Michael Deiss (also spelled Michael Deiß or Deus) was an Austrian composer of the Late Renaissance. He was probably born around 1552; all traces of him disappear after 1568. He initially served as a choirboy in the Imperial Court Chapel and later worked for Archduke Charles II of Inner Austria in Graz. Today he is best known for his contributions to the ''Novi thesauri musici'' (published in 1568 in Venice by the printer Antonio Gardano). In this monumental five-volume collection of motets for the Habsburg courts, Deiss is represented by a total of 14 motets, making him one of the collection’s most prolific contributors. His four-part funeral motet “Quis dabit oculis nostris” was composed on the occasion of the death of Emperor Ferdinand I (1564). Deiss composed in the typical Franco-Flemish style of the late Renaissance, featuring artful polyphony. Aside from his works in the aforementioned collection, no other compositions by him are known.

(Sources: IMSLP / University of Pittsburgh)

Note: Derived from an entry in German