Due to the fusion of the courts, he frequently travelled between Weimar, Gotha, and Eisenach; during this time, he worked with Georg Benda on the reorganization of the Hofkapelle.

When it was dissolved in 1758, after the death of Duke Ernst August, he retained his title and took over duties in the administration of the ducal finances.

His songs depend on the past tradition of Görner, Gräfe, and Mizler; he often wrote galant melodies filled with lively basses and elaborate accompaniments.

A picture of his perceptions of music can be deduced from the introduction he wrote to Jacob Adlung's Anleitung zu der musikalischen Gelahrtheit (1758).

In it he generally criticizes the declining trend of the religious music of his time and promotes the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Philipp Telemann and Gottfried Heinrich Stelzel.