Kobelius was born in Wählitz near
Hohenmölsen, the son of August Kobelius, a
pastor from
Landshut in
Bavaria. His first music teacher was his maternal grandfather, who worked in
Weissenfels as an organist. He later studied with
Johann Christian Schieferdecker and
Johann Philipp Krieger, then
Kapellmeister at the Weissenfels court. Eventually, Kobelius travels took him until
Venice. "In 1702 the reigning Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels secured Kobelius' appointment as organist at St. Jacobi in
Sangerhausen, overruling the town's choice of J. S. Bach." This was probably the only occasion in Bach's career that an upheld application on his part resulted in failure. From 1703 Kobelius also worked as municipal choirmaster. Since 1725, the position of
Landrentmeister (chamberlain) placed him well above the status of
Hofkapellmeister. "Kobelius was the last important composer to write operas during the brief but brilliant period of music at the Weissenfels court." Instead of the court conductor Johann Philipp Krieger from 1715 to 1729 Kobelius "served as the only regular composer of operas for performances in the royal palace, writing one score or more each year." Only one work of Kobelius has been preserved: his Cantata
Ich fürchte keinen Tod auf Erden, which had its modern première as recently as 2010. == References==