Joseph Michel (1679–1736) was an 18th-century French baroque chorister, composer and music teacher of the Sainte Chapelle of Dijon, demolished in 1802.
Born at Bay-sur-Aube, and educated at the Jesuit college of Godrans,[2] Michel was a pupil of Pierre Menault and also for a few years, of Jean-Philippe Rameau,[2] organist at the Church of Notre-Dame of Dijon.
[2] Michel's grand motets like Dominus regnavit exultet terra, which came into the repertoire of the "Chapelle du Roi" in Versailles and remained there until 1792, are characteristic of the second half of the reign of Louis XIV.
His Leçons de ténèbres (Lessons of Darkness) were the last examples to be printed during the first half of the 18th century, although the bulk of his compositions were destroyed in a fire at his printer in 1735, the year before his death.
From a letter in the archives of Versailles, it is clear that Michel intended to become kapellmeister for the royal court, but his premature death prevented this.