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Christoph Bernhard | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1628-01-01)1 January 1628 |
| Died | 14 November 1692(1692-11-14) (aged 64) Dresden, Germany |
| Era | Baroque |
Christoph Bernhard (German pronunciation:[ˈkʁɪstɔfˈbɛʁnhaʁt]; 1 January 1628 – 14 November 1692) was born inKolberg,Pomerania, and died inDresden. He was a German Baroque composer and musician. He studied with formerSweelinck-pupilPaul Siefert inDanzig (nowGdańsk) and inWarsaw. By the age of 20, he was singing at the electoral court in Dresden underHeinrich Schütz and composed some of the music for the Master's funeral. He then spent a year inCopenhagen to study singing withAgostino Fontana.
After his appointment as assistantkapellmeister in Dresden in 1655, Bernhard made two sojourns toItaly to further his musical education. When he was 35, he moved toHamburg to work as the director of music for theJohanneum and for civic musical events. The next ten years were a golden age in the musical tradition of Hamburg: Bernhard and his good friendMatthias Weckmann performed together and directed the latest compositions from Italy andVienna, as well as composing an important collection of music in finely-wroughtcounterpoint.
TheElector of Saxony recalled Bernhard to Dresden in 1674, where he returned as assistantkapellmeister. Six years later, the large - and primarily Italian - musical establishment in the city was greatly reduced, until Bernhard remained the onlykapellmeister at court. He continued composing, directing and caring for the music library in Dresden until his death in 1692, at the age of 64. Bernhard left behind many sacred vocal works, a few secular compositions, and three important treatises on music, the most famous of which is theTractatus compositionis augmentatus (ca. 1657), which was the source of the termpassus duriusculus.
In the 21st century Bernhard was suggested as one of three possible composers of theKyrie–Gloria Mass for double choir, BWV Anh. 167.[1][2]
