The fact that he published a volume of Italian cantatas might indicate that he, like most aspiring composers of the era, probably spent considerable time studying in Italy.
His first documented employment began in February 1702 when he was appointed to the post of Cammer-Musicus in the newly founded Hofkapelle (royal orchestra) of king Frederick I of Prussia in Berlin.
But he remained there for just a few months, as in July 1717, a new pasticcio Crudeltà consuma amore (Crudelty will consume love) was played at the Palatine court of Neuburg.
In early 1718, another pasticcio, L'amicizia in terzo overo Il Dionigio (Friendship comes in threes or Dionysus) was premiered in Neuburg, which was probably his opus ultimum.
Shortly thereafter, he relocated to another Palatine residence, Heidelberg, where his son was baptized in December 1718 - incidentally, exactly a year after his now much higher esteemed successor, Johann Sebastian Bach, took office at the court of Köthen.