In 1721 Maichelbeck was a student of theology in Freiburg but by 1725 had moved to Rome to study music. When he returned to Freiburg in 1727 or '28 he became the organist at the Cathedral. Maichelbeck was regarded by his contemporaries and served as an esteemed and respected musician. The majority of his compositions were for keyboard instruments dominated by the harpischord. The works were directed toward amateur musicians with a didactic purpose of teaching theory; but, the scores were also well suited for performance. With a penchant towards the stylings of suite music his two part arrangements provided performers with the opportunity to embellish using their own harmonic inventions. He was one of first composers to indicate specifically when the use of the thumb should be used in the performance of the piece thus giving a strong indication for the pattern to be employed throughout the playing of the composition. ~ Keith Johnson, Rovi