Rogier Michael

Rogier Michael von Bergen (ca. 1553 probably in Bergen-op-Zoom – after middle 1623 in Dresden) was a Franco-Flemish composer, singer and Kapellmeister of the late Renaissance. Life and work Early life Michael came to Vienna as a child with his father Simon Michael († after 1566); his father was “probably the best mechanic and musician” during the reign of Emperor Ferdinand I (1556-1564) and was listed as a singer in the list of court chapels under Emperor Maximilian II from 1564 to 1566. Rogier presumably spent time as a choirboy in Vienna and in 1564 he joined the court chapel of Archduke Charles II in Graz as a choirboy. Johannes de Cleve then Annibale Padovano were in charge of this chapel, with Padovano advising Rogier to go to Venice to study further under Andrea Gabrieli, which he did from 1569 to 1572. After his return to Germany, he took a position as a tenor singer in Ansbach at the court chapel of George Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach in 1572, where he remained until 1574. Dresden On the recommendation of Emilie of Saxony, the sister of Elector August of Saxony, Michael became a singer and musician at the Dresden court orchestra on 1 February 1575. The Elector