David Moritz Michael (October 21, 1751 – February 26, 1827) was a composer. David Moritz Michael was born in Kumhausen in 1751 and was educated in Germany. He became a member of the

Moravian Church The Moravian Church, or the Moravian Brethren ( or ), formally the (Latin: "Unity of the Brethren"), is one of the oldest Protestant denominations in Christianity, dating back to the Bohemian Reformation of the 15th century and the original ...

when he was thirty years old. He taught in the Moravian school at

Niesky Niesky (; Polish and Sorbian: ''Niska'' ; ) is a small town in Upper Lusatia in eastern Saxony, Germany. It has a population of about 9,200 (2020) and is part of the district of Görlitz. Historically considered part of Upper Lusatia, it was a ...

and, in 1795, he emigrated to

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. Moritz Michael's official church position was as a worker with the young men of the Moravian congregations in

Nazareth Nazareth is the largest Cities in Israel, city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. In its population was . Known as "the Arab capital of Israel", Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and ...

and

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Bethlehem is a city in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, Northampton and Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Bethle ...

, and his contributions to the musical life of the Moravian settlements in Pennsylvania was great. While in Bethlehem, Michael led the Bethlehem ''collegium musicum''.Nola Reed Knouse, The Music of the Moravian Church in America (Rochester: University of Rochester Press, 2008), 279. He most notably conducted a performance of Haydn's ''Creation'' that some scholars believe may have been the first performance of the work in America. In addition to his wind ensemble works—the most famous of which, ''Die Wasserfahrt (The Water Journey)'', is currently available in a number of recordings—and fourteen "Parthien", he wrote a number of anthems and arias for church services. Moritz Michael returned to Germany in 1815. He made a brief visit to Vienna to meet with

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

in 1818. He died in

Neuwied Neuwied (, ) is a town in the north of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, capital of the Neuwied (district), District of Neuwied. Neuwied lies on the east bank of the Rhine, 12 km northwest of Koblenz, on the railway from Frankfurt ...

, Germany, on February 26, 1827 almost a month before Beethoven’s death .

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David Moritz Michael
at Music of the United States of America (MUSA) {{DEFAULTSORT:Michael, David Moritz 1751 births 1827 deaths German male classical composers German people of the Moravian Church German classical composers American male classical composers German emigrants to the United States 19th-century American classical composers 19th-century German composers 19th-century German male musicians

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