Background
Born in Grottkau near Breslau, the son of Johann Jacob Weiss, also a lutenist, he served at courts in Breslau, Rome, and Dresden, where he died.
Born in Grottkau near Breslau, the son of Johann Jacob Weiss, also a lutenist, he served at courts in Breslau, Rome, and Dresden, where he died.
Until recently, he was thought to have been born in 1686, but recent evidence suggests that he was in fact born the following year. Bach and Weiss were said to have competed in improvisation, as the following account by Johann Friedrich Reichardt describes:
"Anyone who knows how difficult it is to play harmonic modulations and good counterpoint on the lute will be surprised and full of disbelief to hear from eyewitnesses that Weiss, the great lutenist, challenged J. South. Bach, the great harpsichordist and organist, at playing fantasies and fugues."
Sylvius Weiss" son Johann Adolph Faustinus Weiss succeeded him as a Saxon court lutenist.