It is believed that Ruimonte arrived in Brussels in 1599 as a young man in the choir of the retinue of
Archduke Albert of Austria and the Princess
Isabel Clara Eugenia, new governors of the Low Countries. On August 17, 1601, he wrote to his sister, stating that he was
maestro de música en la capilla de Sus Altezas Serenísimas (master of music in the chapel of His Majesty). In 1604, he announced himself on the title page of
Missae sex as
Maestro de la Capilla y de la Cámara de Sus Excelencias (
maestro di cappella and of the chamber of His Majesty). In 1614, the title page of
Parnaso español de Madrigales y Villancicos reads
Maestro de Música de la Cámara de los Serenísimos Príncipes Alberto y doña Isabel Clara Eugenia, Archiduques de Austria. It is probable that this difference in title is due to the arrival in 1605 of
Géry de Ghersem, maestro of the Chapel Real of the Court of Madrid, who was to take charge of the chapel at the Court of Brussels. However, existing records show that Ruimonte was paid more than Ghersem, a measure of the esteem in which the Archduke held him. As head of the musicians of the ducal court, aside from overseeing the boy singers, he had under his charge organists and composers of great stature, including the English
Peter Philips and
John Bull (then organist at the cathedral of
Antwerp), and the Flemish
Peeter Cornet and
Philippe van der Meulen. ==Works==