composer

Borchgrevinck, Melchior

Melchior Borchgrevinck (c. 1570-1632) was a Dutch-Danish musician in the service of the Danish court, like his father, Bonaventura. The latter was Kapellmeister for only six months when he was fired for reasons unknown to us. His son Melchior however stayed in function as an instrumentalist and Kapellmeister for the rest of his life. First under King Frederick II and after Frederick’s death of his son Christian IV. This Christian was a great lover of art and music in particular and he gathered a lot of excellent musicians around him, e.g. John Dowland, Heinrich Schütz and Vincentius Bertolusius.
Melchior Borchgrevinck was sent abroad several times, to Dresden, London and especially Venice, where he took lessons from Giovanni Gabrieli. He was the leader of a group of musicians like Truid Ågesen, Hans Nielsen, Mogens Pedersøn and many others. The king appreciated Borchgrevinck’s craftsmanship and artistry, which resulted in a canonry with the relating salary, housing and pension. Very few of his works have been saved through the years.