Another eminent person, whom Telemann met in Żary in addition to W.C. Printz was Erdmann Neumeister, a poet and author of church hymns.
In 1705-1712 Neumeister was a superintendent in Żary, a pastor at the church of St. Mary (parish church) and a preacher of the court. Telemann wrote music to all of Neumeister ‘s first and third cycle of poetry. Due to Neumeister’s functions, Telemann’s music was also often made heard in the nearby parish church and the castle chapel. Later in Hamburg they worked together on cantatas at an unprecedented pace. Many hundreds of Telemann’s cantatas are located in a library in Gdańsk.
The Żary Museum is located in the building of the old commissariat, where Neumeister was a superintendent during Telemann’s stay in Żary. Telemann and Neumeister were friends. Certainly they often talked about poetry and music in the building of the current museum.
Neumeister became the godfather of Telemann’s first daughter. In order to participate in this ceremony he drove from Żary to Eisenach. Because of a change of musical preferences of Count von Promnitz and his reduction of the composition of the court band, Telemann decided to leave Żary in 1708 for Eisenach, the hometown of J.S. Bach. There he took the post of secretary and concertmaster at the court of Prince Johann Wilhelm – the cousin of wife of Erdmann II von Promnitz.
