used by the reformed congregations in Copenhagen, Denmark. Consecrated in 1689, the church was instigated by Queen Charlotte Amalie, consort of King Christian V, who was herself a German Calvinist...

 in the city and served in the same post at the Vor Frue Kirke

Church of Our Lady (Copenhagen)

The Church of Our Lady is the cathedral of Copenhagen and the National Cathedral of Denmark. It is situated on Vor Frue Plads and next to the main building of the University of Copenhagen....

 after 1805. In 1819, he was appointed Court composer. He died in Copenhagen

Copenhagen

Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...

.

He was best known for his vocal works, which included numerous singspiel

Singspiel

A Singspiel is a form of German-language music drama, now regarded as a genre of opera...

en, a setting of the Te Deum

Te Deum

The Te Deum is an early Christian hymn of praise. The title is taken from its opening Latin words, Te Deum laudamus, rendered literally as "Thee, O God, we praise"....

 and of the Miserere

Psalm 51

Psalm 51 , traditionally referred to as the Miserere, its Latin incipit, is one of the Penitential Psalms. It begins: Have mercy on me, O God....

, a cantata

Cantata

A cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir....

, and above all, lied

Lied

is a German word literally meaning "song", usually used to describe romantic songs setting German poems of reasonably high literary aspirations, especially during the nineteenth century, beginning with Carl Loewe, Heinrich Marschner, and Franz Schubert and culminating with Hugo Wolf...

er after poems by Matthias Claudius

Matthias Claudius

Matthias Claudius was a German poet, otherwise known by the penname of “Asmus”.-Life:Claudius was born at Reinfeld, near Lübeck, and studied at Jena...

, Johann Heinrich Voss and Ludwig Heinrich Christoph Hölty

Ludwig Heinrich Christoph Hölty

Ludwig Christoph Heinrich Hölty was a German poet, known especially for his ballads.Hölty was born in the village of Mariensee in Hanover, where his father was pastor. In 1769 he went to study theology at the University of Göttingen...

. He also composed seven symphonies

Symphony

A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...

 and numerous pieces for solo piano

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

.

Singspiel

• Sovedrikken (1809)
• Faruk (1812)
• Ludlam's hule (1816)
• Floribella (1825)
• Et eventyr i Rosenborg Have (1827)
• Festen på Kenilworth (1836)

External links

• Christoph Ernst Friedrich Weyse from the Royal Danish Library