Christoph Graupner (10 May 1760) was a German composer and harpsichordist of late Baroque music who was a contemporary of Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Philipp Telemann and George Frideric Handel. Life Born in Hartmannsdorf near Kirchberg in Saxony, Graupner received his first musical instruction from his uncle, an organist named Nicolaus Kuester. Graupner went to the University of Leipzig where he studied law (as did many composers of the time) and then completed his musical studies with Johann Kuhnau, the cantor of the Thomasschule (St. Thomas School). In 1705, Graupner left Leipzig to play the harpsichord in the orchestra of the Hamburg Opera under the direction of Reinhard Keiser, alongside George Frideric Handel, then a young violinist. In addition to playing the harpsichord, Graupner composed six operas in Hamburg, some of them in collaboration with Keiser, a popular composer of operas in Germany. In 1709, Graupner accepted a post at the court of Hesse-Darmstadt and in 1711 became the court orchestra’s Hofkapellmeister (court chapel master). Graupner spent the rest of his career at the court in Hesse-Darmstadt, where his primary responsibilities were to provide music for the court chapel. He wrote music for nearly half a century, from 1709 to 1754, when he became blind. He died in Darmstadt six years later. Graupner and Bach Graupner inadvertently played a key role in the history of music. Precarious finances in Darmstadt during the 1710s forced a reduction of musical life. The opera house was closed, and many court musicians' salaries were in arrears (including Graupner's). After many attempts to have his salary paid, and having several children and a wife to support, in late 1722 Graupner applied for the Cantorate in Leipzig. Telemann had been the first choice for this position, but withdrew after securing a salary increase in Hamburg. Graupner, under the guise of a family-related trip, travelled to Leipzig and presented there a Magnificat (GWV 1172/22) set in the style of his teacher, mentor and former holder of the Leipzig Cantorate, Kuhnau. On 17 January 1723 Graupner's audition, in which he presented the cantatas Aus der Tiefen rufen wir (GWV 1113/23a) and Lobet den Herrn alle Heiden (GWV 1113/23b), took place. His performance was sufficient to secure him the position and three days later the Leipzig council wrote to Graupner's patron (the Landgrave Ernst Ludwig of Hesse-Darmstadt) to request that he be released. However, Ernst Ludwig insisted on Graupner