C.E.F. Weyse 250 years

Christoph Ernst Friedrich Weyse is particularly known for his melodies for B.S. Ingemann's morning and evening songs, several of which have retained their popularity to this day. But he composed in many different musical genres: opera, singspiel, cantatas for ministrations and other choral music as well as symphonies. In addition, Weyse was a distinctive and interesting personality, which is not least expressed in his many and often long letters, where his well-developed sense of humour also emerges. 

Weyse did not make many long journeys – in fact, by all accounts, he did not leave Zealand after coming there as a young man. His most frequent destinations must have been the numerous visits he paid in Roskilde to his close friends in the priest family Hertz. Weyse felt at home there, and he had also chosen to be buried in Roskilde, where the beautiful tombstone can be seen at Gråbrødre Cemetery.

Folk tunes for 100 dalers, please!

Folk tunes for 100 dalers, please!

Weyse provided piano accompaniment for a number of folk tunes - but at first it was not with his good will.

Weyse's collection

Weyse's collection

Weyse was the first composer to bequeath his sheet music collection to Royal Danish Library. The donation formed a precedent and is a cornerstone of the library's collections.

Letter writer and gourmet

Letter writer and gourmet

Due to his abilities as a musician, Weyse was a favourite dinner guest in many bourgeois homes. He took advantage of this to get his teeth into "Østerspaastejer" and "Pillau".

The musician

The musician

When Weyse sat at the organ in Vor Frue Church in Copenhagen, he could "move to tears" according to the composer Franz Liszt.