Born: March 20, 1813, Ulm, Germany.
Died: October 13, 1875, Boston, Massachusetts.
Buried: Holyhood Cemetery, Brookline, Massachusetts.
Matthias was the son of Maria Anna Treu Keller.
He studied music in Stuttgart and Vienna, played violin the Viennese Royal Chapel, and was an army bandmaster for several years.
He moved to America in 1846, and played in theaters in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
He later began making violins, and conducted opera in New York City.
Great Jehovah! turn Thine eye
On Thy people gathered here;
Nations bow to Thee on high—
Deign, O Lord, our prayer to hear.
Peace on earth, good will to men,
Father! we implore of Thee;
Shield us from war’s direful bane;
From its evils keep us free.
Hear the widow’s lonely cry!
War has laid her all in dust;
Orphans, too, with tearful eye,
Look to Thee—in Thee they trust.
Peace on earth, good will to men,
Father! we implore of Thee;
Shield us from war’s direful bane;
From its evils keep us free.
God of grace! inflame our hearts
With that pure and holy love
Which alone true joy imparts,
Flowing from Thy realms above.
Peace on earth, good will to men,
Father! we implore of Thee;
Shield us from war’s direful bane;
From its evils keep us free.
Matthias Keller
A Collection of Poems, 1874