Saxon musical landscapes in the 16th and 17th centuries (III)
Music at the court of the counts von Bünau (II)
Ensemble »Alte Musik Dresden«
Leitung: Norbert Schuster
According to an eighteenth-century encyclopedia article, the dynasty of the von Bünau counts was one of the “oldest, most noble and wide-spread aristocratic families in Bohemia, Meissen, Lusatia, Hesse, and Franconia.” From the beginning of the fifteenth century a branch of the family resided in Schloss Weesenstein. The male offspring occupied influential positions in the services of the Wettin dynasty; many of them left behind enduring testimonials as patrons of architecture and the arts. Lord Rudolf III (1547-1624) was especially known for his love of music. The fact that Weesenstein was the starting point for a career at a municipal church or at a larger court for a number of organists and Kapellmeister testifies to the high musical standard at the Bünau court. It also shows Weesenstein to have been the “cradle” of musicians who in their creative work were at the forefront of the prevailing taste in terms of style and compositional technique.
