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Christoph Bernhard (January 1, 1628 – November 14, 1692) was a German Baroque composer, singer, and director. Born in Kolberg, Pomerania, he grew up in poverty and initially earned money by singing door-to-door. A benefactor enabled him to attend the Danzig grammar school, where he studied organ under a former pupil of Sweelinck. At the age of 20, Bernhard moved to Dresden, where he caught the attention of the Prince Elector, who engaged him to sing at court. He later studied singing at the Danish Court with Agostino Fontana and traveled to Rome to further his musical education. From 1655 to 1663, Bernhard served as Vice-Kapellmeister in Dresden, after which he became Kantor at the Johanneum in Hamburg, where he worked alongside a friend during the city's Golden Age of music. In 1670, he was commissioned by his mentor Schütz to write a funeral mass, performed at Schütz's funeral two years later. Bernhard returned to Dresden in 1674 as Vice-Kapellmeister and was appointed Kapellmeister in 1681, a position he held until his death. He composed numerous sacred vocal works in German and Latin, a few secular pieces, and authored three significant treatises on music, including the notable Tractatus compositionis augmentatus. His enduring compositions include "Was betrübst du dich,

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