Christoph Bernhard
Encyclopedia
Christoph Bernhard was born in Kolberg, Pomerania
, and died in Dresden
. He studied with former Sweelinck-pupil Paul Siefert
in Danzig (now Gdańsk
) and in Warsaw
By the age of 20 he was singing at the electoral court in Dresden under Heinrich Schütz
. He then spent a year in Copenhagen
to study singing with Agostino Fontana.
After his appointment as assistant kapellmeister
in Dresden in 1655, Bernhard made two sojourns to Italy
to further his musical education. When he was 35, he moved to Hamburg
to work as the director of music for the Johanneum and for civic musical events. The next ten years were a golden time in the musical tradition of Hamburg: Bernhard and his good friend Matthias Weckmann
performed together and directed the latest compositions from Italy and Vienna
, as well as composing an important collection of music in finely-wrought counterpoint
.
The Elector of Saxony recalled Bernhard to Dresden in 1674, where he returned as assistant kapellmeister. Six years later, the large - and primarily Italian - musical establishment in the city was greatly reduced, until Bernhard remained the only kapellmeister 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 the Tractatus compositionis augmentatus (c. 1657), for example the origin of the term passus duriusculus
.
Pomerania
Pomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...
, and died in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
. He studied with former Sweelinck-pupil Paul Siefert
Paul Siefert
Paul Siefert was a German composer and organist associated with the North German school.-Biography:...
in Danzig (now Gdańsk
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
) and in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
By the age of 20 he was singing at the electoral court in Dresden under Heinrich Schütz
Heinrich Schütz
Heinrich Schütz was a German composer and organist, generally regarded as the most important German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach and often considered to be one of the most important composers of the 17th century along with Claudio Monteverdi...
. He then spent a year in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
to study singing with Agostino Fontana.
After his appointment as assistant kapellmeister
Kapellmeister
Kapellmeister is a German word designating a person in charge of music-making. The word is a compound, consisting of the roots Kapelle and Meister . The words Kapelle and Meister derive from the Latin: capella and magister...
in Dresden in 1655, Bernhard made two sojourns to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
to further his musical education. When he was 35, he moved to Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
to work as the director of music for the Johanneum and for civic musical events. The next ten years were a golden time in the musical tradition of Hamburg: Bernhard and his good friend Matthias Weckmann
Matthias Weckmann
Matthias Weckmann was a German musician and composer of the Baroque period. He was born in Niederdorla and died in Hamburg.- Life :...
performed together and directed the latest compositions from Italy and Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, as well as composing an important collection of music in finely-wrought counterpoint
Counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
.
The Elector of Saxony recalled Bernhard to Dresden in 1674, where he returned as assistant kapellmeister. Six years later, the large - and primarily Italian - musical establishment in the city was greatly reduced, until Bernhard remained the only kapellmeister 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 the Tractatus compositionis augmentatus (c. 1657), for example the origin of the term passus duriusculus
Chromatic fourth
In music, a chromatic fourth, or passus duriusculus, is a melody or melodic fragment spanning a perfect fourth with all or almost all chromatic intervals filled in . The quintessential example is in D minor with the tonic and dominant notes as boundaries, :The chromatic fourth was first used in the...
.
Sources
- Wohl dem, der den Herren fürchtet, by Christoph Bernhard (Garri Editions, Frankfurt am Main, 2005) Dr. Alejandro Garri, Ed.